INL’s new Sample Preparation Lab is first hot cell facility in 49 years. Here’s what it will do
Published at
ARCO – The Idaho National Lab’s new Sample Preparation Laboratory was completed ahead of schedule and under budget and employees celebrated with a ribbon-cutting Wednesday morning.
Construction on the 49,000-square-foot building began in June 2020. It’s slated to begin operation sometime in 2025.
In a conversation with EastIdahoNews.com, INL Director John Wagner explains what the new building will be used for.
“This building is for research on irradiated materials,” Wagner says. “It will help us better understand the performance of existing materials in nuclear reactors today, how long they will operate and how they’ll perform over time.”
The primary materials used in the Sample Preparation Lab are steel and metal alloys.
“We don’t just put new materials in reactors and hope it goes ok,” Wagner explains. “We do a lot of testing and development of the materials themselves … but then we also have to verify it performs the way we think it will.”
RELATED | Materials and Fuels Complex leading the way for America’s advanced nuclear energy fleet
This knowledge will help extend the life of nuclear reactors currently in development.
This is the first hot cell facility built at the INL in 49 years, according to a news release. It’s been in the works for many years.
The $166 million project was funded by Congress in 2019 and comes from taxpayer dollars.
Rep. Mike Simpson, who serves on multiple committees that provide funding for several agencies benefitting Idaho, including the Department of Energy, has been a strong advocate for the INL over the years. He was involved in acquiring the funds.
“On time, under budget — a couple of terms that are dear to my heart,” Simpson told the crowd at the ribbon-cutting. “I’ve been very proud to represent the INL and the incredible employees that are out here.”
Nuclear energy is the energy of the future, Simpson said, and its development at the INL is “vitally important to the world.”
Mike Goff, the Department of Energy’s acting assistant secretary for nuclear energy, says the completion of the Sample Preparation Laboratory “makes INL the premier location for doing materials research.”
“It’s been decades since we’ve built a hot cell in the U.S.,” Goff says. “It’s not easy to build one of these things and maintain it. It’s great to have this new capability here. This is a huge accomplishment.”
