Spe ake r name , Depar tment of Ener gy

What is Hanf or d?

His t or y

• Plutonium product ion

T oday

• 1989 – Present : Cleanup result ing f rom plutonium product ion

• The largest nuclear cleanup project in the count ry

Hanf or d means… • Envir onmental safe ty • Gover nment funding • Employment • Technology deve lopment

Why was t he Hanfor d Sit e s e le ct e d? •Abundant , cold, water source (Columbia River ) •Abundant power (Grand Coulee and Bonneville Dams) •Isolat ion f rom large cit ies, f ar enough inland f rom the Pacif ic Ocean

Residents Nat ive Amer icans, se t t le r s and far mer s wer e given 30 days and modest compensat ion to leave the ar ea

Const r uct ion 1943-1945 •44,000 wor ker s at peak •Secr ecy was par amount

Hanford Histor y

• Site was used to produce plutonium for the bomb that ended WWII in 1945

• Af ter a shor t lull, product ion ramped up in 1947 to meet the challenges of the Cold War

• Plutonium product ion ended at Hanford in 1989 and the mission changed to cleanup

• In 1989, the Depar tment of Energy, the Environmental Protect ion Agency and the State of Washington signed the Tr i-Par ty Agreement

Hanford His t or y

300 Ar ea

100 Ar ea

20 0 Ar e a

Plutonium Pr oduct ion

100 Ar ea: Nine reactors operated to change a port ion of the uranium to plutonium in nuclear react ions.

200 Ar ea: Hundreds of facilit ies operated to remove plutonium f rom reactor fuel rods and manage waste generated dur ing the chemical separat ions processes.

300 Ar ea: Uranium was sent here to be fabr icated into more than 20 million fuel rods for Hanford reactors.

PUREX Plant Par t ial Collapse of tunnel, May 9, 2017

• 20x20’ collapse of dir t cap over tunnel stor ing equipment

• No contaminat ion release

• Crews ref illed the hole with dir t and sand; placed large plast ic cover over ent ire tunnel

• Will f ill Tunnel 1 with engineered grout this calendar year

• Tunnel 2 at r isk f or potent ial collapse

• Evaluat ing opt ions f or stabilizat ion; working with stakeholders and Ecology

Cleanup Scope

• Remove radioact ive/hazardous mater ials, demolish f acilit ies

• Dig up contaminated soil and solid waste and t ranspor t to engineered disposal f acilit y

• Pump and t reat groundwater to remove contaminants, immobilize contaminants in soil to reduce groundwater contaminat ion

• Manage Hanford’s 56 million gallons of liquid chemical and radioact ive waste, cur rent ly stored in 177 large, aging underground tanks

var ied and extensive

Plutonium Finishing Plant • Final stop in plutonium

product ion, began in 1949

• Among highest hazard f acilit ies in DOE waste management

• Scheduled to tear down facilit y by the end of 2017/ear ly 2018

Sludge Treatment Pr oject • 35 cubic yards of radioact ive

sludge near the Columbia River

• Acceptance test ing on equipment used f or t reatment and ret r ieval is underway

• Testament to the success of mockup technologies and procedures

324 Building Disposit ion Pr oje ct • Use of remote-operated

equipment to remove highly-radioact ive soil beneath the 324 Building

• Soil removal allows f or eventual building demolit ion.

T op: The 324 Building is 300 yards f rom the Columbia

River . Above: A mock-up will

improve saf ety and reduce project r isk.

Waste Encapsulat ion Storage Facilit y • Cur rent ly stores 1,936 capsules

in pools of water

• One-third of cesium and st ront ium on the Hanford Site

• Signif icant por t ion of the radioact ivit y on Site

• Plan is to move capsules into dry storage casks

Waste Treatment Plant Updat e

• WTP mission: Immobilize tank waste in glass f or environmental protect ion and long-term storage

• Low-act ivit y waste t reatment could begin as soon as 2022

• Technical issues st ill being resolved f or Pret reatment Facilit y

Hanford Cle anup

T r i-Par t y Agr e e me nt – St at e of Washing t on, EPA, DOE

Hanfor d Advisor y Boar d (HAB) • Board of 32 interest groups

Member s of the public • Comment per iods • Public meet ings • Hanford Speakers Bureau

Elected of f icials and T r ibal leader s • Considerable suppor t f rom regional and

nat ional elected leaders • Signif icant engagement with the f our separate

t r ibal nat ions

WA EPA DOE

is a collabor at ive pr ocess

• Complete demolit ion of Plutonium Finishing Plant

• Clean up research waste bur ial ground (618-10) and nearby waste site (316-4)

• Move highly radioact ive sludge f rom storage near r iver f or f uture t reatment /disposal

• Upgrade/ replace and opt imize Cold-War -era systems to suppor t Cent ral Plateau cleanup

• Complete design of the Low Act ivit y Waste Pret reatment System, to provide near -term waste f eed f or t reatment at the WTP

• Ret r ieve, manage and t reat 56 million gallons of radioact ive waste, cur rent ly stored in 177 aging underground tanks to protect the Columbia River

pr ot e ct t he public, wor ke r s , and t he e nvir onme nt

Hanford’s Near- term Pr ior it ies

• Completed vast major it y of cleanup in 220-square-mile area near Columbia River (428 f acilit ies demolished, 984 waste sites cleaned up, 6 reactors cocooned)

• Began demolit ion of Plutonium Finishing Plant

• Remediat ion of highly radioact ive waste site near r iver (618-10 Bur ial Ground) near ly complete

Hanford’s Recent Succe sse s

• Replace 70-year -old water reservoir system needing mult iple repairs with smaller reservoirs in center of Hanford

• Update por t ions of decades-old elect r ical dist r ibut ion system for long-term mission needs through 2060

• Fur ther accelerate tank waste t reatment mission by aligning tank space management , operat ional ef f iciencies and waste t reatment

incr e ase e ff icie ncie s and acce le r at e cle anup

Opportunit ies Exist to

• Recent t ransfer of 1,641 acres of land f or redevelopment

• Local economy benef it s f rom increased tour ism

• Public tour oppor tunit ies

mor e acce s s and land use

Cleanup Enables

STEM Init ia t ive s

• Suppor t STEM to meet the challenges associated with the Hanford cleanup mission

• Help students create a pathway f rom school to their career goals by understanding the skills needed by people working in the occupat ions of their career

• Ensure students understand and act on STEM career oppor tunit ies available through career and technical educat ion and t raining programs, including youth f rom under represented populat ions

• Engage students in new f ields of study

How can you get Involve d?

www.hanf ord.gov

www.f acebook.com/ hanf ordsite

www.twit ter .com/ hanf ordsite

www.youtube.com/ hanf ordsite

www.hanf ord.gov/ page.cf m/ Hanf ordStory

www.hanf or d.gov/ page.cf m/ Get Involved