The Central Facilities Area (CFA) was established in the 1950s in an area of buildings formerly used by the Navy during World War II. For more than 50 years, the CFA has provided support facilities for the operation of the other INL facilities.

The Central Facilities Area is located approximately 50 miles west of Idaho Falls just north of Highway 20.

As of January 2004, there were about 800 Department of Energy-Idaho (DOE-ID), Bechtel BWXT Idaho (BBWI), and subcontractor employees at CFA. This area serves as the main service and support center for the rest of the INL facilities. Activities at CFA support transportation, maintenance, construction, environmental and radiological monitoring, security, fire protection, warehouses, calibration activities, and a cafeteria.

There are no Settlement Agreement waste management activities at CFA. There is no storage or treatment of high-level waste, transuranic waste, or spent nuclear fuel at this facility.

The Radiological and Environmental Sciences Laboratory (RESL) is an analytical laboratory operated by DOE-Idaho. The laboratory performs analytical chemistry, radiation measurements, and calibration of radiation detection instruments. Radioactive air emissions are reported in the annual National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants-Radionuclides report.

INL Oversight performs a variety of environmental monitoring in the vicinity of CFA. Monitoring results are made available to the public in quarterly and annual environmental monitoring reports.

INL Oversight monitors ambient penetrating radiation on and around the INL using Electret Ion Chambers (EIC's). EIC's are placed at each facility and at approximately two-mile intervals around the perimeter of the site. These devices are collected each quarter and processed to determine the quarterly total ambient penetrating radiation exposure for each location. Additionally, the INL Oversight maintains High Pressure Ion Chambers (HPIC's) at several locations around the INL. These devices provide real-time radiation levels that can be monitored remotely.

Soil monitoring is performed to determine the presence and extent of man-made radionuclides in the terrestrial environment. The INL contractor performs periodic soil sampling and in-situ monitoring at and near the INL facilities. INL Oversight performs monitoring at a fraction of the contractor monitoring sites for verification of the contractor's reported results.

Air monitoring is performed to determine the presence and extent of man-made radionuclides in the atmosphere. INL Oversight maintains an array of air monitoring stations on and around the perimeter of the INL. The nearest air monitoring stations to CFA are located at Van Buren Avenue and the Experimental Field Station. Air samples are analyzed for the presence and concentration of atmospheric tritium, radioactive iodine, and suspended particulate matter for gross alpha and gross beta, gamma radionuclides, and annually for strontium-90, americium-241, plutonium-238, and plutonium-239/240.

The only significant source of wastewater from CFA operations are sanitary wastes, with additional liquid wastes were produced from laboratories and from vehicle maintenance and washing. Some limited nitrate contamination is present from the sanitary wastes. However, groundwater beneath CFA has been impacted by contamination from TRA and INTEC. INL Oversight performs groundwater sampling and analysis for a total of four wells near CFA.