The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Environmental Management said this week it was ready to demolish the prototype reactor at the Idaho National Laboratory that was used for development of nuclear-powered submarines.
The DOE considers this a “major step” in the environmental cleanup of the site.
The facility has its share of accomplishments. The S1W prototype supported development of the USS Nautilus, which was launched in 1954 as the world's first operational nuclear-powered submarine. Because nuclear propulsion allowed it to remain submerged far longer than diesel-electric submarines, the Nautilus broke many records in its first years of operation and traveled to locations previously beyond the limits of submarines. The prototype also was used to train naval officers and enlisted personnel to operate the propulsion plants of nuclear-powered submarines and aircraft carriers, and to test nuclear propulsion technology. The S1W prototype was shut down in 1989.
Known as the Submarine 1st Generation Westinghouse (S1W) prototype, the land-based reactor was built inside a section of a submarine hull at the Naval Reactors Facility (NRF) on the Arco Desert west of Idaho Falls.
NRF is under the auspices of the Office of Naval Reactors (NR), which entered into an agreement with EM to carry out the S1W facility demolition and other deactivation and decommissioning efforts.
A ceremony commemorating transfer of the defueled reactor plant to EM was held Jan. 27 at the NRF.
Crews are scheduled to begin demolishing adjacent S1W support buildings this month. Activities to prepare for deactivation of the reactor plant, including asbestos removal and characterization of other building components to confirm facility contents and any associated risks, will also start this month. Actual D&D of S1W is expected to commence in fiscal year 2023. An engineering evaluation and cost analysis to evaluate alternatives for deactivating and decommissioning the S1W prototype will be released for public comment.