Idaho National Lab (INEL)

[indoprime]

Idaho Falls is mostly Mormon, so if you belong to the LDS, then that's maybe where you might wanna wind up. 

Pocatello's mainly a college town. 

I've lived in both places...MY preference is Pocatello, just b/c of the nightlife. 

[DecommMan]

Winter is long, cold and snowy. It just snowed in I F about two weeks ago.

[tff986s]

decomm man>>

i lived in id falls [olympia street near airport, 53 miles to rwmc], and also lived there in the Winter... as you know, it gets and stays quite cold there... great fishing, hunting, snowmobiling, etc of course. no nite life, my son was ostrasized because he was NOT of LDS orientation, and was the neighbor's kids were NOT allowed to play with him.

as an alternative, i would suggest at least looking at the hanford site here in richland, washington. i chose to move for a variety of reasons, and found this area to be superb for raising children... climate is much warmer, and gets Hot in the summer.... winters are probably considered non-existent compared to Id Falls... we had one storm of about 12" this year, and they called it a "30 year" snow. one downside is that the wind does Blow here, and there are occasional dust storms...

they are hiring for some nuclear things, hpt's for sure... amongst others depending on current scope.

relocation just a thought... i would echo the other posts above, and IMHO deem them to be quite accurate... blackfoot was rumored to have more violence from racial tensions [Indian vs Hispanic seemed to be the more talked about consensus] than anywhere else.

i found housing on the very west end of id falls to be very affordable, they were bldg new stuff just west of the dairy [w/the homemade ice cream and cheese curds] which was like, the last thing before you were really out of town...maybe some of those are renting out now??

[DecommMan]

Stardust Lounge on a Saturday night.

If you have the time - check out the Opal Mines up north of IF.

[UncaBuffalo]

If you have the time - check out the Opal Mines up north of IF.

Looks like I have plenty of time...where do I find the Opal Mines?

Thanks for your help...

[jocro]

Opal Mines in Spencer 11/2 hour north of I.F. on I-15.  You might try out the Blue Room (for real) on Rollandet, in I.F., used to make good burgers.

[NascarTerry]

Hi Ya'll,
Just to let you know....I've lived here my whole life and It's not that bad if you like a laid back life style, and don't mind winter. Course our winters as of late have been Mild in comparison to the Old days. If your recreation minded, there's a lot to do. Some of the Best fishing and Hunting around, Some nice lakes, And a ton of scenery. Yellowstone Park, Teton Park with the Grand Old Tetons, Jackson Hole if you got a lot of money . There is a LOT of work to be done out here, estimating 50 years approximately. All DOE work. Idaho is also a right to work State so Unions are minor...(whether this is a + or - is up to you). Three major Companies out here for work...(1). BNFL Inc. who I work for (2). Bechtel and (3). Bartlett. Always seems to be jobs posted, so if ya want work it isn't to hard to get. L and Q clearances are a thing of the past here now....Facility Access passes are how they're doing things now. DOE Core certification is Mandatory for Rad Safety work and well as Site Specific Cert. Site Specific cert. classes are taught at the area to which you will be working.
Soooooo.......If you have any more questions just give me a hollar and I'll try to answer them.
Terry

[MMZR2]

Anyone here worked at INEEL?  I have read the forum in "talk about:" but it didn't really tell me much.  All I know so far is it is damn cold, a long bus ride, and a small town.  But how about the work?  My background is biology (been a rad tech the last year, in the industry for 3 years) and I was wondering what other kinds of work they might have going on up there (besides swingin a meter).  Considering INEEL, Los Alamos, Pantex, any thoughts?
Thanks.

[oldodge52]

 :)Hi there! I'm sorry I can't tell you much about the site, so you probably don't really want to hear from me necessarily, but.... I gotta tell ya.. I love Idaho Falls. I was raised there and I think it's a great place to live. I was there over the summer and it's grown quite a bit in the last couple of years. Arco, though, is a very small town. I have family there, too, and the best thing about it is Atomic Days in July and.... well, going to I.F. haha. Sure hope you go and like it. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

[vbstan]

