DOE Richland Operations Office: Highly skilled workforce makes significant strides in Hanford cleanup

As I sit down to write about the tremendous progress made by Hanford’s highly skilled workforce this past year, the safety of our workforce is at the top of my mind.

Demolition work at the Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP) has been halted since mid-December because contamination was detected outside the posted radiological boundaries of the project. This is not acceptable, and my focus remains on ensuring the workers, public and environment are fully protected.

I have convened a group of technical experts from across the country to review controls and procedures at PFP, and demolition will not resume until I’m convinced it can be done in a safe manner. I do want to thank the workers for the progress made at PFP, because once PFP is demolished, it will eliminate one of Hanford’s biggest risks.

It is very significant that Hanford’s workers made this progress while also making significant progress on the last few high-hazard River Corridor cleanup projects.

Last fall, after more than eight years of cleanup at Hanford’s 618-10 Burial Ground, sampling results confirmed that the cleanup is complete, and workers began backfilling the massive excavation. Altogether, more than 500,000 tons of contaminated soil and debris, including nearly 100 highly contaminated verticals pipe units, were removed, packaged, and disposed of.

In addition, after several years of planning, fabrication and testing, workers are finishing preparations to begin moving the highly radioactive K-Area sludge away from the Columbia River this year.

Throughout the year, Hanford workers at the 324 Building continued to make great progress removing waste from the building’s airlock and hot cells in preparation for remotely excavating the highly contaminated soil underneath the building. At present, workers are installing the remote excavation equipment in a mockup facility, so that it can be tested and workers trained in a clean and safe environment prior to use at the 324 Building.

Another very significant achievement last year was the treatment of more than 2.2 billion gallons of contaminated groundwater to continue to protect the Columbia River. The treatment removed more than 145,000 pounds of contaminants from the groundwater, including radioactive elements.

Back in May, the Hanford site received worldwide attention when the roof of a waste storage tunnel at the Plutonium Uranium Extraction (PUREX) Plant partially collapsed. There was no spread of contamination after the collapse or during emergency response work, and no workers were injured in the incident or response.

To further stabilize the tunnel and provide additional radiological protection, workers pumped engineered grout into the tunnel, fully encapsulating the materials inside. The Department of Energy plans to do the same to stabilize the adjacent, much larger, tunnel that also stores highly contaminated materials from the PUREX Plant. The grouting of these tunnels does not limit future remedial actions or final closure options.

The common denominator in all of these accomplishments is our committed, dedicated and highly capable federal and contractor workforce. My hat goes off to them, and I want to thank them for all that they do for our community and our country to clean up the legacy of plutonium production here at Hanford.

This story was originally published April 1, 2018 at 5:28 PM with the headline "DOE Richland Operations Office: Highly skilled workforce makes significant strides in Hanford cleanup."