Progress at Disposal Facility Supports Hanford Tank Waste Treatment Mission
RICHLAND, Wash. – Construction progress continues at the Integrated Disposal Facility, an essential component of a high-priority project to begin treating tank waste at the Hanford Site.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and contractor CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Company (CHPRC) are preparing the engineered landfill to receive vitrified low-activity tank waste from the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant in support of the site’s Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste program.
“The Integrated Disposal Facility is a critical part of Hanford’s initiative to begin treating tank waste,” said Gary Pyles, federal project manager for DOE. “This is another step towards safely, efficiently, and effectively managing Hanford tank waste.”
Ongoing activities consist of workers installing 8,000 feet of underground sewage and water lines, building concrete pads to support vitrified waste containers, and installing electrical wiring. A mile and a half of fencing is going up, and about 45,000 cubic yards of gravel is being brought in to provide a firm foundation around the facility.
“We’re also working on the disposal facility’s leachate collection system,” said Craig Larson, CHPRC’s project director for the Integrated Disposal Facility. “Water from dust suppression, rain, and snowmelt drops through several feet of filtering materials before it reaches a liner at the bottom. All of the liquid gets captured and safely processed, so nothing gets to the environment.”
During reduced operations in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the team continued to advance the project by focusing on permitting, design, and engineering to support construction of the facility. The team is also incorporating lessons learned from more than 20 years of successfully operating Hanford’s larger engineered landfill, the Environmental Restoration Disposal Facility, into the design, construction, and operations planning at the Integrated Disposal Facility
After crews finish the new infrastructure upgrades this year, the facility will undergo operational readiness reviews to support the startup of the treatment of the site’s tank waste.
Watch this video to learn about the work being done at the Integrated Disposal Facility.
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The Department of Energy (DOE) is engaged in one of the great public works of this century at the Hanford Site near Richland, Washington. Responsible for the federal government’s cleanup of the legacy of more than 40 years of producing plutonium through the 1980s, DOE is transforming the site back into a 24/7 operations mode to treat tank waste from the production era. The DOE Office of River Protection (ORP) is responsible for the safe and efficient retrieval, treatment and disposal of the 56 million gallons of chemical and radioactive waste stored in Hanford’s 177 underground tanks. The mission includes building and commissioning the world’s largest radioactive waste treatment plant, which will immobilize the legacy tank waste through vitrification. The DOE Richland Operations Office is responsible for all remaining Hanford cleanup and is currently focused on stabilizing and demolishing former plutonium production structures, excavating and disposing of contaminated soil and waste, treating contaminated groundwater, and configuring Hanford Site infrastructure for the future, with an emphasis on supporting the tank waste mission. Hanford Site work is conducted by a federal and contractor workforce of approximately 9,400 personnel. Visit www.hanford.govfor more information about the Hanford Site.