Disposal has been halted as a precaution at Hanford's landfill for low-level radioactive and chemical waste until more is known about a load disposed there Tuesday afternoon.
Workers reported an unpleasant sulfurlike smell and seeing possibly dust or smoke rising from waste being disposed of in the Environmental Restoration Disposal Facility, said Todd Nelson, spokesman for Washington Closure Hanford.
The load had come from cleanup work in a part of B Reactor that's not accessible to the public.
The Department of Energy asked that some housekeeping work be done in the historic reactor to get it in top shape as limited tours are offered and the National Park Service considers possible plans for a Manhattan Project National Historical Park.
When B Reactor was operating, a drum of chemical cleaning compound used in reactor operations was stored in the basement, said Colleen French, B Reactor project manager.
The compound had an unpleasant odor and some of it had spilled onto the basement floor. Recently the basement concrete and soil that still had some of the cleaning compound contamination was removed.
The load of debris taken to the landfill contained no radioactive material. But because B Reactor records are not complete, Hanford officials are investigating the chemical compound to determine why landfill workers saw what may have been a chemical reaction.
About 30 workers at the landfill were evaluated by AdvanceMed Hanford, the site's occupational medicine contractor. However, Nelson said he had not heard that any of the workers had any symptoms.
Construction of an expansion of the landfill and disposal of waste has been halted until Washington Closure knows more. Washington Closure, which operates the landfill, has been adding about 300 truckloads of waste a day to it.
Washington Closure will work through the weekend to make sure the landfill can resume operations safely as soon as possible, Nelson said.
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DOE meets cleanup deadlines for 77 sites
DOE meets cleanup deadlines for 77 sites
The Department of Energy has met legal deadlines to have 77 Hanford waste sites along the Columbia River cleaned up, it announced Wednesday.
The waste sites were near the D and H plutonium-production reactors near the horn of the Columbia River as it cuts through the Hanford nuclear reservation.
DOE had two Tri-Party Agreement deadlines to get the waste sites cleaned up by the end of 2011. Previously, 45 waste sites in the two areas had been cleaned up.
DOE meets cleanup deadlines for 77 Hanford sites
DOE meets cleanup deadlines for 77 Hanford sites
The Department of Energy has met legal deadlines to have 77 Hanford waste
sites along the Columbia River cleaned up, it announced Wednesday.
The waste sites were near the D and H plutonium-production reactors near the horn of the Columbia River as it cuts through the Hanford nuclear reservation.
DOE had two Tri-Party Agreement deadlines to get the waste sites cleaned up by the end of 2011. Previously, 45 waste sites in the two areas had been cleaned up.
6 quit after pot found in meeting room at Hanford
6 quit after pot found in meeting room at Hanford
The Benton County Sheriff's Office has confirmed that a small plastic bag found on the floor after a meeting at Hanford contained marijuana, according to Washington Closure Hanford.
All employees of the subcontractor that had been using the meeting room are being tested for drugs. However, six employees resigned rather than be tested.
The bag was found Aug. 8 in a conference room used by Washington Closure subcontractor S.M. Stoller at the Environmental Restoration Disposal Facility.
Hanford worker goes for wild ride in portable toilet
Hanford worker goes for wild ride in portable toilet
A forklift operator learned the value of knocking first after he moved a Hanford portable toilet with a Teamster still in it.
On Oct. 5, a forklift operator near Hanford's D and DR reactors picked up the chemical toilet to move it to a new location, unaware that it was occupied, according to an occurrence report filed with the Department of Energy.
The driver lifted the outhouse 12 to 18 inches off the ground and backed it up about 15 feet across a gravel haul road. The door was against the loading rack of the forklift, trapping the Teamster inside.
Hanford burial ground cleanup coming
Hanford burial ground cleanup coming
Washington Closure Hanford is making preparations to start cleaning up the second of two high hazard burial grounds used to dispose of Hanford research waste near the Columbia River.
It has awarded a subcontract worth almost $4.3 million to Cheyenne Electric of Kennewick to install the infrastructure needed to retrieve the waste in the 618-11 Burial Ground. Retrieval already is underway at the 618-10 Burial Ground.
Full scale cleanup of 618-11 is expected to begin in mid-2013, using what workers are learning as they clean up 618-10. Both burial sites contain a mix of chemical and radioactive research waste from many projects.
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