“Teams at the facility have processed 98% of Oak Ridge’s inventory of contact-handled and remote-handled transuranic debris waste. They have also shipped 94% of the contact-handled waste and 78% of the remote-handled waste for disposal,” said ORNL in a press release.
Waste related to 1970s’ nuclear experiments
The complex operation, managed by the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM) and contractor UCOR, centered on waste dating back to nuclear physics experiments in the 1970s.
“Completing this task is a significant risk reduction accomplishment,” emphasized OREM Project Manager Mike Vestal.
“This effort, and others like it, are enhancing safety at the site by steadily removing inventories of legacy waste.”