Idaho National Laboratory Cultural Resource Management Plan

The Loss of Fluid Test (LOFT) program was
first conceptualized in 1962, shortly after the
demise of the ANP, but underwent an extensive
series of modifications before actual testing began
at TAN in 1976. LOFT consisted of a series of
simulated loss-of-coolant accidents. In 1978, the
first nuclear tests began at the LOFT containment
facility. The LOFT reactor was the only nuclear
reactor in the world capable of repeatedly
simulating loss-of-coolant incidents similar to
those that might occur in commercial power
reactors. In 1979, the LOFT scientists and reactor
played a vital role in predicting activity within the
Three Mile Island (TMI) reactor core as scientists
struggled to manage and control the TMI reactor
core meltdown. Successful testing continued at
LOFT until 1982, when an international
consortium took over operations and continued
testing until 1986, when the program officially
ended. The Water Reactor Research Test Facility
(WRRTF), originally constructed to house reactor
shielding tests associated with the ANP program,
was reused during the LOFT program to conduct
nonnuclear simulations of thermal-hydraulic
features of commercial nuclear reactors. After a
long history of significant contributions to nuclear
science and engineering, many structures
associated with LOFT and other, less significant
programs now lack missions and have been
vacated and demolished (INEL 1969; Stacy 1994)
(see Figure 22).
Figure 22. Demolition of the WRRTF stack.
Idaho Nuclear Technology and
Engineering Center. In 1953, INL’s most
important reactor support facility, the INL area
now known as INTEC (formerly the Idaho
Chemical Processing Plant [ICPP] 3 ), began the
process of recovering and reprocessing unburned,
enriched uranium from “spent” reactor fuel
elements. INTEC was initially designed and built
as a five-year demonstration facility, but the Cold
War nuclear arms race led to an increased demand
for nuclear fuel, and INTEC soon became a
full-scale production facility (see Figure 23).
Figure 23. Aerial view of INTEC.
Spent reactor fuel elements were transported
to INTEC to extract enriched uranium, which was
then shipped to another national laboratory at
Savannah River, South Carolina, for use as fuel in
reactors producing plutonium and tritium for
nuclear weapons.
In addition to its groundbreaking work in fuel
reprocessing technology, INTEC became a leader
in the development of new technologies to manage
nuclear wastes.
The Waste Calcining Facility (WCF),
developed at INTEC in the mid-1950s,
transformed highly acidic radioactively
contaminated liquid wastes into granular pellets
that are much safer and easier to store until
radioactive components in the waste are rendered
safe through natural decay. INTEC calcining
operations continued after WCF closure with its
successor, the New Waste Calcining Facility
(NWCF). Although fuel reprocessing at INTEC
ended in 1992 and the final waste calcining
campaign occurred in June 2000, their
contributions to the history of nuclear science have
been significant. (INEL 1969; Pace and Braun
2000; Stacy 1997).
3. Unless otherwise specified for historical purposes, the
INL area originally known as ICPP is primarily referred
to in this section by its current designation of INTEC.
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