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Decontamination & Decommissioning

If you are a government agency or industrial entity that has declared a facility as surplus, decontamination and decommissioning services are needed to prepare the facility for final disposition-whether that is reuse or demolition. This process requires management of a broad range of hazardous contaminants that can include volatile organics, heavy metals, PCBs, and asbestos, as well as radioactive materials such as transuranics, tritium, and highly active isotopes of iodine, strontium, and cesium to name a few.

Dealing with hazards such as these requires close interaction with regulators, citizen groups, and other stakeholders to manage the safe disposition of materials within regulatory frameworks and cost and schedule restraints. Management of waste resulting from D&D activities also requires analysis of the benefits of the level of decontamination, size reduction, and packaging versus the criteria and costs of waste acceptance and storage, as well as the requirements for recycling non-contaminated concrete and steel. Much of the worker safety requirements for D&D are focused on radiological and chemical hazards, but these activities also carry industrial safety hazards; the combination of which makes the work very labor intensive.

In managing D&D programs, you need technical expertise, experience dealing with complex regulatory environments, a commitment to safety, and innovative approaches. CH2M HILL has the expertise and experience to manage the largest, most challenging D&D projects in the world. We have safely decommissioned highly contaminated former nuclear weapons facilities, nuclear reactors, and military and industrial buildings and facilities, and we have completed site closures under accelerated schedules and complex cost structures. Successful delivery of these projects stems from a unique regulatory and stakeholder framework to guide decommissioning and restoration activities, innovative contracting, a corporate commitment to safety, and creative technical and environmental strategies.