Encorus Group has played a significant role in the development of the Safety Significant Confinement Ventilation System (SSCVS) at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in Carlsbad, New Mexico. Spanning several years, this project has included design, procurement, and engineering support for the largest ventilation system in the Department of Energy complex. Here’s a look at the project’s progression so far.
May 2017 – Won the Contract
Encorus Group, originally contracted in May 2017, had been responsible for designing and procuring the six massive fans required to support the 540,000 CFM of airflow essential for mining and waste emplacement operations.
Project Background
Transuranic (TRU) waste—generated from nuclear defense activities since the 1940s—must be isolated to protect human health and the environment. In the 1950s, researchers identified deep, geologically stable salt formations as ideal for permanent disposal. After extensive studies, construction of the WIPP facility began in 1984 and was completed in 1989. The site now serves as the nation’s only permanent TRU waste repository. The WIPP mine sits more than 2,000 feet underground and is accessed by four vertical shafts used for personnel, equipment, salt removal, and ventilation. The SSCVS is a critical upgrade to ensure continued safe operations and compliant air filtration.
March 21, 2018 – Encorus Awarded Safety Significant Confinement Ventilation System (SSCVS) Fan Contract
In early 2018, Encorus Group secured the contract to supply six 1,000 HP fans for the SSCVS project at Waste Isolation Pilot Plant WIPP—marking the largest contract in company history. These fans are responsible for pulling air into and out of the WIPP underground mine and moving it through HEPA filtration units.
Tom Gilmartin served as lead engineer on the system, noting that the SSCVS would become the largest ventilation system in the entire Department of Energy complex. Encorus had previously supported WIPP on projects including the Supplemental Ventilation System and the Fire Protection System.
September 26, 2018 – Encorus Featured in Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) Newsletter
Later that year, the WIPP September Newsletter spotlighted Encorus Group and Tom Gilmartin for their continued work on the SSCVS. The project called for six custom-built, 6-foot diameter fans—nearly five times more powerful than WIPP’s existing ventilation equipment.
This $288 million effort included fabrication of the fans at a facility in Tennessee, further demonstrating the scale and complexity of the undertaking.
April 5, 2023 – SSCVS Fan Design & Procurement
Encorus’s scope included designing and procuring six 1,000 HP fans to produce the 540,000CFM of airflow needed for mining and waste emplacement operations. The SSCVS project will filter all the air exiting the WIPP nuclear waste repository. The fans constructed are the biggest fans in the entire Department of Energy, and no one has ever qualified a fan this large to AG-1 standards (ASME Code on Nuclear Air and Gas Treatment in nuclear facilities). It took 18 tractor trailers to move the six fans to the site, and each fan is over 32 feet tall!
The development of the WIPP site is critical, as it has allowed the Department of Energy to store waste permanently and maintain the safety of the stored waste, which in turn protects people and the environment. Because this is the only permanent nuclear waste disposal site in the US, the safety and quality requirements were the key reasons that this project has taken several years to complete.
Encorus Group had a number of staff working on this project in different capacities. Lindse Runge and Sandy Queeno supervised the NQA-1 (National Quality Assurance) program compliance, Jeff Scott and Jonathan Fabian designed the controls/power, John Bard was the project manager, and Tom Gilmartin was the principal overseeing the project.
