Home · Markets · Nuclear · Profiling Innovation
Technology
CH2M HILL has developed and implemented innovative, industry-leading technologies to decommission, decontaminate, and demolish nuclear facilities.
Idaho Closure Project (ICP)
Treatment of Sodium-bearing Waste
Treating sodium-bearing waste and closing the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center (INTEC) Tank Farm will eliminate the ICP's most visible risk to the Snake River Plain Aquifer. An Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU) will use innovative stream reformer technology, provided by THOR Treatment Technologies, to treat sodium-bearing waste as either transuranic waste or high-level waste. Treatment of this waste with steam reforming technology expedites stabilization and delivers a waste form suitable for disposition as either transuranic waste or high-level waste.
The process will treat the waste and produce a sodium carbonate waste form, which retains the radionuclides, heavy metals and acid gases in a high-density solid waste form. Treated sodium-bearing waste will be packaged in remote-handled-72B canisters through the product load-out and packaging module. Filled canisters will be loaded into low-cost modular storage units and staged for shipment to WIPP.
Rocky Flats Closure Project
InstaCote
On the Rocky Flats Closure Project, we reduced the amount of hazardous size-reduction work by using InstaCoteT, a polyurea coating to cover large radiological / beryllium contaminated equipment. This "Spray-on Container" forms a strong penetration-resistant coating that meets or exceeds DOT regulations for shipment and waste acceptance criteria at the final disposal site. This innovative solution eliminated thousands of hours of hazardous hands-on labor, limiting worker exposure.
Hanford High Level Waste Tank Farms
Remote Water Lance (Salt Mantis)
At Hanford, CH2MHILL has developed and deployed a number of innovations to further the mission of the Office of River Protection. Many focus on demonstrating and deploying remote technologies to retrieve High Level Wastes from older Single Shell Tanks to reduce environmental risk. The Remote Water Lance (commonly referred to as the Salt Mantis) is a 35,000 psi water lance that successfully navigated the bottom of the tank and broke-up pockets of hard salt heel wastes that previous technologies left behind.
This technology is a successful transfer from our Rocky Flats operations, reducing field deployment by 75%. A second generation of the device has been cold tested and is being prepared for in-tank deployment. This improvement will allow the device to both break up the waste and use the high pressure water to vacuum up troublesome heels, remove them from the tank, and allow final closure of the tank.
Miamisburg Closure Project (Mound)
Adjustable Height Fogger
The SW/R Complex, a Category 2 nuclear facility, was located on top of a hill within city limits, with the nearest receptor at the fence line only 185 feet away. Excessive emissions from demolition could have stopped work and significantly impacted the site closure schedule. As a result of recommendations, the site requested support to develop an adjustable height fogger to reduce emissions.
This innovative device allowed tremendous flexibility in directing fog onto the demolition from various heights and improved worker safety through remote operation. In addition to greatly minimizing air emissions during demolition, the fogger reduced water runoff from fire hose methods as excessive water in the demolition area could have carried contaminants into surrounding soils, increasing the amount of clean up required.
The adjustable height fogger has been used successfully at several demolition sites.
Connecticut Yankee Atomic Power Company
Decontamination and Decommissioning Project
Groundwater Sampling
Connecticut Yankee Atomic Power Company contracted with CH2M HILL to support their self performance of D&D efforts through management of radionuclide-contaminated soil and bedrock characterization activities.
CH2M HILL's innovative techniques, such as the use of direct push soil sampling coupled with co-located groundwater grab samples to assess contaminant distribution coefficients as well as the use of down-hole gamma spectrographic analysis of bedrock fractures, helped provide comprehensive information to support timely, cost-effective decisions. Dewatering also supported removal of approximately 20,000 cubic yards of soil contaminated with radionuclides and other plant-related constituents.
