EM’s Portsmouth Site has finished excavating approximately seven acres for its On-Site Waste Disposal Facility (OSWDF) to prepare for debris from the demolition of X-333, a former uranium enrichment process building measuring more than 50 acres of floor area.
Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office
April 2, 2024
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A crew at the Portsmouth Site On-Site Waste Disposal Facility screens select fill for the facility’s Cell 2.
PIKE COUNTY, Ohio — EM’s Portsmouth Site has finished excavating approximately seven acres for its On-Site Waste Disposal Facility (OSWDF) to prepare for debris from the demolition of X-333, a former uranium enrichment process building measuring more than 50 acres of floor area.
“Our On-Site Waste Disposal Facility Capital Asset Project 2 team continues to safely and successfully exceed deadlines, finishing this excavation project a month ahead of schedule,” Portsmouth Federal Project Director Jud Lilly said.
A heavy equipment operator loads excavated soil from the Portsmouth Site On-Site Waste Disposal Facility into screening equipment.
A heavy equipment operator places select fill in Cell 2 of the Portsmouth Site On-Site Waste Disposal Facility.
Operators use equipment to compact select fill surface inside Cell 2 for the Portsmouth On-Site Waste Disposal Facility.
Excavation was successfully completed for Cell 2, the fourth cell in a series of disposal cells planned for construction at the waste disposal facility.
“It takes a full construction season to build the cell liner system,” Portsmouth OSWDF Construction Manager John McDonald said. “The OSWDF team was dedicated and committed to achieving this first major step in Cell 2 completion.”
The next step in the process is placing select fill, the clay layer and geosynthetic material.
Select fill is soil screened per design specifications for use as backfill material and is then placed in the Cell 2 excavation, bringing it to the proper grade prior to construction of the Cell 2 clay layer. Cell 2 is slated for completion by the end of this year.
-Contributor: Michelle Teeters