Finding of No Significant Impact Issued on Environmental Assessment for Remote-handled Waste Disposition Project at DOE’s Idaho Site

The U.S. Department of Energy has issued a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) on the Final Environmental Assessment for the Remote-handled Waste Disposition Project.

The environmental assessment analyzed potential environmental impacts of processing for disposition approximately 322 cubic meters of remote-handled waste currently stored at the department’s Idaho Site near Idaho Falls, Idaho.

An additional five cubic meters of waste stored at the Hanford Site near Richland, Washington was also evaluated, since it is possible that waste may come to Idaho for treatment.

Under the Department’s preferred alternative, workers will use sealed rooms called hot cells at the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center (INTEC) to process the waste, treat it as necessary and repackage it so that it is ready for disposal. The document includes a description of modifications necessary to the hot cells to perform the work.

This environmental assessment was performed according to requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act, which called for an analysis of the environmental impacts of alternatives for accomplishing the work.

The FONSI and environmental assessment can be viewed by clicking on "Public Involvement Opportunities" in the left-hand column of this home page, then clicking on the document titled "Finding of No Significant Impact for the Final Environmental Assessment for the Remote-handled Waste Disposition Project (WDP-RWMC-09-008.)" Paper copies are available by contacting Chuck Ljungberg, 1955 Fremont Ave., mailstop 1216, Idaho Falls, Idaho, 83415 or by e-mail to LJUNGBC@ID.DOE.GOV.

-DOE-ID-09-005-

Editorial Date February 24, 2009
By Tim Jackson