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101-510: From the early 1950s to the mid-1990s, NRF supported the U.S. Navy's nuclear-powered fleet by testing reactor designs, receiving spent nuclear fuel for processing and storage, and training nearly 40,000 Navy personnel to operate surface and submarine nuclear power plants. The only remaining active facility at NRF is the Expended Core Facility / Dry Storage Facility, which provides for storage of spent fuel from U.S. Naval reactors. NRF

202-412: A half life greater than 20 years. This criterion includes plutonium , uranium , americium , and neptunium among others. The WIPP must not act as a disposal site for any high-level radioactive waste or any nuclear fuel that has already been used. Mixed waste contains both radioactive and hazardous constituents, and WIPP first received mixed waste on September 9, 2000. Mixed waste is joint-regulated by

303-784: A "fuel assembly") eventually wear out over time due to high heat and irradiation inside a reactor. The group states three main objectives: "The mission of the MMG is to support the INL goal to advance the U.S. nuclear energy endeavor by: The work done by the group directly supports programs such as the Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program 's research into advanced nuclear fuels . INL's National and Homeland Security division focuses on two main areas: protecting critical infrastructures such as electricity transmission lines, utilities and wireless communications networks, and preventing

404-469: A highly defective control system design. On February 15, 2014, authorities ordered workers to shelter in place at the facility after air monitors had detected unusually high radiation levels at 11:30 p.m. the previous day. None of the facility's 139 workers were underground at the time of the incident. Later, trace amounts of airborne radiation consisting of americium and plutonium particles were discovered above ground, 0.5 mi (0.80 km) from

505-675: A large neutrinoless double beta decay experiment LEGEND after the MAJORANA Demonstrator phase. Some smaller neutrino and dark matter experiments that have been mostly technology development oriented have also taken place at WIPP. There have also been a number of biology experiments in WIPP; for example, these experiments have studied the biological conditions of the deep under ground salt deposit. In one experiment, researchers were able to cultivate bacteria from 250 million year old spores found in WIPP. The Low Background Radiation Experiment studies

606-412: A major reason why the area was chosen as a host medium for the WIPP project. Because drilling or excavation in the area will be hazardous long after the area is actively used, there are plans to construct markers to deter inadvertent human intrusion for the next ten thousand years. The Salado Formation is a massive bedded salt deposit (>99% NaCl) that has a simple hydrogeology . Because massive NaCl

707-514: A nearly impermeable 3,300-foot-thick (1,000 m) layer of evaporites , primarily salt, in the Salado and Castile Formations, geologically similar to other basins created by evaporitic inland seas . Over time, the salt beds were covered by an additional 980 ft (300 m) of soil and rock. As drilling in the Salado Formation salt beds began in 1975, scientists discovered that at the edge of

808-554: A nuclear reactor could provide electricity when certain renewable resources are not available, while also providing a carbon-free source of heat and hydrogen that could be used, for example, to make liquid transportation fuels from coal. In mid-2014 , construction of a new liquid waste processing facility, the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU), was nearing completion at INTEC on the INL site. It will process approximately 900,000 gallons of liquid nuclear waste using

909-462: A report on April 15, 2014 that one or more of 258 contact-handled radioactive waste containers located in room 7, panel 7 of the underground repository released radioactive and toxic chemicals. The location of the leak was estimated to be approximately 1,500 feet (460 m) from the air monitor that triggered the contaminants in the filtration system. The contaminants were spread through more than 3,000 feet (910 m) of tunnels, leading to

1010-845: A safer, low-enriched uranium fuel. To protect against threats from the dispersal of nuclear and radiological devices, INL researchers also examine radiological materials to understand their origin and potential uses. Others have applied their knowledge to the development of detection technologies that scan and monitor containers for nuclear materials. The laboratory's expansive desert location, nuclear facilities and wide range of source materials provide an ideal training location for military responders, law enforcement and other civilian first responders. INL routinely supports these organizations by leading classroom training, conducting field exercises and assisting in technology assessments. INL's Advanced Vehicle Testing Activity gathers information from more than 4000 plug-in-hybrid vehicles. These vehicles, operated by

1111-403: A salt haul truck caught fire, prompting an evacuation of the underground facility. Six workers were taken to a local hospital with smoke inhalation and were released by the next day. Lab tests after the fire confirmed that there was zero release of radiological material during, or as a result of, the fire. Underground air-monitoring equipment was out of commission after the truck fire. In 2020,

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1212-524: A steam reforming process to produce a granular product suitable for disposal. The facility is the first of its kind and based on a scaled prototype. The project is a part of the Department of Energy's Idaho Cleanup Project aimed at removing waste and demolishing old nuclear facilities at the INL site. In May 2022, CNBC reported the Safety and Tritium Applied Research (STAR) program has been set up to looking into

