Washington River Protection Solutions: Hanford’s Tank Farms: Celebrating a decade of operational excellence
As president of Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS), I take great pride in leading a dedicated 2,800-member team that is tackling the most challenging environmental cleanup project in the nation.
As the Hanford Tank Operations contractor for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), WRPS has been responsible for the safe storage and treatment of 56 million gallons of nuclear waste in 177 underground storage tanks.
We manage highly complex, high-hazard nuclear work, including retrieving and consolidating tank waste, replacing aging infrastructure, extending the life of aging tanks and building a system to safely and reliably feed waste to the Hanford Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP). Our performance has garnered strong DOE, congressional and stakeholder support for those efforts.
Unprecedented Safety Performance
2018 was a year of significant accomplishment for the WRPS workforce, as our team worked more than 9 million hours without a lost-time injury, a first in the 70-year history of the tank farms. Over its 10-plus-year contract, WRPS has maintained an impeccable safety record, one of the best in the DOE complex while proudly flying the Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) Star flag for our robust safety program.
We effectively attacked a legacy of chemical vapor issues by drawing on the expertise of national laboratories, government agencies and independent consultants to develop and implement a comprehensive risk-based strategy to protect our workers.
Getting Results
Disciplined 24/7 operations are a hallmark of WRPS. In our tenure, we retrieved high-level radioactive waste from 18 tanks and transferred more than 70 million gallons of waste; replaced an array of scattered control rooms with a single command center and new monitoring and communications systems; upgraded and modernized aging nuclear facilities and infrastructure, and enhanced tank integrity program management.
In short, WRPS is transforming Hanford’s tank farms into a more modern automated environment incorporating improved systems and technology.
Recognized for Innovation
WRPS received international recognition as the Project Management Institute’s Project of the Year for the AY-102 waste retrieval project in 2018. We also won the institute’s North American Award for Project Excellence for our AP Farm Ventilation Upgrade Project. These projects significantly reduced the risk to the environment and worker health. We were also recognized by DOE for our support of small businesses with two Mentor of the Year awards. And, as a recognized leader in employee safety, WRPS received its fourth consecutive VPP Innovation Award.
A Valued Community Partner
Since 2008, WRPS has contributed more than $6.5 million to the Tri-City community. We support Washington State University Tri-Cities, Columbia Basin College and the Washington State STEM Education Foundation programs that create classroom-to-job opportunities. We also provide financial support for the Tri-City Regional Chamber of Commerce Women in Business program and sponsor the Chamber’s Small Business Incentive Grant awards. We remain one of the largest contributors to the local chapter of the United Way.
One Mission, One Team
WRPS is working closely with DOE, state regulators and union leadership to deliver the Hanford mission. As we will begin treating tank waste as soon as 2023, WRPS is developing a delivery system to feed low-activity tank waste to the WTP.
A Standard of Excellence
WRPS continues to set the standard for excellence in transparently managing Hanford’s tank waste through pioneering innovations, modernization efforts, investing in our employees and our community and meeting regulatory cleanup commitments.
AECOM and its partners are proud of their role in solving Hanford’s challenges and ensuring a better tomorrow.