RICHLAND, Wash. - EM’s Office of River Protection (ORP) and tank farms contractor Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS) are navigating tight spaces in Hanford ’s A and AX tank farms as preparations continue for waste retrievals set to start next summer.
“A tremendous amount of work has already been accomplished in A and AX farms under difficult conditions," said Jeff Rambo, ORP tank retrieval program manager. “We look forward to continuing the pace WRPS has established to start retrieval operations."
Crews are removing waste from older single-shell tanks and transferring it to newer, more robust double-shell tanks for safe storage until it can be treated in the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant.
Workers completed retrieval efforts last year for the 16 C farm tanks, the first of Hanford’s single-shell tank farms to be retrieved. The next set of retrievals will begin with the four tanks in AX farm before shifting to the six A farm tanks.
“It’s been a big challenge to remove old equipment while trying to install an entire waste retrieval system and doing it all in a very small footprint," said Peggy Hamilton, WRPS project manager for A and AX retrieval. “But we’re making tremendous progress. We’ve got a talented team that demonstrates excellent teamwork and communication with a focus on doing the work safely."
In the past two years, 15 long-length pieces of equipment were safely removed from AX-102 and 104. These include pumps, thermocouples, and sluicers, which are prepared for shipment to Hanford’s Environmental Restoration Disposal Facility. Thermocouples monitor the temperature of waste, and sluicers are used to mobilize the waste and move it to a central pump.
Workers also have cleaned 15 tank pits - eight associated with AX-102 and 104, and seven with AX-101 and 103. This involved removing equipment such as old leak detection tools and jumpers.
All the work allows for crews to install new retrieval equipment. AX-102 and 104 will use three extended-reach sluicers and a central pump. Workers also will install lighting, cameras, leak-detection components and two control trailers, and test the retrieval system.
Meanwhile, crews have dug trenches in AX farm to install electrical infrastructure to support the retrieval system.
To complete the installation, crews need to excavate more than 2,100 cubic yards of soil, install more than 38,000 linear feet of conduit, and pull more than 170,000 linear feet of wire.
Source: U.S. Dept. of Energy, Office of Environmental Management