1313-411: A subcontractor at the WIPP opened a $ 32 million lawsuit claiming that "the company that runs the facility breached its contract to rebuild the nuclear waste repository's air system." Due to the 2014 incident, a Texas-based company named Critical Application Alliance LLC was hired to build a new ventilation system. The project was going to fix the flawed design in roof panels, the foundation of the WIPP, and

1414-569: A visual inspection that is documented to insure that all containers are in good condition. "Good condition" is described as "not having significant rusting, is of sound and structural integrity, and does not show signs of leakage." Waste is placed in rooms 2,150 feet (660 m) underground that have been excavated within a 3,000-foot (910 m) thick salt formation ( Salado and Castile Formations ) where salt tectonics have been stable for more than 250 million years. Because of plasticity effects , salt and water will flow to any cracks that develop,

1515-422: A warning system. For the case of the WIPP, the markers, called "passive institutional controls", will include an outer perimeter of thirty-two 25-foot-tall (7.6 m) granite pillars built in a four-mile (6 km) square. These pillars will surround an earthen wall, 33 feet (10 m) tall and 100 feet (30 m) wide. Enclosed within this wall will be another 16 granite pillars. At the center, directly above

1616-690: A wide swath of companies, local and state governments, advocacy groups, and others are located all across the United States, Canada and Finland . Together, they have logged a combined 1.5 million miles worth of data that are analyzed by specialists at INL. Dozens of other types of vehicles, like hydrogen-fueled and pure electric cars, are also tested at INL. This data will help evaluate the performance and other factors that will be critical to widespread adoption of plug-in or other alternative vehicles. INL researchers are partnering with farmers, agricultural equipment manufacturers and universities to optimize

1717-642: Is a research reactor located approximately 50 miles (80 km) from Idaho Falls, Idaho. The Department of Energy named Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) a National Scientific User Facility in April 2007. This designation opened the facility to use by university-led scientific research groups and gives them free access to the ATR and other resources at INL and partner facilities. In addition to a rolling proposal solicitation with two closing dates each year, INL holds an annual "Users Week" and summer session to familiarize researchers with

1818-465: Is considered by some to be instability is considered by others to be a positive aspect of salt as a host rock. As early as 1957, the National Academy of Sciences recommended salt for radioactive waste disposal because at depth it would plastically deform, a motion called "salt creep" in the salt-mining industry. This would gradually fill in and seal any openings created by the mining, and in and around

1919-578: Is continuing their activities. The planned end of the EXO operations in WIPP was December 2018, and the collaboration was planning to have the next-stage detector built in SNOLAB . This means that the two biggest experimental infrastructures (EXO and DMTPC) of WIPP intend to relocate to SNOLAB and cease their operations in WIPP before the end of 2019. This would leave the WIPP underground laboratory without any major scientific experiment. Previous experiments at WIPP include

2020-476: Is currently owned by Framatome. The Fuel Cycle Research & Development program aims to help expand nuclear energy's benefits by addressing some of the issues inherent to the current life cycle of nuclear reactor fuel in the United States. These efforts strive to make nuclear energy's expansion safe, secure, economic and sustainable. Currently, the United States, like many other countries, employs an "open-ended" nuclear fuel cycle, whereby nuclear power plant fuel

2121-504: Is listed by Vault, the online job resource site, as one of the best places in the U.S. to get an internship Internships are offered to high school, undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate students in applicable fields including science, engineering, math, chemistry, business, communication and other fields. In addition to subcontracting more than $ 100 million worth of work from Idaho's small businesses, INL technologies are often licensed to new or existing companies for commercialization. In

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2222-412: Is located approximately 25 mi (40 km) east of Carlsbad. Waste is placed in rooms 2,150 feet (660 m) underground that have been excavated within a 3,000-foot (910 m) thick salt formation ( Salado and Castile Formations ) where salt tectonics have been stable for more than 250 million years. Because of plasticity effects , salt will flow to any cracks that develop, a major reason why

2323-447: Is much smaller than the more common electricity-producing reactors—the reactor vessel measures 12 feet (3.7 m) across and 36 feet (11 m) high, with the core a mere 4 feet (1.2 m) tall and 50 inches (130 cm) across, and it does not generate electricity. As a special feature, it allows scientists to simultaneously test materials in multiple unique experimental environments. Research scientists can place experiments in one of

2424-604: Is on the INL's southern border, and the Craters of the Moon National Monument is to the southwest. One part of this program to develop improved nuclear power plants is the " Next Generation Nuclear Plant " or NGNP, which would be the demonstration of a new way to use nuclear energy for more than electricity. The heat generated from nuclear fission in the plant could provide process heat for hydrogen production and other industrial purposes, while also generating electricity. And

