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accept low-level radioactive waste for disposal at the site until it was discovered that contaminated water was leaking from the trenches. Nuclear Fuel
Services was unable to obtain regulatory approval to remove and treat the contaminated water, and stopped accepting waste for burial in 1975. In total, approximately 2,400,000 cubic feet (68,000 m) of low-level waste was buried at the site.
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to determine an operational framework for cleanup activities at the site. The agreement specified that the USDOE would take the lead on the project and obtain exclusive control over the site's 175-acre (0.71 km) high-security core area, while NYSERDA would represent New York State's interests in
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to lead the task of solidifying and removing the accumulated nuclear waste present on the site, in addition to decontaminating and decommissioning the facility and surrounding property. The processes used to solidify and contain the site's nuclear waste were intended to demonstrate strategies that
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radioactive waste in an underground storage tank. An additional 15 acres (0.061 km) of the property was licensed by New York State for burial of low-level radioactive waste in 20-foot (6.1 m) deep trenches. After reprocessing operations ceased in 1972, Nuclear Fuel
Services continued to
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Escalating regulation required plant modifications which were deemed uneconomic by
Nuclear Fuel Services, who ceased all operations at the facility in 1976. After Nuclear Fuel Services' lease expired in 1980, the site and its accumulated waste became the responsibility of New York State.
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process, the plant was able to recover 1,926 kilograms (4,246 lb) of plutonium and 620 metric tons (1,370,000 lb) of uranium. Most of the recovered uranium was depleted or slightly enriched; only 0.9 metric tons (2,000 lb) was highly enriched.
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granted the company the necessary permits to reprocess spent fuel at the West Valley site. The first shipments of spent fuel arrived at the site in 1965, and reprocessing began the next year. In 1969, Nuclear Fuel
Services was acquired by
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The former plant remains the only privately owned nuclear fuel reprocessing center to have ever operated in the United States. Two additional private nuclear fuel reprocessing plants were constructed (one by
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the project and manage the remainder of the site's property. It also stipulated that the U.S. Federal
Government would pay for 90% of the project's costs, with New York State paying the remainder.
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345:
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2010 Final
Environmental Impact Statement for Decommissioning and/or Long-Term Stewardship at the West Valley Demonstration Project and Western New York Nuclear Service Center
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213:), but were never permitted to operate. Other reprocessing plants in the United States have been operated by the U.S. Department of Energy rather than private companies.
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Despite over 30 years of cleanup efforts and billions of dollars having been spent at the site, the West Valley
Demonstration Project property was described as "arguably
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383:"Plutonium & Uranium Recovery from Spent Fuel Reprocessing by Nuclear Fuel Services at West Valley, New York from 1966 to 1972"
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WVDP Cooperative
Agreement between the U.S. Department of Energy and the New York State Energy Research and Development Agency
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78:. The project focuses on the cleanup and containment of radioactive waste left behind after the abandonment of a commercial
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fuel at the site from 1966 to 1972. During this time period, the facility processed 1,983.7 kilograms (4,373 lb) of
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87:
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118:, near West Valley, in 1961 with the intention of developing an atomic industrial area. The property was named the
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Permeability of covers over low-level radioactive-waste burial trenches, West Valley, Cattaraugus County, New York
245:) was chosen by the USDOE as the primary contractor for work to be done at the West Valley Demonstration Project.
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Site operations began in
February 1982, after West Valley Nuclear Services Company, Inc. (then a subsidiary of
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The West Valley
Demonstration Project core processing facility, viewed from Rock Springs Road, in August 2016.
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is lowered into the unloading pool at Nuclear Fuel Services' West Valley reprocessing plant circa 1966.
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The reprocessing of fuel also resulted in the accumulation of 660,000 US gallons (2,500 m) of
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On October 1, 1980, the U.S. Department of Energy entered into a cooperative agreement with the
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523:"West Valley Demonstration Project Annual Site Environmental Report for Calendar Year 2013"
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8:
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West Valley Demonstration Project Annual Site Environmental Report for Calendar Year 2013
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The West Valley Demonstration Project Act (Public Law 96-368) was passed by the
412:"Report from the Commissioner's Policy Office: West Valley, History and Future"
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1980 to present: U.S. Department of Energy's West Valley Demonstration Project
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632:
619:
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Oak Ridge Associated Universities Team Dose Reconstruction Project for NIOSH
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The State of New York acquired 3,345 acres (13.54 km) of land in the
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71:
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U.S. Department of Energy's West Valley Demonstration Project website
388:. U.S. Department of Energy Office of Defense Programs. November 1999
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1960s film by Nuclear Fuel Services about their West Valley facility
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Location of the West Valley Demonstration Project in New York State.
