Workers
have begun demolition at the Radioactive Materials Handling Facility
complex at the Energy Technology Engineering Center.
Cleanup
activities resumed on July 21 with the demolition of an ancillary guard
station and a storage shed at the Radioactive Materials Handling
Facility (RMHF) complex, a set of 10 buildings constructed in 1959 and
used for the processing, packaging, and shipment of radioactive and
mixed hazardous wastes during site operations that ended in 1988.
Demolition of the complex
is being conducted under a recently signed agreement between the DOE
and the State of California. Removing the RMHF facilities will reduce
potential risk of release of hazardous substances due to wildfires or
erosion from severe storms.
RMHF
demolition and removal of debris is expected to take approximately six
months. Activities are being conducted in adherence to safety practices
recommended to protect workers from exposure to the coronavirus. Debris
from the cleanup is being transported outside the State of California
for disposal at licensed commercial disposal facilities.
“The
Department of Energy is pleased to be making progress again at ETEC,”
said William “Ike” White, Senior Advisor for Environmental Management to
the Under Secretary for Science. “DOE will continue to work with the
state to advance cleanup at the ETEC site.”
ETEC,
located in Area IV of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory, served as a
premier research facility from the 1950s until the end of active
operations. Since the 1980s, more than 200 structures on the site have
been demolished and removed; after completing RMHF demolition, only
eight DOE structures will remain.
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