Albuquerque, NM, December 2019 – Los Alamos Technical Associates, Inc. (LATA) recently completed the removal of historic sediments and refurbished the Backwash Basin at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Fernald Site. The scope included preparation of waste characterization, transportation and waste disposal plans, removal of radionuclide-containing sediments in the 1,000,000-gallon basin, solidifying sediments with an admixture and transporting the solidified wastes 1,200 miles to a licensed radiological waste facility.
This project expanded upon other Deactivation & Demolition (D&D) and groundwater treatment, construction and commissioning work that LATA has performed as a subcontractor at the Fernald Site over the past three (3) years.
For this project, the LATA Design Team created an approach of dewatering with Geobags rather than a classic sand filters approach. The LATA solution accelerated the process and schedule, and more significantly, reduced the final waste volumes. Additionally, to meet the challenge of DOT transportation specifications for no residual liquids, LATA established an on-site laboratory to effectively meter the admixtures to ensure no liquids while minimizing the waste disposal volume. This design feature contributes directly to DOE’s goals to manage assets in a sustainable manner while supporting the overall DOE mission.
This project continues the LATA legacy of technical innovation across the nation in support of cost-efficient management and achieving results to directly contribute to the goals and objectives of the DOE Environmental Cleanup and Legacy Management Programs. The LATA work throughout the DOE complex includes D&D, environmental compliance & remediation and waste management among other services.