Rocky Flats 10 year plan: over 500 structures to be demolished

Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site has prepared a Ten Year Plan (Plan) that demonstrates how the Site would achieve accelerated cleanup and rapidly reduce the risks the Site currently poses to its workers, the public, and the environment. A major element of the Plan is the decontamination and demolition of over 500 Site facilities, including all of the former nuclear production facilities, by the end of 2006. Facilities used for the storage of plutonium, treatment of low-level mixed waste, and several office building would remain until the plutonium is removed or there is no longer a need for the facility, in which case it would be demolished. While the Plan considers all aspects of the cleanup and closure, this paper focuses on the challenges posed by the removal of highly contaminated equipment and the demolition of structures. This paper describes near- term decommissioning projects as well as the long range plans and budgets. Cash flow ultimately controls schedule, and sharing of budget priorities among processing of special nuclear material, disposing of waste, and cleaning up the environment has to be juggled carefully to attain the goals of the Plan. The total cost of the Plan exceeds $5 billion, and over $1 billion will be spent on decommissioning activities. Following removal of the plutonium and the demolition of the plutonium storage and remaining Site facilities by the end of 2015, the cost to perform the long-term environmental monitoring at the Site is estimated to be $10 million per year.