Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center (INTEC)

 production, nuclear research centre, nuclear reprocessing site

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One of five geographic areas under the scope of work of the Idaho Cleanup Project.

The Idaho Chemical Processing Plant was established in the 1950s to recover usable uranium in spent fuel from government reactors. Over the years, the facility recovered more than $1 billion worth of highly enriched uranium, which was returned to the government fuel cycle. In addition, an innovative high-level liquid waste treatment process known as calcining was developed at the plant. Calcination reduced the volume of liquid radioactive waste generated during reprocessing and placed it in a more-stable granular solid form. The facility underwent an ambitious modernization during the 1980s, when safer, cleaner, and more efficient structures were built to replace most major facilities. In 1992, the Department of Energy announced that the changing world political situation and the lack of demand for highly enriched uranium made reprocessing no longer necessary. In 1998, the plant was renamed the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center. Today, the more than 800 workers at INTEC have turned their focus to cleanup and protection of the Snake River Plain Aquifer.