Idaho National Laboratory Cultural Resource Management Plan

original 1951 process building. This building was expected to take six to seven years before it was ready
to start up in 1996. 301
In accordance with President Ronald Reagan's determination to continue producing nuclear weapons,
the Department of Energy decided to locate a Special Isotope Separation (SIS) process at the ICPP in
1989. The process was to accumulate plutonium for nuclear weapons using lasers to separate isotopes
from a metal vapor. The anticipated project brought a new wave of work to the area, opening up a new
cluster of buildings at the north end of the ICPP. The SIS was never built, but the buildings remain. 302
One of the legacies of the long FAST facility construction periods was a substantial collection of
construction- and contractor-related buildings—offices, craft shops, warehouses, quality assurance labs,
and waste accumulation structures. Temporary trailers and guard houses appeared on the scene, hauled to
a useful (or available) place and parked on skids or bolted to concrete pads. Construction activity has been
somewhat constant at the site, so these buildings have been re-used by the INL manager or subsequent
contractors. In the summer of 1997, a general clearance was underway. Several trailers were sent to the
Arco School District for use at Arco High School.
Retrofitting and Remediation. The fuel processing and waste calcining equipment at the ICPP shut
down in October 1989. Among the many laws, orders, and agreements pertaining to environmental
protection was the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA). RCRA set forth standards
for cleanup of hazardous waste sites and regulated the transport of hazardous wastes to prevent further
contamination of the environment. It was now time for the vast kingdom of underground piping at the
ICPP to be upgraded and retrofitted. The new standards specified that pipes carrying hazardous chemicals
must be surrounded by a secondary containment—a pipe surrounding the pipe that would catch the hazard
should the primary pipe leak or break. Site workers took inventory and began years of work digging up
and relaying pipes all over the plant. 303
The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA,
also known as “Superfund”) provides mechanisms for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to
force agencies such as DOE to clean up sites where accidents or usage have contaminated the soil or
water. The State of Idaho passed a Hazardous Waste Management Act in 1983 which incorporated
procedures and standards for dealing with asbestos and radioactive hazards.
The State of Idaho and the EPA pressed their interests, and DOE itself issued various orders regarding
the clean up of hazardous waste sites. On December 9, 1991, those three parties signed a Federal Facility
Agreement and Consent Order, setting forth mutual goals on a wide range of activities. Since then the
ICPP (and other INL areas) have cleaned up asbestos, petroleum products, heavy metals, radionuclides,
and other wastes. 304
The ICPP operators have undertaken a systematic survey and characterization of their site, identifying
contaminated soils, buildings, and structures. After analyzing alternative approaches to the cleanup of a
site, they undertake decontamination and dismantlement activities. In addition, obsolete or surplused
properties are being eliminated in accordance with DOE orders to reduce annual maintenance expenses at
DOE laboratories.
The Cold War Ends — The ICPP Acquires a New Mission and a New Name. After President
George Bush declared the end of the Cold War in 1990, the Secretary of Energy ordered DOE facilities to
terminate the recovery of uranium from spent fuel. The big new building under construction at the ICPP
301. “40th Anniversary Package,” p. 13.
302. “40th Anniversary Package,” p. 14.
303. Kevin Richert, “Chem Plant closures will be indefinite, officials say,” Post-Register (October 23, 1989).
304. “INEL completes first 5 years of cleanup,” DOE This Month (December 1996), p. 8.
274