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DOE News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 23, 2001

NEWS MEDIA CONTACTS:
John Walsh, (208) 526-0833

DOE Meets Another Commitment Under Idaho Settlement Agreement

The U.S. Department of Energy has met yet another major milestone in its commitment to the state of Idaho. The DOE's Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory recently completed the transfer of Three Mile Island accident spent nuclear fuel and core debris from a storage pool to dry storage -- six weeks ahead of the June 1, 2001 milestone under the Idaho Settlement Agreement.

To date, DOE has met every milestone in the Idaho Settlement Agreement, reached in 1995 among DOE, the state of Idaho and the U.S. Navy. The agreement supports the INEEL in continuing its national security missions of receiving spent nuclear fuel from the nuclear Navy, foreign research reactors and other DOE sites. In return, DOE is dedicated to meeting a series of commitments to treat and dispose of on-site radioactive waste, and to safely store and eventually remove spent nuclear fuel now at the INEEL.

On April 20, INEEL employees inserted the last of 341 canisters holding TMI spent fuel and core debris into a horizontal dry storage module at the Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI) at the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center (INTEC). That action brought to a close a complicated, six-year effort to move all of the TMI core debris from an aging water pool at Test Area North to a new, Nuclear Regulatory Commission-licensed storage facility at INTEC.

"I want to commend our contractor and federal workforce for their extraordinary efforts in meeting this milestone," said Beverly Cook, manager of DOE's Idaho Operations Office. "The TMI program has supported two of DOE's missions -- in energy and environment. In the energy arena, INEEL researchers were able to examine the TMI core debris, gain a better understanding of what happened during the TMI accident, and contribute to the nation's knowledge of how to improve reactor safety. That's important, because this country gets 20 percent of its electricity from nuclear reactors.

"On the environmental front, moving this fuel to dry storage puts it in a safer configuration, saves an estimated $4 million a year in maintenance costs, and puts the fuel one step closer to being ready for shipment to a final repository once one becomes available," said Cook.

U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson said of the accomplishment, "The employees of the INEEL deserve a tremendous amount of credit for safely finishing this job ahead of schedule and meeting an important milestone under the Settlement Agreement. This type of commitment is what we in Congress are looking for."

Bernie Meyers, president of Bechtel BWXT Idaho, the main contractor at the INEEL, also added his congratulations to the INEEL workforce. "The importance of meeting this milestone cannot be overstated," said Meyers.  "Our workforce proved they fully understood this.  The INEEL continues to demonstrate its commitment to the state of Idaho to effectively and safely carry out its environmental responsibilities."

The TMI core debris and spent nuclear fuel were shipped to the INEEL during a rail campaign that ran from July 20, 1986 to April 19, 1990. The core debris and spent nuclear fuel were removed from the damaged reactor during a four-year cleanup campaign after the March, 1979 accident at the commercial reactor site in Pennsylvania.

--INEEL--

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