Idaho waste program adapts to pandemic challenges, advances cleanup mission

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) – An Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Site program has adapted to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and continues to ship waste out of the state in support of the 1995 Idaho Settlement Agreement.

In the last year, Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management cleanup contractor Fluor Idaho’s waste generator services (WGS) program completed 82 off-site shipments of newly generated and stored low-level and mixed low-level radioactive waste, which includes contaminated debris, soils, sludges, salts, and liquids. In all, workers shipped about 530 cubic meters of waste offsite for permanent disposal — an amount equivalent to about 2,545 55-gallon drums.

“This achievement was accomplished by utilizing off-site disposal facilities, on-site treatment, new waste characterization technology, and waste consolidation,” said Bruno Zovi, Fluor Idaho waste disposal and waste generator services manager. “In short, it was great teamwork by several organizations working through numerous issues.”

Zovi said the WGS program instituted several safety protocols during the pandemic, including use of masks, social distancing, reduced on-site staff, and quarantines when program personnel had contact with a person that tested positive for COVID-19.

“After the COVID-19 pandemic hit, we had to rethink how we could conduct business despite the challenges that we as an organization and the country as a whole were facing,” Zovi said. “We hardly missed a beat.”

Zovi said the WGS employees took the challenges in stride and adapted.

“We’ve proven that despite these challenges, we can still safely ship waste offsite and fulfill the promises that were made to the citizens of Idaho,” he said.