2525-637: Is part of the Idaho National Laboratory . 43°38′56″N 112°54′58″W  /  43.64889°N 112.91611°W  / 43.64889; -112.91611 Idaho National Laboratory Idaho National Laboratory ( INL ) is one of the national laboratories of the United States Department of Energy and is managed by the Battelle Energy Alliance . Historically, the lab has been involved with nuclear research, although

2626-549: Is significantly less than forecasted. On April 10, the plant received its first shipment of waste since reopening. The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant is where the highest temperature ever recorded in New Mexico at 122 °F (50 °C) occurred during the summer of 1994. Following the interment of waste in the facility, estimated to be sometime between 2025 and 2035 the storage caverns will be collapsed and sealed with 13 layers of concrete and soil. Salt will then seep into and fill

2727-540: Is somewhat plastic, so holes close under pressure, the rock becomes non-porous by effectively closing pores and fractures. This has a significant effect on the overall hydraulic conductivities (water permeabilities) and molecular diffusion coefficients. These are on the order of ≤10  m/s and ≤10  m /s respectively. Since 1983, the DOE has been working with linguists, archaeologists, anthropologists, materials scientists, science fiction writers, and futurists to come up with

2828-570: Is the world's third deep geological repository (after Germany's Repository for radioactive waste Morsleben and the Schacht Asse II salt mine) licensed to store transuranic radioactive waste for 10,000 years. The storage rooms at the WIPP are 2,150 feet (660 m) underground in a salt formation of the Delaware Basin. The waste is from the research and production of United States nuclear weapons only. The plant started operation in 1999, and

2929-665: Is unknown whether the Dark Matter Time Projection Chamber collaboration recovered their operations in WIPP after the February 2014 events. Currently (2018) the WIPP houses the Enriched Xenon Observatory (EXO) searching for neutrinoless double beta decay . The dark matter experiment collaboration that operated in WIPP before 2014, Dark Matter Time Projection Chamber (DMTPC), is continuing their work and aims to deploy their next detector at SNOLAB . After

3030-473: Is used only once and then placed in a repository for indefinite storage. One of the primary FCRD goals is to research, develop and demonstrate ways to "close" the fuel cycle so fuel is reused or recycled rather than being shelved before all of its energy has been used. INL coordinates many of the FCRD's national research efforts, including: The Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program supports national efforts to do

3131-597: The Permian Period approximately 250 million years ago. It is one of three sub-basins of the Permian Basin in West Texas and Southeastern New Mexico. It contains a 4,900–9,200 ft (1,500–2,800 m) thick column of sedimentary rock that includes some of the most oil- and gas-rich rocks in the United States. An ancient shallow sea repeatedly filled the basin and evaporated while the basin slowly subsided, leaving behind

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3232-632: The United States Atomic Energy Commission , later merged into the Department of Energy (DOE), proposed a site in Lyons , Kansas for the isolation and storage of radioactive waste. Ultimately the Lyons site was deemed unusable due to local and regional opposition, and in particular the discovery of unmapped oil and gas wells located in the area. These wells were believed to potentially compromise

3333-651: The 2,150-foot (660 m) exhaust shaft into the surrounding above-ground environment. Air-monitoring station #107, located 0.5 miles (0.8 km) away, detected the radiotoxins. The filter from station #107 was analyzed by the Carlsbad Environmental Monitoring and Research Center (CEMRC) and found to contain 0.64  becquerels (Bq) per cubic meter of air of americium-241 and 0.014 Bq of plutonium-239 and plutonium-240 per cubic meter of air (equivalent to 0.64 and 0.014 radioactive decay events per second per cubic meter of air). The DOE agreed that there

3434-455: The 2014 events at the WIPP, the DMTPC experiments were put on hold, but are expected to resume after the building is finished and waste is done being placed in the facility. The detector that the DMTPC collaboration had at WIPP was the 10-L DMTPC prototype detector (with active volume of 10 litres, hence the name 10-L or 10L) which started operations at WIPP October 2010. Also the EXO collaboration

3535-564: The Department of Energy (DOE) to disregard other proposed sites and study Yucca Mountain exclusively. However, federal funding for the site was terminated in 2011 by amendment to the Department of Defense and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act , passed on April 14, 2011. Waste that is to be disposed of at WIPP must meet certain "waste acceptance criteria". It accepts transuranic waste generated from DOE activities. The waste must have radioactivity exceeding 100 nanocuries (3.7  kBq ) per gram from TRUs that produce alpha radiation with

3636-524: The EPA and the New Mexico Environment Department . The containers may also contain a limited amount of liquids. The energy released from radioactive materials will dissociate water into hydrogen and oxygen ( radiolysis ). This could then create a potentially explosive environment inside the container. The containers must be vented, as well, to prevent this from happening. All containers must pass

3737-483: The INL mission to "ensure the nation's energy security with safe, competitive, and sustainable energy systems and unique national and homeland security ." Through its grand challenge in resilient control systems, ICIS research is providing a holistic approach to aspects of design that have often been bolt-on, including human systems, security and modeling of complex interdependency. INL supports science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education in classrooms across