What about the INEEL soon to be call INL. Its not a bad place to work. There is alot ofcleanup going right now. I think if you have training in Biology as you say there their may be some other things to do for you as well. I am a senior operator in spent nuclear fuels. Like every where there are trade off, if you like outdoor rec such as skiing and snowmobiling or four wheeling and fishing in the summer its a great place. If also a family oriented town with  a very conservative point of view at times. There is alot of change going on at the site they are splitting the contract so one side will be clean and close and the other side will be research and development. I don't know what changes will come out of that move. Hope that helps. Can alway write to vbstan@yahoo.com Take care and good job hunting Vic

[halflifer]

PACE was the local union here untill the company bought out the workers, and seniority went away.  This is not personal knowledge, but mostly true from talk among former union members.  Bartlett, EG&G and some other small contractors share the contract jobs.  Philotechnics has the tech contract at Naval Reactors Facility/Bechtel Bettis, while Bechtel/BWXT has the rest of the M&O contract at the INEEL for the time being.  That contract is up for re-bid this year.  BNFL and CH2MHILL are the rumored bidders against Bechtel/BWXT.

Anybody got any updates on this?

[NascarTerry]

Ok Gang and Gangettes....Here's the scoop...
As of 9am Yesterday (Tuesday). Battelle Corp. are now the Big Boys on site here in Idaho. From Tip to toe nails they've basically got it all... We're all just wondering what they're checks are gonna look like. 

[DecommMan]

The recently announced contract award to Battelle is for the R&D component of the INL - there is a companion contract award for the EM (read D&D and env restoration) work at the site that is still in the prep process.  Battelle was teamed with WGI, EPRI, BWXT and a gorup of univerisities - again these are all focused on building nuclear/designing next generation nuke plants.

[DecommMan]

sorry ..... even though nuclear is a focus of the new contract and INL - it will still also be doing other energy R&D and related R&D just like it has been doing under BBWI - the current contractor - new R&D turnover date is 2/1/05.  The EM piece now out for bid is called the Idaho Closure Project (ICP).

[Bingo]

The newly announced Batelle contract basically affects The Test Reactor Area ran by Bechtel and Argonne West which is ran by the University of Chicago.  The rest of the INEEL will be under the ICP.  Bring your sawzall DecommMan!!!!

[Rogue Diver]

Any info on INEEL and the surrounding area will be helpful.  Info on rental property, etc. would be helpful too as I may be there a while.  Also, if anyone has skied/boarded in the surrounding area let me know the hotspots...I'm sure there are plenty.

Thanks.

[tff986s]

it was cold cold cold!!!!

[halflifer]

I'm sure everybody who cares has heard by now, but just in case.......the contact for the ICP (Idaho Clean-up Project) has been awarded to CH2M-Washington Group, Idaho.
Does anyone have any insight into what this means to the sub-contractors?

[Rennhack]

http://www.oakridger.com/stories/032505/new_20050325028.shtml

I'm told Bartlett has the HP Contract for that team.

[halflifer]

The ICP contract has been awarded to CH2M Hill-Washingrton Group Idaho. Rumor now is that there are challenges being made to the award which will hold up implementation of the contract for anywhere from 30 days to a yr. Does anyone have any bona fide info re: these alleged challenges?

[jocro]

Heard nothing, imagine it's more rumor than fact using the challenges at Hanfordin the past for fodder.

[halflifer]

We got that here at INL. Now, as I said, there are rumors that the awarding of the contract has been challenged.

[tiger]

  At the INL BBWI lost the site contract to BATELLE for the M&O contact (which has started), and CHM2 Hill has won the ICP contract (which starts 5-1-05)
But, BBWI is not out of the picture, BNFL sold out to DOE and their contract is being turned over to BBWI for one year starting 5-1-05. Rumor has it that they may bring in outside RCTs to support the project when it moves into full 24/7 waste removal, charactization and shipping.

At NRF Philo. lost the D&D contract to BWXS but they still have the ECF upgrade contract, which is good for another four years.

[halflifer]

BBWI has offered positions at the AMWTP to a large number of their Rad Con and ESH people....both management and 'labor.' What this means to the people currently there for BNFL is unclear. Additionally, BNFL has graciously offered to lend their services to BBWI in a consultory capacity......for a price, of course.

[tiger]

 :)All personel at BNFL have been offered employment except for some of the top dogs, which is standard practice.
I haven't heard of any RCT's willing to crossing the fence to work at AMOWTP for $2.50 less in pay.