US to give nuclear waste plant in Idaho another try

By KEITH RIDLER
Associated Press

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — U.S. officials say problems plaguing a nuclear waste treatment plant in eastern Idaho appear to be solved, and converting high-level radioactive liquid waste into safer, more easily managed solid material could start early next year. Joel Case of the U.S. Department of Energy said Thursday that a test startup without waste will begin next week at the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit at the Energy Department’s 890-square-mile site that includes the Idaho National Laboratory. The 900,000 gallons of waste comes from processing spent nuclear fuel to recover highly enriched uranium. The waste sits in tanks above a giant aquifer that supplies water to cities and farms.