A new contractor has been awarded a subcontract to continue risk-reduction work for a decommissioned nuclear complex in south-central Washington.
Primary tasks for the subcontractor, Richland-based Intermech Inc., include installation of a pump system to remove 1.2 million gallons of water from the K West Reactor spent fuel storage basin at the site, according to a July 12 Department of Energy news release. Once the water is removed, Intermech workers are expect to fill the basin with "engineered grout and controlled density fill — similar to concrete — to prepare the structure for removal through demolition."
"Hanford's prime contractor awards a subcontractor to continue critical work on the K West Reactor spent fuel storage basin," DOE Environmental Management said in a July 14 post on Twitter. "This work will include installing a system to pump out 1.2 million gallons of water from the basin."
"Stabilizing and removing the basin are important steps toward cocooning the reactor," Kelly Ebert, DOE team lead for cleanup in the site's K Reactor Area, said in the news release. "Each of these steps also bring us closer to completing cleanup of this reactor area near the river."
DOE's office of Environmental Management Richland Operations Office's prime contractor, Central Plateau Cleanup Company, awarded the subcontract at the Hanford Site in Benton County, Wash., on the Columbia River, the news release said.
Work on the multiphase project such as characterizing and slicing the basin's debris, including contaminated tools and equipment, is being carried out by workers who remotely sort, wash and load the debris into steel tubes, according to the release. From there, the debris is expected to be grouted and removed when the basin is demolished.
"Our team has already made tremendous progress to prepare the K West Basin for demolition," Central Plateau Cleanup Company Fieldwork Supervisor Zachary Dean said in the news release. "The next phase of the project puts us on the home stretch to finish the job and ultimately eliminate another risk to the nearby Columbia River."
