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For Immediate Release:
October 27, 2022

Media Contacts:
Renee Brooks, Hanford Mission Integration Solutions, (509) 531-9633, renee_l_brooks@rl.gov

HAMMER Federal Training Center Reaches 25-Year Milestone

Brian Vance, manager of the DOE Office of River Protection and Richland Operations Office speaks at an event marking the 25-year milestone of the Federal Training Center. HAMMER’s 88-acre campus includes classrooms, specialized training areas and life-size props for conducting industrial, workplace, emergency response, incident command and hazardous material scenarios that allow students to safely train in a realistic but controlled environment.

RICHLAND, Wash. – The Volpentest HAMMER Federal Training Center at the Hanford Site commemorates 25 years of accomplishments today at its facility in Richland.

Since opening its doors in 1997, HAMMER has provided innovative, hands-on training and expertise utilizing the one-of-a-kind facility to create a safe and highly skilled Hanford workforce. HAMMER’s role within the U.S. Department of Energy and across national programs has steadily grown over the years.

HAMMER incorporates specialty training areas and props that allow students to train in a realistic, but safe and controlled environment. Training scenarios include radiological safety, industrial hazards, emergency response, hazardous materials handling and much more.

HAMMER is owned by the U.S. Department of Energy and managed by Hanford Mission Integration Solutions (HMIS). The facility is guided by a Steering Committee, which is a partnership of Federal, Tribal and State governments, Labor, the Tri-City Development Council, academia and industry. The Steering Committee’s focus is to effectively serve in protecting the workers, public and environment through the complex, high hazard cleanup at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation.

More information, see the Volpentest HAMMER Federal Training Facility Fact Sheet

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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 10,000 personnel. Visit www.hanford.gov for more information about the Hanford Site.