The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Environmental Management (EM) has achieved a major milestone by completing commissioning of the Safety Significant Confinement Ventilation System (SSCVS) facility a new, state-of-the-art, large-scale ventilation system at its Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP).

"This is a big step in getting the SSCVS fully operational and providing additional airflow to the WIPP underground," EM Carlsbad Field Office Manager Mark Bollinger said. "This project is important in increasing our workers' safety while allowing us to continue DOE's critical environmental cleanup and national security mission."

WIPP management and operations contractor Salado Isolation Mining Contractors (SIMCO) began commissioning activities last fall after completing construction of the facility in June. Commissioning involved testing each system individually and then the SSCVS as a whole to demonstrate complete functionality.

Following the commissioning phase, team members turned the SSCVS over to the operations team members so they can gain proficiency in running the highly efficient system.

"This is a very big day for the WIPP project," said Tammy Hobbes, SIMCO's vice president and Operations/National TRU Program manager. "I cannot overstate how much I appreciate the partnership between the project and operations team throughout this process. This was truly a team effort."

HEPA filters located within the Safety Significant Confinement Ventilation System facility at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant.

Next steps involve conducting assessments to show the SSCVS is fully integrated into other WIPP site systems. This will demonstrate that all primary and backup systems are functional and operating as expected, and that operators are proficient and fully understand the ventilation system.

Finally, EM will conduct an assessment to authorize SSCVS startup operations. Following approval of that review, team members will connect the SSCVS to the underground ventilation system of the waste repository. SSCVS is expected to be fully operational and online this year.

When fully online, the SSCVS facility will significantly increase airflow through the WIPP underground. Air exiting the underground will pass through a HEPA filtration system made up of 22 filtration units.

The SSCVS will work in tandem with WIPP's new utility shaft, which provides a new entry point for air into the WIPP underground repository. The SSCVS will pull air through the repository, remove salt when required and send the air through the HEPA filtration units before it's released to the environment. The new ventilation system will increase underground airflow from 170,000 cubic feet per minute up to a maximum of 540,000 cubic feet per minute.

The SSCVS includes two primary buildings, the Salt Reduction Building, which pre-filters salt-laden air coming from the WIPP underground, and the New Filter Building, which houses fans and HEPA filtration to further clean the air.

-Contributor: Bobby St. John