RICHLAND, Wash. - What’s been described as the utility backbone for Hanford ’s Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) is being activated and tested as early preparation to support low-activity tank waste vitrification as soon as 2022.
This startup and testing phase has begun on an array of utilities infrastructure called the plant’s Balance of Facilities. The WTP workforce has completed startup and testing for 20 percent of the utility systems needed to support future plant operations; and more will be brought online as progress continues. These utilities include electrical power distribution and backup power systems, compressed air, communication and control systems, and chilled, process, potable, and fire water and steam systems.
“As systems and subsystems are completed there is a rigorous construction-to-startup turnover that takes place over several weeks where walk-downs, physical inspections, and documentation happen," said Bill Hamel, federal project director for EM’s Office of River Protection (ORP). “This makes sure we know which systems are complete, energized, pressurized, and going through the startup and testing mode while construction continues in other areas of the plant."
To prepare the 65-acre site for eventual operations, ORP and contractor Bechtel National Inc. are orchestrating an overlapping construction, startup, and commissioning approach for WTP’s support utilities.
“There is great benefit to having an integrated construction, startup, and commissioning team," said Felice Presti, Bechtel’s area project manager for WTP’s Balance of Facilities. “During the startup phase, we intentionally test the systems, trying to find and catch issues. When we find a problem, we all work together to fix it to make sure everything works safely and as designed."
As engineers and construction crews finish portions of the utilities, they transfer systems to the startup phase. During startup, workers verify that systems are complete, tested, and in safe and working order. After startup, systems enter a commissioning phase to ensure they are calibrated, maintained, integrated, and ready for future plant operations. All WTP facilities and buildings, including the Low-Activity Waste vitrification facility and a supporting Analytical Laboratory, will complete startup and commissioning phases.
Source: U.S. Dept. of Energy, Office of Environmental Management
