Cleanup
SNAP Environmental Test Facility
The SNAP Environmental Test Facility (SETF) 4024
The SNAP Environmental Test Facility, also known as Building 24, was constructed in 1960 for the testing of SNAP nuclear reactors in a simulated space environment. The facility features two large underground test cells which were lined with aluminum to maintain a vacuum and thick walls to provide shielding from the radiation produced by the reactor. A high bay structure above the test cells housed two cranes. A control room was located on one side of the high bay while an vacuum equipment room was placed on the opposite side.
The SETF was used for the testing of three different SNAP nuclear reactors and one critical assembly over a ten year period. From January 1965 to March 1966, a SNAP-10 reactor was tested at a relatively low power (40 kwt) for 10,000 hours. Overall, the facility was used for roughly 20,000 hours of testing.
The operation of the nuclear reactors caused the concrete to become radioactive through a process called activation. Although the last reactor operated in 1971, the activation products remain within the concrete walls today. Samples of walls show the activated concrete extends some fifteen inches into the test cell walls. Samples from other parts of the building indicate no activation or radioactive contamination exists within other parts of the building.
Cleanup
During 2004 and 2005, Boeing surveyed the office areas and equipment rooms and the upper portion of the high bay, down to the basement. Equipment was removed and surveyed, and the stack was removed and surveyed. Survey results confirmed the absence of contamination. Results were sent to DHS for review, and DHS conducted verification surveys to confirm Boeing data. Subsequently the office and equipment rooms were demolished, and following three DHS approval letters (Letter One, Letter Two, Letter Three), the material was shipped to Kettleman Hills, a Class 1 hazardous waste landfill, in compliance with the 2002 Governor's Moratorium. The building has been proposed to be demolished in a "Non-Time Critical Removal Action" under the DOE's CERCLA authority. Further information can be found in the Engineering Evaluation / Cost Analysis (EE/CA) prepared for building 4024.
The decommissioning and demolition of building 4024 is on hold pending completion of the EIS.
In October 2007, AREVA completed a field sampling planfor the 4024 final status survey.
In January 2008, AREVA completed a characterization survey report for buuilding 4024.
- Report of Radiological Characterization and Confirmatory Survey Results for the SETF - Building 4024
- Appendix A
- Survey Package A4024-101C2 - Waste tank/Vault Location
- Survey Package A4024-301C1 - Soil Area Adjacent to Paved Areas
- Survey Package C4024-101C1 - Test Cell B-102
- Survey Package C4024-102C1 - Test Cell B-104
- Survey Package C4024-301C1 - High Bay and First Floor DM Areas
- Survey Package C4024-302C1 - Basement Floor and Mezzanine DM Areas
- Survey Package C4024-303C1 - Paved Yard Area and Slabs Remaining Around SETF
- Survey Package E4024-101C1 - Liquid waste, Floor Drains and Solid Waste Storage
- Survey Package G4024-101C1 - Structural Background Areas
- Survey Package H4024-101C1 - Environmental Background Areas