A Fluor Idaho sign is seen near Arco in October, 2020.

A Fluor Idaho sign is seen near Arco in October, 2020.

The U.S. Department of Energy and Fluor Idaho have submitted a Class 3 Permit Modification Request to the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality for modifications made to the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit component of the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center Liquid Waste Management System Partial Permit.

The public can offer comments or submit questions to the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality until Aug. 2.

A Class 3 permit modification request covers major changes that “substantially alter the facility or its operations,” according to an EPA Permit Modifications for Hazardous Waste Management Facilities handbook.

Fluor has made several modifications to remedy problems found during testing at IWTU.

A summary of the modifications are:

Brian English, hazardous waste permits supervisor with the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality says the department is comfortable with the changes that Fluor has made. “We worked with them [Fluor] throughout. They’ve done a lot of testing and these changes are the result of the testing they’ve done,” English said.

IWTU was created to process sodium-bearing waste, converting the 900,000 gallons of liquid waste into a hard, sand like material of sodium carbonate that will be stored in roughly 16 barrels.

“Sodium-bearing waste contains radioactive impurities removed from the solvent which is used to recover the uranium from the dissolved spent nuclear fuel,” according to a Leadership in Nuclear Energy Commission report.

It is still unclear where the processed waste will be stored.

The entire permit modification request can be found at:

https://inldigitallibrary.inl.gov/PRR/IWTU%20Class%203%20PMR_June%202021.pdf#search=Class%203%20permit%20modification

Comments should be submitted before Aug. 2 on the DEQ site: https://www.deq.idaho.gov/public-information/public-comment-opportunities/ or mailed to: 1410 N. Hilton, Boise, Idaho, 83706

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