West Valley Demonstration Project
42°27′2″N 78°39′17″W / 42.45056°N 78.65472°W The West Valley Demonstration Project is a nuclear waste remediation site near the hamlet of West Valley in the U.S. state of New York. The project focuses on the cleanup and containment of radioactive waste left behind after the abandonment of a commercial nuclear fuel reprocessing plant in 1980.[1] The project was created by an Act of Congress in 1980 and is directed to be a cooperative effort between the United States Department of Energy and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.[2]
History
The State of New York acquired 3,345 acres (13.54 km2) of land in the Town of Ashford, near West Valley, in 1961 with the intention of developing an atomic industrial area. This property would eventually host a commercial spent nuclear fuel reprocessing plant that was operated by Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc. from 1966 to 1972. Nuclear Fuel Services continued to accept radioactive waste for disposal at the site until 1975. During this time period, the processing of 640 metric tons (630 long tons) of spent reactor fuel resulted in the accumulation of 660,000 US gallons (2,500,000 L) of high-level radioactive waste in an underground storage tank.[1][3]
Escalating regulation required plant modifications which were deemed uneconomic by Nuclear Fuel Services, who ceased operations at the facility in 1976. After Nuclear Fuel Services' lease expired in 1980, the site and its accumulated waste became the responsibility of New York State.[1] The former plant remains the only privately-owned nuclear fuel reprocessing center to have ever operated in the United States.[3]
The West Valley Demonstration Project Act (Public Law 96-368) was passed by the United States Congress in 1980, and directed the United States Department of Energy to lead the task of solidifying and removing the accumulated nuclear waste present on the site, in addition to decontaminating and decommissioning the facility and surrounding property.[4]
See also
References
- ^ a b c U.S. Department of Energy. "West Valley Demonstration Project Nuclear Timeline". Wv.doe.gov. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
- ^ NYS Energy Research and Development Authority (November 20, 2014). "West Valley Demonstration Project - NYSERDA". Nyserda.ny.gov. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
- ^ a b Thier, Audrey (April 2008). "Report from the Commissioner's Policy Office: West Valley, History and Future" (PDF). Dec.ny.gov. NYS Department of Environmental Conservation. Retrieved March 21, 2015.
- ^ West Valley Demonstration Project Act (PDF) (96-368). October 1, 1980. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
External links
- U.S. Department of Energy's West Valley Demonstration Project website
- Plutonium Recovery from Spent Fuel Reprocessing by Nuclear Fuel Services at West Valley, New York from 1966 to 1972
- 2010 Final Environmental Impact Statement[dead link] for Decommissioning and/or Long-Term Stewardship at the West Valley Demonstration Project and Western New York Nuclear Service Center
- Entry from the Center for Land Use Interpretation's exhibit "Perpetual Architecture: Uranium Disposal Cells of America"
- WVDP Brochure[dead link]
- Citizen's Group summary
- The Coalition on West Valley Wastes