RICHLAND, Wash. - EM’s Richland Operations Office (RL) and contractor CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Company (CH2M) are preparing to move highly radioactive sludge away from the Columbia River.
Hanford Site workers shipped equipment and tools from a mock-up facility to the 100 K Reactor Area. The equipment is being installed in the K West Reactor’s former spent fuel basin, where 35 cubic yards of sludge is stored in containers, and in a nearby annex.
Employees prepared for this first-of-a-kind work in the mock-up building inside the site’s Maintenance and Storage Facility. They developed and tested technology and tools in the non-radioactive environment. The testing was integral to resolving issues in the project.
“This equipment system testing at the mock-up and in the K Area will ensure we can have a high level of confidence that the system will work as designed," RL Project Director Mark French said.
Workers plan to ship and install sludge removal and handling equipment this month. They are scheduled to complete tests by mid-March to ensure the system performs as expected.
“It’s a great feeling to see all of this coming together so well," said Andre LaBonty, a CH2M construction project lead. “There are many layers of teams coordinating to make this possible: operations, construction, engineering, the group at the mock-up facility and others."
The sludge is stored in six stainless steel containers under 16 feet of water that provides shielding. The basin is 400 yards from the river.
Source: U.S. Dept. of Energy, Office of Environmental Management
