For Immediate Release:
October 30, 2026

Media Contacts:
Cerise Peck, Hanford Field Office, 509-980-8466, cerise_m_peck@rl.gov

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Hanford Starts Site Prep for New Tank Waste Treatment System

Additional capability will increase tank side treatment threefold

RICHLAND, Wash. – The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management has broken ground for the next phase of tank waste treatment at the Hanford Site.

“This groundbreaking is another important step in advancing Hanford’s cleanup mission,” said Hanford Field Office Manager, Ray Geimer. “The work we are doing today prepares the site for a higher-capacity tank-side treatment that will allow us to dispose of tank waste more quickly as part of our dual glass-plus-grout strategy.”

Located next to AP Farm in Hanford’s 200 East Area, the Advanced Modular Pretreatment System (AMPS) builds on the success of the Tank Side Cesium Removal (TSCR) System and will remove over 99.9% of radioactivity from the waste before vitrification or grouting. This next-generation system will enable Hanford to pretreat a combined 3.6 million gallons of waste per year – three times as much as today.

This is significantly more than the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant’s maximum treatment capacity of about 2 million gallons per year. Hanford’s dual glass-plus-grout strategy is needed to ensure legacy cleanup continues without operational delays. By implementing a dual glass-plus-grout cleanup strategy, more waste can be treated and shipped out of Washington State, greatly accelerating cleanup and delivering on DOE’s commitment to Washingtonians and the Tri-Cities.  Utilizing a scientifically proven glass-plus-grout strategy will help Hanford complete the 200 East low activity tank waste mission 12 years sooner, by 2039, instead of 2051; saving taxpayers about $12 billion.

“AMPS reflects the experience our teams have gained from designing, building and operating TSCR for the last four years,” said Ken Langdon, H2C president and program manager. “By applying those lessons learned, we are delivering a system with higher pretreatment capacity to support WTP and grouting.”

Initial site work now underway includes demolition and relocation of existing utilities, installation of support trailers, and electrical and road work — all necessary to prepare the area outside AP Farm for placement of the new tank side treatment system.

Video, interviews, and photos of the work area are available here.

The Hanford Site is home to approximately 56 million gallons of radioactive and chemical waste stored in 177 underground tanks, representing one of DOE’s largest environmental risks and most complex cleanup challenges. The waste is the result of decades of plutonium production that supported national security missions.

Left to right, Ken Langdon, H2C president and program manager; David Brunnert, DOE Office of Environmental Management chief operating officer; Corey Low, former Hanford Field Office deputy manager; and Ricky Bang, Hanford Field Office deputy assistant manager for Tank Waste Operations, break ground for the Advanced Modular Pretreatment System at the Hanford Site.

Conceptual rendering of the Advanced Modular Pretreatment System next to AP Farm in Hanford’s 200 East Area.

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