The Design and Construction of the Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Facility
The Advanced Mixed Treatment Project (AMWTP) privatized contract was awarded to BNFL Inc. in December 1996 and construction of the main facility commenced in August 2000. The purpose of the advanced mixed waste treatment facility is to safely treat plutonium contaminated waste, currently stored in drums and boxes, for final disposal at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). The plant is being built at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory. Construction was completed in 28 months, to satisfy the Settlement Agreement milestone of December 2002. Commissioning of the related retrieval and characterization facilities is currently underway. The first shipment of pre-characterized waste is scheduled for March 2003, with AMWTP characterized and certified waste shipments from June 2003. To accommodate these challenging delivery targets BNFL adopted a systematic and focused construction program that included the use of a temporary structure to allow winter working, proven design and engineering principles and international procurement policies to help achieve quality and schedule. The technology involved in achieving the AMWTP functional requirements is primarily based upon a BNFL established pedigree of plant and equipment; applied in a manner that suits the process and waste. This technology includes the use of remotely controlled floor mounted and overhead power manipulators, a high power shredder and a 2000-ton force supercompactor with the attendant glove box suite, interconnections and automated material handling. The characterization equipment includes real-time radiography (RTR) units, drum and box assay measurement systems, drum head space gas sampling / analysis and drum venting, drum coring and sampling capabilities. The project adopted a particularly stringent and intensive pre-installation testing philosophy to ensure that equipment would work safely and reliably at the required throughput. This testing included the complete off site integration of functional components or glove boxes, with the attendant integrated control system and undertaking continuous, non-stop, operational effectiveness proof tests. This paper describes the process, plant and technology used within the AMWTP and provides an outline of the associated design, procurement, fabrication, testing and construction.
- Research Organization:
- BNFL Inc., 765 Lindsay Boulevard, Idaho Falls, ID 83402 (US)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- US Department of Energy (US)
- OSTI ID:
- 826228
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Waste Management 2003 Symposium, Tucson, AZ (US), 02/23/2003--02/27/2003; Other Information: PBD: 27 Feb 2003
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Expanded Use of ISOCS Characterization Techniques for WIPP Certification at the Idaho Clean-up Project - 19623
The Direct Path To WIPP - 12471