3838-631: The Idaho Environmental Coalition, LLC. Research activities were consolidated in the newly named Idaho National Laboratory. According to AP news reports in April 2018, a single barrel of "radioactive sludge" ruptured while being prepared for transport to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in Southeast New Mexico for permanent storage. The 55-gallon barrel that ruptured is part of the badly-documented radioactive waste from

3939-515: The International Isotopes, Incorporated facility to be built near Eunice, New Mexico. Various mishaps at the plant in 2014 brought focus to the problem of what to do with the growing backlog of waste and whether or not WIPP would be a safe repository. The 2014 incidents involved a waste explosion and airborne release of radiological material that exposed 21 plant workers to small doses of radiation that were within safety limits. In 1970,

4040-653: The NGNP would use a high-temperature gas reactor, which would have redundant safety systems that rely on natural physical processes more than human or mechanical intervention. INL worked with private industry to develop the NGNP between 2005 and 2011. It was commissioned to lead this effort by the United States Department of Energy as a result of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 . Since 2011, the project has languished and funding for it ceased. The design for this reactor

4141-668: The Navy began to focus on post-World War II and Cold War threats, the types of projects worked on in the Idaho desert changed, too. Perhaps the most well-known was the building of the prototype reactor for the world's first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus . In 1949, the federal research facility was established as the National Reactor Testing Station ( NRTS ). In 1975, the United States Atomic Energy Commission (AEC)

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4242-634: The P.C.S.-7 control system to identify its vulnerabilities. According to the Times , that information would later be used by the American and Israeli governments to create the Stuxnet virus. The Times article was later disputed by other journalists, including Forbes blogger Jeffrey Carr, as being both sensational and lacking verifiable facts. In March 2011, Vanity Fair 's magazine cover story on Stuxnet carried INL's official response, stating, "Idaho National Laboratory

4343-614: The Rocky Flats Plant near Denver. In the Snake River Plain , most of INL is high desert with scrub vegetation and a number of facilities scattered throughout the area; the average elevation of the complex is 5,000 feet (1,520 m) above sea level. INL is accessible by U.S. Route 20 and U.S. Route 26 , but most of the area (except Experimental Breeder Reactor I ) is restricted to authorized personnel and requires appropriate security clearance . The tiny town of Atomic City

4444-458: The WIPP, verified statements, facts, and studies conducted and released by the DOE regarding the facility. The stewardship this group provided effectively lowered public fear and let the facility progress with little public opposition in comparison to similar facilities around the nation such as Yucca Mountain in Nevada. The EEG, in addition to acting as a check for the government agencies overseeing

4545-432: The WIPP. Despite apparent progress on the facility, construction still remained costly and complicated. Originally conceptualized in the 1970s as a warehouse for waste, the repository now had regulations similar to those of nuclear reactors . As of December 1991, the plant had been under construction for 20 years and was estimated to have cost over one billion dollars (equivalent to $ 1.99 billion in 2023 dollars ). At

4646-540: The WIPP. The U.S. House of Representatives approved the facility on October 6, 1992 and the U.S. Senate passed a bill allowing the opening of the facility on October 8 of the same year. The bill was met with much opposition in the Senate. Senator Richard H. Bryan fought the bill based on safety issues that concerned a similar facility located in Nevada , the state for which he was serving as senator. His efforts almost prevented

4747-504: The ability of the planned facility to contain nuclear waste. In 1973, as a result of these concerns, and because of positive interest from the southern New Mexico community, the DOE relocated the site of the proposed nuclear waste repository, now called the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), to the Delaware Basin salt beds located near Carlsbad , New Mexico . The Delaware Basin is a sedimentary basin formed largely during

4848-489: The ability to examine and test highly radioactive irradiated reactor fuel and other materials. HFEF provides 15 workstations known as hot cells. For windows, each cell has leaded glass panes layered 4 feet (1.2 m) thick and separated by thin layers of oil. Remote manipulators allow users to maneuver items inside the hot cell using robotic arms. Special filtered exhaust systems keep indoor and outdoor air safe. At these stations, scientists and technicians can better determine

4949-576: The area was chosen as a host medium for the WIPP project. As of March 2022, the WIPP has received 40% of the authorized amount of waste set by the Land Withdrawal Act. More rooms and panels are to be added to accommodate more waste. In order to address growing public unrest concerning construction of the WIPP, the New Mexico Environmental Evaluation Group (EEG) was created in 1978. This group, charged with overseeing

5050-513: The basin there had been geological disturbances that had moved interbed layers into a nearly vertical position. In response, the site was moved toward the more stable center of the basin where the Salado Formation salt beds are the thickest and are perfectly horizontal. Some observers suggested, early in the investigations, that the geological complexity of the basin was problematic, causing the hollowed-out caverns to be unstable. However, what