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exhibit "Perpetual Architecture: Uranium Disposal Cells of America"
325:. NYS Energy Research and Development Authority. November 20, 2014
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1965 to 1980: Commercial operations by Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc.
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173:
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in 1980 and is directed to be a cooperative effort between the
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U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report
346:"WNY's most toxic site defies U.S. effort, threatens water"
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37:
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Buildings and structures in Cattaraugus County, New York
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New York State Energy Research and Development Authority
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New York State Energy Research and Development Authority
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CH2M HILL; B&W West Valley, LLC (September 2014).
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Site Profile for the West Valley Demonstration Project
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368:
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radioactive waste disposal site that was operated by
296:"West Valley Demonstration Project Nuclear Timeline"
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Radioactive waste repositories in the United States
172:and 625.7 metric tons (1,379,000 lb) of spent
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16:Nuclear waste remediation site outside Buffalo, NY
672:Nuclear fuel infrastructure in the United States
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344:Herbeck, Dan; Pignataro, T.J. (April 23, 2013).
343:
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417:. NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
136:Nuclear Fuel Services was a subsidiary of the
576:1977 Congressional hearing on decommissioning
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323:"West Valley Demonstration Project - NYSERDA"
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82:plant in 1980. The project was created by an
546:: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (
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466:Burns, Jr., Robert E. (August 17, 2007).
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662:Nuclear technology in the United States
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122:and would eventually host a commercial
120:Western New York Nuclear Service Center
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230:could be used at other cleanup sites.
497:West Valley Demonstration Project Act
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593:Center for Land Use Interpretation's
610:The Coalition on West Valley Wastes
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227:United States Department of Energy
156:A 23-ton cask containing a single
88:United States Department of Energy
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243:Westinghouse Electric Corporation
57:West Valley Demonstration Project
682:Radioactively contaminated areas
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207:Allied General Nuclear Services
605:West Valley Citizen Task Force
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101:most toxic location" in 2013.
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410:Thier, Audrey (April 2008).
164:The plant reprocessed spent
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528:. U.S. Department of Energy
298:. U.S. Department of Energy
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132:Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc.
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657:Nuclear reprocessing sites
225:in 1980, and directed the
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502:(96-368). October 1, 1980
436:Prudic, David E. (1980).
80:nuclear fuel reprocessing
211:Barnwell, South Carolina
142:Atomic Energy Commission
126:reprocessing plant and
223:United States Congress
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633:42.45056°N 78.65472°W
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68:West Valley, New York
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270:COGEMA La Hague site
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447:(Report). p. 3
260:Nuclear fuel cycle
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140:in 1963, when the
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124:spent nuclear fuel
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504:. Retrieved
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479:. Retrieved
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419:. Retrieved
390:. Retrieved
360:February 17,
358:. Retrieved
354:the original
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327:. Retrieved
300:. Retrieved
255:Nuclear fuel
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176:. Using the
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158:fuel element
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64:remediation
651:Categories
624:78°39′17″W
276:References
265:Sellafield
186:high-level
72:U.S. state
621:42°27′2″N
532:March 21,
506:March 20,
451:March 21,
421:March 21,
392:March 21,
329:March 20,
302:March 20,
170:plutonium
147:Getty Oil
128:low-level
542:cite web
477:(Report)
249:See also
90:and the
76:New York
66:site in
174:uranium
166:reactor
105:History
70:in the
481:May 8,
526:(PDF)
500:(PDF)
471:(PDF)
441:(PDF)
415:(PDF)
386:(PDF)
178:PUREX
59:is a
548:link
534:2015
508:2015
483:2015
453:2015
423:2015
394:2015
362:2017
331:2015
304:2015
55:The
209:in
201:in
74:of
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
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