CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Company: Hanford cleanup — Reducing risk across the site

This year marks a return home for me. While my time at the Savannah River Site provided wonderful experiences and memories, nothing beats the Tri-Cities area. I’m proud to be back, leading the CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Company (CH2M) team. We have a history of significantly reducing risk and advancing cleanup on the Hanford Site for the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Richland Operations Office. Despite performing some of the most hazardous work across the DOE complex, safe performance remains our strongest commitment, which is a testament to our workers who forward our mission daily.

This year will mark an important achievement for DOE, CH2M and the community when we finish demolishing the Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP). Our goal remains to perform this challenging work safely and compliantly, and the tremendously talented PFP team is making great progress. Their experience will be invaluable as we finish this important project and look to support DOE’s effort in initiating the disposition of former processing canyons remaining on the site.

We continue to complete DOE’s highest priority projects along the River Corridor. When we assumed the River Corridor Closure Contract scope from Washington Closure Hanford (WCH) in 2016, we retained the talented WCH employees who made significant progress and continue to do so. At the 618-10 burial ground, we will finish removing highly contaminated waste-filled vertical pipes. This is a critical risk reduction activity, due to its proximity to Richland.

On the Building 324 disposition project, also just north of Richland, we will focus on cleaning out a highly radioactive former processing cell, which sits atop highly contaminated soil. We are procuring the equipment to access and remove the soil and will field test it in a mock-up structure. The mock-up will allow us to develop the processes and conduct training to safely remove the hazardous soil, followed by eventual building demolition.

We will advance efforts to transfer highly radioactive sludge in the 100-K Reactor Area away from the Columbia River to T Plant on Hanford’s central plateau; we are currently installing the receipt and storage equipment at T Plant and the retrieval and transfer equipment in the 100-K Reactor Area.

A key Central Plateau risk-reduction project is the transfer of highly radioactive strontium and cesium capsules from the Waste Encapsulation and Storage Facility (WESF) to dry storage. We recently awarded a subcontract for the design and fabrication of casks that will be used for dry storage and are also completing efforts to stabilize legacy contamination at WESF. This will facilitate safe transfer of the capsules, reducing risk to workers and the environment by providing a safer, more efficient and lasting alternative than continued underwater storage of the capsules.

Since 2009, CH2M has removed more than 320 tons of contaminants by treating billions of gallons of contaminated groundwater, dramatically decreasing concentration levels and the size of contamination plumes. While we continue the focus on protection of the Columbia River, this year we will begin work in some areas of the Central Plateau to help determine the extent of groundwater contamination to assist future cleanup decisions.

Our commitment to our community is also an important goal. I enjoyed participating with several members of our team again this year in the Polar Plunge, benefitting the Washington Special Olympics. This is only one of the many community events we support. In 2016, 592 employees gave more than 2,000 hours of volunteer service to our community.

This dedication to our community is one reason I’m so thankful to be part of this amazing team. I’m glad to be back in the community I have proudly come to call my home, and I look forward to our accomplishments this year.

This story was originally published March 23, 2017 at 12:00 AM with the headline "CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Company: Hanford cleanup — Reducing risk across the site."