Workers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Environmental Management Paducah site have successfully demonstrated the safe use of new equipment to compact components, as part of the upcoming deactivation work for a large uranium-enrichment process building.
The equipment, located at the Kentucky site's newly constructed bundle compaction area, has almost 160 tons of crushing force and is capable of compacting components roughly the size of a 15-passenger van, according to an April 25 news release.
“Integration between the various organizations within our team was critical to our success," FRNP Program Manager Myrna Redfield said in the release. "This included valuable input provided by our United Steelworkers team members for the installation and safe operation of the equipment.”
The Four Rivers Nuclear Partnership led the efforts during a recent readiness review of the new equipment and its processes, ensuring safe and compliant operations, the release reported.
The C-333 Process Building has almost 500 large components, according to the release. Workers will use the material sizing area in the building to segment the converters and remove the contents before taking them to the compaction facility. These bundles will be compacted for easier onsite storage and potential recycling.
"The workforce has really embraced this project," FRNP Project Manager Michele Murphy said in the release. "It's been a great experience getting us this far."
The Paducah site has four process buildings which had previously been used to enrich uranium, according to the release. The Portsmouth site in Ohio has about a decade of experience with similar cleanup efforts which has resulted in experience the workers are sharing with the Paducah site.
“This project is an example of how the One PPPO synergy is sharing knowledge to provide the safest work environment as well as delivering increased efficiency to the project and a better value to the taxpayer,” EM Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office Manager Joel Bradburne said in the release.