5151-559: The bill from passing. New Mexico senators Pete V. Domenici and Jeff Bingaman effectively reassured Senator Bryan that these issues would be addressed in the 103rd Congress . The final legislation provided safety standards requested by the House of Representatives and an expedited timeline requested by the Senate. The final legislation mandated that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issue revised safety standards for

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5252-543: The departments of Homeland Security , Energy and Defense . INL staff members are frequently asked to provide guidance and leadership to standards organizations, regulatory agencies and national policy committees. In January 2011, it was reported by The New York Times that the INL was allegedly responsible for some of the initial research behind the Stuxnet virus, which allegedly crippled Iran's nuclear centrifuges. The INL, which teamed up with Siemens , conducted research on

5353-546: The east. Atomic City, Idaho is just south. The laboratory employs approximately 5,700 people. What is now Idaho National Laboratory in southeastern Idaho began its life as a U.S. government artillery test range in the 1940s. Shortly after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor , the U.S. military needed a safe location for performing maintenance on the Navy's most powerful turreted guns. The guns were brought in via rail to near Pocatello, Idaho , to be re-sleeved, rifled and tested. As

5454-607: The effects of reduced radiation environment to biological systems. The Low Background Radiation Experiment was stopped along with all other experiments in February 2014, but continued after summer 2016 at WIPP and has been ongoing since. The 2000 testing of actinide transport within the Culebra Dolomite from the surrounding area of Carlsbad, New Mexico, was one of many experiments at this location to address concerns for lab safety. Other geology/geophysics experiments have taken place at WIPP, as have some special experiments relating to

5555-573: The environment. These robots roll, crawl, fly, and go under water, even in swarms that communicate with each other on the go to do their jobs. The Biological Systems department is housed in 15 laboratories with a total of 12,000 square feet (1,100 m ) at the INL Research Center in Idaho Falls. The department engages in a wide variety of biological studies, including studying bacteria and other microbes that live in extreme conditions such as

5656-461: The extremely high temperature pools of Yellowstone National Park. These types of organisms could boost the efficiency of biofuels production. Other studies related to uncommon microbes have potential in areas such as carbon dioxide sequestration and groundwater cleanup. INL is pioneering the research and testing associated with hybrid energy systems that combine multiple energy sources for optimum carbon management and energy production. For example,

5757-405: The facility against the standards set forth by the EPA. Evaluation of the facility continued for four years, resulting in a cumulative total of 25 years of evaluation. In May 1998, the EPA concluded that there was "reasonable expectation" that the facility would contain the vast majority of the waste interred there. The first nuclear waste arrived to the plant on March 26, 1999. This waste shipment

5858-478: The facility for testing; all but three are out of service. On February 1, 2005, Battelle Energy Alliance took over operation of the lab from Bechtel , merged with Argonne National Laboratory -West, and the facility name was changed to "Idaho National Laboratory" (INL). At this time the site's clean-up activities were moved to a separate contract, the Idaho Cleanup Project , which is currently managed by

5959-526: The facility. In total, 22 workers were exposed to radioactive contaminants equaling that of a standard chest x-ray. The Carlsbad Current-Argus wrote: "the radiation leak occurred on the evening of February 14, according to new information made public at a news conference [on February 20]. Joe Franco, manager of the DOE Carlsbad Field Office, said an underground air monitor detected high levels of alpha and beta radiation activity consistent [with]

6060-512: The facility. It also required the EPA to approve testing plans for the facility within ten months. The legislation stated that the security standards mandated in the bill were only applicable to the WIPP in New Mexico and not to other facilities in the United States. This clause caused Senator Bryan to oppose the bill, as he wanted safety standards mandated by the bill to apply to the facility in Nevada as well. In 1994, Congress ordered Sandia National Laboratories to begin an extensive evaluation of

6161-407: The facility’s safety. The brine could leak into the repository and either dissolve radioactivity or entrain particulate matter with radioactive waste to the surface. The contaminated brine would then need to be cleaned and properly disposed of. There is no drinking water near the site, so possible water pollution is not a concern. After deep drilling multiple times, a final site was selected. The site

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6262-705: The fact that there are no long-term disposition plans for transuranic waste, including 5 tons of plutonium that are in-situ at the Savannah River Site, as well as water from the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington State. In an article in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Alvarez wrote that "Wastes containing plutonium blew through the WIPP ventilation system, traveling 2,150 feet to

6363-665: The lab's engineers are developing technology, shaping policy and leading initiatives to secure the nuclear fuel cycle and prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Under the direction of the National Nuclear Security Administration, INL and other national laboratory scientists are leading a global initiative to secure foreign stockpiles of fresh and spent highly enriched uranium and return it to secure storage for processing. Other engineers are working to convert U.S. research reactors and build new reactor fuels that replace highly enriched uranium with

