RICHLAND, Wash. - EM’s Office of River Protection (ORP) and its contractor Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS) continue to make substantial progress demobilizing equipment from Hanford ’s C Tank Farm.
In November 2017, ORP and WRPS completed waste removal operations from the last of 16 underground storage tanks in C Farm, making it the first of Hanford’s tank farms to be retrieved. C Farm is one of the oldest tank farms at Hanford, dating back to the Manhattan Project.
WRPS has been working to disposition a wide variety of in-farm retrieval equipment. “We’re de-energizing most everything used for flow or power that is no longer in use," said Garth Stowe, WRPS project manager.
Permanent water and power will remain available for future use, including the possible removal of waste from Catch Tank C-301 and the 244-CR Vault, and eventual closure of all C-Farm tanks.
“We’re moving along at a good pace," Stowe said. “We had a very mild winter that allowed us to gain some momentum. We’ve got an experienced, hardworking crew that is used to adjusting to changing conditions and ensuring the work is completed safely."
By September, the team is scheduled to complete the removal of the last 20 hose-in-hose transfer lines from C Farm to AN Farm. The lines are used to move highly contaminated waste from single-shell tanks to double-shell tanks. Removing them involves disconnecting and capping the lines from tank pits, splitter boxes, and diversion boxes. The hose sections are then moved into a radiological materials area, where they will be loaded into waste containers for transport to the Environmental Restoration Disposal Facility in central Hanford.
“ORP is encouraged by the great progress that continues to be made at C Farm," Tank Retrievals Program Manager Jeff Rambo said. “Completing retrieval in these 16 tanks and beginning the process to close our first tank farm is a major cleanup achievement for Hanford, and one the workforce should take great pride in."
Source: U.S. Dept. of Energy, Office of Environmental Management
