Here’s What’s Going On at DOE-Idaho

This continues our monthly summary of activities at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Idaho Operations Office. We’ll look ahead at public involvement opportunities, highlight recent announcements and summarize our activities. As always, if you have questions or suggestions for improving our web site, please contact Brad Bugger, ID Public Affairs Officer, at (208) 526-0833 or buggerbp@id.doe.gov.

Mercury Storage Environmental Study Announced

The Department of Energy’s Idaho Site is one of seven under consideration for the long-term management and storage of elemental mercury. DOE is preparing an Environmental Impact Statement which will look at the potential impacts of managing and storing mercury at the various candidate sites. As part of the development of that EIS, DOE will hold a public scoping meeting in Idaho Falls on Aug. 11 at the Shilo Inn. A public open house will begin at 5:30 p.m., where you can register to give oral comments, obtain information materials, visit exhibits and meet with subject matter experts.

At 6:30 p.m. the formal part of the meeting will begin. DOE will give a presentation on the EIS and briefly address clarifying questions. At 7:30 p.m. oral comments on the scope of the EIS will be heard. All comments will be recorded and written comments may be submitted at the meeting.

The Mercury Storage EIS will evaluate alternatives for long-term storage of mercury from sources in the United States, including the chlor-alkali industry, recycling and waste recovery activities and gold mining. DOE already stores approximately 1,200 metric tons of elemental mercury at its Oak Ridge Reservation in Tennessee.

For more details on the EIS or to submit comments, you can visit the Mercury Storage EIS web site at: http://www.mercurystorageeis.com.

Idaho National Laboratory Citizens Advisory Board to Meet

The Idaho National Laboratory Site Environmental Management Citizens Advisory Board will meet in Idaho Falls on Tuesday, July 14 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Hilton Garden Inn, 700 Lindsay Boulevard. The agenda includes:

• Progress to Cleanup
• Snake River Plain Aquifer Briefing
• Integrated Waste Treatment Unit Status
• Integrated Approach to Dispositioning all Remote Handled Transuranic Waste
• Remedial Design Work Plan for Waste Area Group 7 (buried waste)
• Update on the Waste Area Group 10 Record of Decision.

Time will also be set aside for public comment and questions. If you’re interested in learning how cleanup of DOE’s Idaho Site is progressing, the CAB meetings are excellent sources of information.

DOE Idaho Sends First Offsite Waste to New Mexico

The Department is pleased to announce that it has sent its first shipment of offsite transuranic waste received from DOE’s Nevada Test Site to New Mexico for permanent disposal at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant.

The Nevada waste was characterized and validated at the Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Facility in Idaho, before being sent to WIPP for permanent disposal. Under an agreement with the state of Idaho, DOE can treat offsite waste at AMWTP, but it must be treated within six months of receipt in Idaho, and shipped out for permanent disposal within six months of treatment. The first shipment of Nevada waste was shipped out five months ahead of the deadline.

For more details, see story http://www.id.doe.gov/NEWS/PressReleases/PR090708.htm.

Upcoming Outreach Activities

Each week Danielle Miller of my staff compiles a calendar of upcoming outreach activities. We have started posting the calendar on http://www.id.doe.gov under the Outreach Event Calendar located on the left side of the web page. We invite you to check out the calendar to see if there are DOE or INL events coming up that may interest you.

Idaho Operations Summary

Every two weeks or so, we develop a summary of incidents that occur at DOE’s Idaho Site, along with updates on operational successes among our contractors. We are now posting this summary at http://www.id.doe.gov/NEWS/OperationsSummarys.htm. If you’d like to be added to the distribution list for the summary, you can contact me directly at buggerbp@id.doe.gov.

Editorial Date July 9, 2009
By Brad Bugger