6464-471: The laboratory does other research as well. Much of current knowledge about how nuclear reactors behave and misbehave was discovered at what is now Idaho National Laboratory. John Grossenbacher, former INL director, said, "The history of nuclear energy for peaceful application has principally been written in Idaho". Various organizations have built more than 50 reactors at what is commonly called "the Site", including

6565-593: The logistics of an industrial-scale biofuel economy. Agricultural waste products—such as wheat straw; corncobs, stalks or leaves; or bioenergy crops such as switchgrass or miscanthus—could be used to create cellulosic biofuels. INL researchers are working to determine the most economic and sustainable ways to get biofuel raw materials from fields to biorefineries. INL's robotics program researches, builds, tests and refines robots that, among other things, clean up dangerous wastes, measure radiation, scout drug-smuggling tunnels, aid search-and-rescue operations, and help protect

6666-456: The more than 70 test positions in the reactor. Each can generate unique experimental conditions. Some have called the reactor a "virtual time machine", for its ability to demonstrate the effects of several years of radiation on materials in a fraction of the time. The ATR allows scientists to place a variety of materials in an environment with specified intensities of radiation, temperature, and pressure. Specimens are then removed to examine how

6767-621: The neutrinoless double beta decay searching MAJORANA Project detectors called Segmented Enriched Germanium Assembly ( SEGA ) and Multiple Element Germanium Array ( MEGA ); these were prototype detectors used to develop the measurement apparatus of the collaboration that was deployed in 2004 in WIPP. Since then (2014 onwards), the MAJORANA collaboration has constructed a detector, the MAJORANA Demonstrator, at Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) at Lead, South Dakota . The MAJORANA collaboration remained active (as of 2019) and aimed to construct

6868-489: The newly constructed caverns. Various structural and environmental tests would then be performed on the facility to verify its integrity and to prove its ability to safely contain nuclear waste. Opposition from various external organizations delayed actual testing into the early 1990s. Attempts at testing were resumed in October 1991 with US Secretary of Energy James Watkins announcing that he would begin transportation of waste to

6969-416: The ones that gave the world its first usable amount of electricity from nuclear power and the power plant for the world's first nuclear submarine. Although many are now decommissioned, these facilities are the largest concentration of reactors in the world. It is on a 890-square-mile (2,310 km ) complex in the high desert of eastern Idaho , between Arco to the west and Idaho Falls and Blackfoot to

7070-464: The past 10 years, INL has negotiated roughly 500 technology licenses. And INL technology has spawned more than 40 start-up companies since 1995. Small businesses that contract with the lab can participate in a Department of Energy program designed to enhance their capabilities. INL has worked with a variety of small businesses in this mentoring capacity, including International Management Solutions and Portage Environmental. INL's Advanced Test Reactor

7171-705: The performance of irradiated fuels and materials. Scientists can also characterize materials destined for long-term storage at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico. The New Horizons mission to Pluto , which launched in 2006, is powered by a device fueled at the INL Space and Security Power Systems Facility. The Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (RTG) uses nonfissionable nonweapons-grade plutonium to produce heat and electricity for deep space missions such as this one. Waste Isolation Pilot Plant The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant , or WIPP , in New Mexico , US,

7272-574: The process of being tested. On Thursday, February 27, DOE announced that it sent out "a letter to tell people in two counties what they do know so far. Officials said it is too early to know what that means for the workers' health." Additional testing would be done on employees who were working at the site the day after the leak. Above ground, 182 employees continued to work. A February 27 update included comments on plans to discover what occurred below ground first by using unmanned probes and then people. The Southwest Research and Information Center released

7373-478: The production and safety protocols for working with tritium , the fuel that many startups are working on to commercialize fusion power . The Instrumentation, Control and Intelligent Systems (ICIS) Distinctive Signature supports mission-related research and development in key capability areas: safeguards and control system security, sensor technologies, intelligent automation, human systems integration, and robotics and intelligent systems. These five key areas support

7474-479: The production of nuclear fuel and weapons . Although much less potent than nuclear reactor byproducts, this waste still remains radioactive for approximately 24,000 years. This change in classification led to a decrease in safety parameters for the proposed facility, allowing construction to continue at a faster pace. The first extensive testing of the facility was due to begin in 1988. The proposed testing procedures involved interring samples of low level waste in

7575-504: The program for DOE. CAES is a collaboration between INL and Idaho's three public research universities: Idaho State University, Boise State University and University of Idaho. The Multiphysics Methods Group (MMG) is a program at Idaho National Laboratory (under the United States Department of Energy ) begun in 2004. It uses applications based on the multiphysics and modeling framework MOOSE to simulate complex physical and chemical reactions inside nuclear reactors . The ultimate goal of

