EEOICPA Statistics for Claimants Living in Idaho
DOL Part B and Part E Statistics
NIOSH Dose Reconstruction Statistics
Idaho EEOICPA Facilities
Facility descriptions credit: DOE
Photo credit: Pinpals at Pixabay
ANL-W was a part of
Argonne National Laboratory, operated by the
University of Chicago. ANL-W was made up of six
facilities: (1) the Experimental Breeder Reactor
(EBR-I); (2) the Zero Power Reactor (ZPR-III);
(3) the Argonne Fast Source Reactor (AFSR); (4)
the Boiling Water Reactor Experiments (Borax
I-IV); (5) the Experimental Breeder Reactor II
(EBR-II); and (6) the Transient Reactor Test
(TREAT) facility. .
EBR-II and the Treat
facilities were located on the southeastern
portion of the Idaho National Engineering and
Environmental Laboratory (INEEL); and EBR-I,
ZPR-III, AFSR, and Borax I-IV were located on
the southwestern portion of INEEL. The Argonne
West name was given to the EBR-II and TREAT
facilities when they were constructed in the
late 1950s; the other four facilities were built
starting in 1949 and were operational in the
early 1950s, and were always managed and
controlled by ANL, but had no specific name to
differentiate them from the National Reactor
Testing Station (NRTS), later to be known as
INEEL. Because of that, we are using the
“Argonne West” title to describe all of the
Argonne-controlled facilities within INEEL. On
February 1, 2005, INEEL and ANL-W became INL.
For nearly 40 years, ANLW led in the development
of advanced nuclear reactor technology.
Breakthroughs in the type of fuel used in
nuclear-generated power, simplified
reprocessing, reduction in the life span of
nuclear wastes, and design of increasingly safer
power plant systems all were developed at the
ANLW complex.
Throughout the course of its
operations, the potential for beryllium exposure
existed at this site, due to beryllium use,
residual contamination, and decontamination
activities.
In 1949, the Atomic
Energy Commission established the National
Reactor Testing Station on the site of a 1940s
United States Navy bombing and artillery range.
Today, this site is known as the Idaho National
Laboratory (INL). This was the primary nuclear
reactor development laboratory in the United
States. Over 100 reactor concepts were conceived
and tested here. Between 1953 and 1992, the
Idaho Chemical Processing Plant (ICPP) at INL
reprocessed spent nuclear fuel from naval
propulsion, test, and research reactors to
recover enriched uranium for reuse in nuclear
weapons production. Other facilities at INL also
conducted various nuclear weapons research and
development activities.
On February 1, 2005
the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental
Laboratory and Argonne National Laboratory-West
became the Idaho National Laboratory. The INL
mission is to continue as a National Laboratory,
developing and demonstrating compelling national
security technologies, and delivering excellence
in science and technology. Also at this time,
the Idaho Completion Project (ICP) was formed to
remediate the site, including the disposition of
reactor and non-reactor nuclear facilities.
Throughout the course of its operations, the
potential for beryllium exposure existed at this
site, due to beryllium use, residual
contamination, and decontamination activities.
Northwest Machining provided machine shop services to Sandia National Laboratory, California. This work involved beryllium materials.
From 1955 to 1960 columbite/euxenite and monazite concentrates were separated from placer ore. These milling operations are covered under the auspices of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act and are not separately covered under EEOICPA. However, DOE environmental remediation contractors performed remediation Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act (Public Law 95-604) at this location in 1992. The remediation involved cleanup of contaminants left over from operation of a mechanical concentrator for extraction of uranium and thorium from sand at this location. In 1998 DOE constructed a water diversion system in furtherance of environmental remediation goals. DOE and DOE contractor employees who performed this remediation and construction are covered under EEOICPA. Additionally, in 1994 ownership of the property was transferred to DOE.