Worker at DOE site injured
By POST REGISTER
A stop-work order has been declared for some work at the Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project facility after a cleanup employee was injured Tuesday evening.
A worker for Fluor Idaho, the contractor in charge of waste cleanup at the U.S. Department of Energy’s site in Eastern Idaho, was performing cleanup activities in a “glovebox,” or a sealed container designed to let a person manipulate radioactive material, and was reaching across the glovebox tray when “the worker felt a prick in the forearm,” the Department of Energy said in a news release Thursday.
The employee immediately stopped working and found a puncture wound that had penetrated their protective equipment. Medical attention was provided.
“Because the incident occurred in a radiological area, applicable protocols were initiated, including radiological monitoring,” DOE said in the release. “The employee was released back to work and will continue to be monitored.”
Fluor is investigating the incident. While Fluor investigates and evaluates its protective equipment and work methods, a stop-work order has been declared on radiological work in gloveboxes and in other radiologically contaminated locations that involve the use of sharp tools or the potential to come into contact with sharp objects or material, DOE said.
The AMWTP facility is located in the desert west of Idaho Falls and is currently compacting barrels of decades-old waste before they are transported out-of-state.
Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project
Since 2003, the Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project (AMWTP) has used both conventional and unique retrieval concepts, high-tech characterization equipment – including real-time radiography and radioassay – robotics, and automated treatment processes to retrieve, treat, and ship above-ground CH-TRU and low-level wastes from an inventory of 65,000 cubic meters.
The signature piece of equipment at AMWTP is the Supercompactor, a giant hydraulic ram capable of exerting 4 million pounds of force that can reduce a 35-inch-tall, 55-gallon barrel to a five-inch puck. By compacting waste, DOE is capable of putting more waste in the limited storage space of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. Compaction also reduces the number of trips required to transport waste to WIPP.
Having undergone millions of dollars of upgrades recently, AWMTP is prepared for a long-term mission. In a 2008 Record of Decision, DOE directed 8,700 cubic meters of waste from other sites to be treated at AMWTP. DOE is also nearing completion of a study that defines potential opportunities for AMWTP, most notable treating waste from Hanford, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and small-quantity generator sites.