7676-406: The program is to use these simulation tools to enable more efficient use of nuclear fuel , resulting in lower electricity costs and less waste products . The MMG focuses on problems within nuclear reactors related to its fuel and how heat is transferred inside the reactor. "Fuel degradation" refers to how uranium pellets and the rods they are encased in (several rods bundled together is what makes

7777-554: The project is estimated to cost $ 19 billion in total. It is located approximately 26 miles (42 km) east of Carlsbad , in eastern Eddy County , in an area known as the southeastern New Mexico nuclear corridor, which also includes the National Enrichment Facility near Eunice, New Mexico , the Waste Control Specialists low-level waste disposal facility just over the state line near Andrews, Texas, and

7878-520: The project valuable money and time by preventing a drastic relocation. In 1979, the U.S. Congress authorized construction of the facility. In addition to formal authorization, Congress redefined the level of waste to be stored in the WIPP from high temperature to transuranic , or low level, waste. Transuranic waste often consists of materials which have come in contact with radioactive substances such as plutonium and uranium . This often includes gloves, tools, rags, and assorted machinery often used in

7979-477: The project, acted as a valuable advisor. In a 1981 drilling, pressurized brine was again discovered. The site was set to be abandoned when the EEG stepped in and suggested a series of tests on the brine and the surrounding area. These tests were conducted and the results showed that the brine deposit was relatively small and was isolated from other deposits. Drilling in the area was deemed safe due to these results. This saved

8080-551: The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. For nearly a decade, INL has been conducting vulnerability assessments and developing technology to increase infrastructure resilience. With a strong emphasis on industry collaboration and partnership, INL is enhancing electric grid reliability, control systems cybersecurity and physical security systems. INL conducts advanced cyber training and oversees simulated competitive exercises for national and international customers. The lab supports cyber security and control systems programs for

8181-447: The quantity of this pre-1970 plutonium waste is 1,300 times more than the amount permitted to "leak" into the environment at WIPP; however, much of this waste is simply buried a few feet underground at DOE sites. The source of contamination was later found to be a barrel that exploded on February 14 because contractors at Los Alamos National Laboratory packed it with organic cat litter instead of clay cat litter. Other barrels with

8282-521: The question of whether or not WIPP would be a safe replacement for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in Nevada, as a destination for all waste generated at U.S. commercial nuclear power plants. The cost of the 2014 accident was initially expected to exceed $ 2 billion and disrupted other programs in various nuclear-industry sites. On January 9, 2017, the plant was formally reopened after three years of cleanup costing $ 500 million, which

8383-447: The region, with additional space for translation into future languages. Pictograms are also being considered, such as stick figure images and the iconic The Scream from Edvard Munch 's painting. Complete details about the plant will not be stored on site; instead, they would be distributed to archives and libraries around the world. The team plans to submit their final plan to the U.S. Government by around 2028 and they will finalize

8484-487: The research and gather the information necessary to demonstrate whether it is safe and prudent to apply for extensions beyond 60 years of operating life. The Program aims to safely and economically extend the service lives of the more than 100 electricity-generating nuclear power plants in the United States. The program brings together technical information, performs important research and organizes data to be used in license-extension applications. INL's Advanced Test Reactor

8585-565: The same problem were then sealed in larger containers. Anthropologist Vincent Ialenti has examined the political, social, and financial triggers to this organic cat litter error in detail, linking it to the accelerated pace of the Department of Energy's and State of New Mexico's 3706 nuclear waste cleanup campaign, which ran from 2011 to 2014. Ialenti's study was published in The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists in July 2018. The 2014 incidents raised

8686-506: The state. Each year, the lab invests nearly $ 500,000 in Idaho teachers and students. Funding goes toward scholarship programs for high school graduates, technical college students and teachers who want to integrate more hands-on science activities into their lessons. INL also provides thousands of dollars worth of classroom grants to teachers seeking to upgrade their science equipment or lab infrastructure. The lab hires more than 300 interns each summer to work alongside laboratory employees. INL

8787-482: The surface, contaminating at least 17 workers, and spreading small amounts of radioactive material into the environment." The URS Corporation, who oversees WIPP, removed and demoted the contracted manager of the repository. Alvarez ponders the notion of "contract handling" of radioactive waste because it deploys conventional processing practices that do not take into consideration the tens of thousands of containers buried before 1970 at several DOE sites. Alvarez states that

8888-514: The time in the reactor affected the materials. The U.S. Navy is the facility's primary user, but the ATR also produces medical isotopes that can help treat cancer patients and industrial isotopes that can be used for radiography to x-ray welds on items such as skyscrapers, bridges and ship holds. Many ATR experiments focus on materials that could make the next generation of nuclear reactors even safer and longer lasting. The Hot Fuel Examination Facility (HFEF) gives INL researchers and other scientists

