RICHLAND, Wash. - Structural concrete foundation and wall placements are complete for the Effluent Management Facility (EMF) at Hanford ’s Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP). The building will support the EM Office of River Protection ’s plans to begin treating radioactive tank waste at the WTP through the Direct Feed Low-Activity Waste (DFLAW) approach.
The EMF works along with robust underground double-walled transfer pipes as part of the WTP Balance of Facilities (BOF) support infrastructure to concentrate liquid secondary waste, or effluents, that can be generated during the treatment of the off-gas from the Low-Activity Waste Facility melter.
“Working toward completing Balance of Facilities construction will support overall plant startup and commissioning efforts," said Jason Young, ORP BOF federal project director. “So far, we have completed the construction and startup testing phases for more than 25 percent of the BOF support systems."
Building concrete work began last year and has included more than 990 tons of reinforcing steel bar, 147 tons of embeds, and 7,465 cubic yards of high-strength concrete.
“Finishing the Effluent Management Facility main concrete foundation and walls is another sign of progress toward achieving DFLAW," said Brian Reilly, Bechtel National, Inc. project director for the WTP Project. “Once the topping slab and protective floor coatings are complete, the next key steps are to receive the necessary permit authorization and begin installing process equipment and piping racks inside the building."
The DFLAW approach is expected to enable treatment of low-activity waste to begin well in advance of the court-ordered milestone date of 2023. This approach will increase available double-shell tank space and provide valuable lessons learned to aid startup and commissioning of other portions of the WTP.
Source: U.S. Dept. of Energy, Office of Environmental Management
