RICHLAND, Wash. - Hanford Site workers are removing waste from the 324 Building ’s airlock so they can eventually clear out contaminated soil from beneath the building. The airlock helps provide contamination control when accessing adjacent hot cells where workers once handled radioactive materials.
The airlock will serve as an access point to install remote-operated equipment to remove the contaminated soil underneath one of the hot cells and place it in other hot cells for eventual disposal. This work is necessary before demolition of the 324 Building begins in 2019.
Waste in the airlock, including plastic and contaminated clothing, is scheduled for removal by September. Workers with EM Richland Operations Office contractor CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Company are preparing a full-scale mockup of the airlock and B Cell. They will install the remote-operated equipment there for testing and training before moving it to the 324 Building.
Source: U.S. Dept. of Energy, Office of Environmental Management