8989-401: The time, WIPP officials reported over 28 different organizations claimed authority over operations of the facility. In November 1991, a federal judge ruled that Congress must approve WIPP before any waste, even for testing purposes, was sent to the facility. This indefinitely delayed testing until Congress gave its approval. The 102nd United States Congress passed legislation allowing use of

9090-617: The user facility capabilities available to them. DOE's Nuclear Energy University Programs provide funding for university research grants, fellowships, scholarships and infrastructure upgrades. For example, in May 2010, the program awarded $ 38 million for 42 university-led R&D projects at 23 United States universities in 17 states. In FY 2009, the program awarded about $ 44 million to 71 R&D projects and more than $ 6 million in infrastructure grants to 30 U.S. universities and colleges in 23 states. INL's Center for Advanced Energy Studies administers

9191-543: The various fissures and cracks surrounding the casks of waste. After approximately 75 years, the waste will be completely isolated from the environment. The Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository is an unfinished, currently defunct deep geological repository in Nye County, Nevada . In 1987, Congress selected Yucca Mountain to be researched as the potential first permanent repository of nuclear waste, and directed

9292-666: The warning messages by 2033. A portion of the site is used to house underground physics experiments which require shielding from cosmic rays . Although only moderately deep as such laboratories go (1585 meter water equivalent shielding ), the site has several advantages. The salt is easy to excavate, dry (no water to pump out), and salt is much lower in naturally occurring radionuclides than rock. The WIPP plant suffered an accident in February 2014 that forced all scientific activities to cease; for most experiments, it took one to two years to recover, and not all experiments recovered to continue their activities in WIPP. Especially it

9393-471: The waste buried at WIPP." Regarding the elevated levels of plutonium and americium detected outside the nuclear waste repository, Ryan Flynn, New Mexico Environment Secretary stated during a news conference: "Events like this simply should never occur. From the state's perspective, one event is far too many." On February 26, 2014, the DOE announced that 13 WIPP above-ground workers had tested positive for exposure to radioactive material. Other employees were in

9494-524: The waste site, will sit a roofless, 15-foot (4.6 m) granite room providing more information. The team intends to etch warnings and informational messages into the granite slabs and pillars. This information will be recorded in the six official languages of the United Nations (English, Spanish, Russian, French, Chinese , Arabic ) as well as the Native American Navajo language native to

9595-457: The waste. Exact placement of the construction site in the Delaware Basin changed multiple times due to safety concerns. Brine deposits located below the salt deposits in the Delaware Basin posed a potential safety problem. The brine was first discovered when a 1975 drilling released a pressurized deposit of the liquid from below the repository level. Constructing the plant near one of these deposits could, under specific circumstances, compromise

9696-410: Was a release of radioactivity from the repository and confirmed that "The event took place starting at 14 February 2014 at 23:14 and continued to 15 February 2014 14:45." The DOE also confirmed that "A large shift in wind direction can be seen to occur around 8:30 AM on 2/15/14." The EPA reported on the radiological release on their WIPP News page. After analysis by CEMRC, the station A filter

9797-746: Was divided into the Energy Research and Development Administration (ERDA) and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The Idaho site was renamed the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory ( INEL ) in 1974. After two decades as INEL, the name was changed again to the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory ( INEEL ) in 1997. Throughout its lifetime, there have been more than 50 one-of-a-kind nuclear reactors built by various organizations at

9898-445: Was found on February 15, 2014 to be contaminated with 4,335.71 Bq of Am-241 per every 35 cubic feet (1 m ), and 671.61 Bq of plutonium-239 and plutonium-240 per every 35 cubic feet (1 m ). Bob Alvarez, former DOE official, stated that the long-term ramifications of the WIPP issue are grounded in the fact that the DOE has 66,000 m (2,300,000 cu ft) of transuranic waste that has not been disposed of due to

9999-410: Was from Los Alamos National Laboratory , a major nuclear weapons research and development facility located north of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Another shipment followed on April 6 of the same year. These shipments marked the beginning of plant operations. As of December 2010, the plant had received and stored 9,207 shipments (2,703,700 cu ft or 76,561 m ) of waste. The majority of this waste

10100-473: Was not involved in the creation of the Stuxnet worm. In fact, our focus is to protect and defend control systems and critical infrastructures from cyber threats like Stuxnet and we are all well recognized for these efforts. We value the relationships that we have formed within the control systems industry and in no way would risk these partnerships by divulging confidential information." Building on INL's nuclear mission and legacy in reactor design and operations,

10201-404: Was transported to the facility via railroad or truck. The final facility contains a total of 56 storage rooms located approximately 2,130 ft (650 m) underground. Each room is 300 ft (90 m) in length. The plant is estimated to continue accepting waste for 25 to 35 years and is estimated to cost a grand total of 19 billion dollars. On February 5, 2014 at around 11:00 a.m.,

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