RICHLAND, Wash. - EM’s Office of River Protection (ORP) recently turned over four more utility buildings that are part of the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant ’s (WTP’s) Balance of Facilities (BOF) for startup and testing.
The WTP project continues to transition from construction to startup and commissioning, supporting EM’s plan to treat tank waste at the Hanford Site through the Direct Feed Low-Activity Waste (DFLAW) approach by 2023.
The Anhydrous Ammonia Facility, Glass Former Storage Facility, Chiller Compressor Building, and Steam Plant Building are now in the startup phase, where they are verified and tested as complete and in safe working order. The startup phases for the facilities are scheduled for completion in 2019.
“We are steadily progressing on our path to completion as we turn more and more systems and facilities over from construction to startup and commissioning," said Valerie McCain, Bechtel National Inc. (BNI) principal vice president and WTP project director. BNI is ORP’s contractor for the WTP project.
After startup, systems will undergo a commissioning phase to ensure they are ready to support future plant operations.
The four support facilities will provide critical support to WTP during operations:
* The Anhydrous Ammonia Facility will store liquid ammonia and transfer gaseous ammonia to the vitrification facilities to reduce nitrogen oxide in their off-gas streams.
* The Glass Former Storage Facility will house the glass-forming materials to be mixed with the waste during operations, allowing the liquid waste to be converted to glass.
* The Chiller Compressor Building houses major equipment for plant and instrument service air, and chilled water, which all provide utility services to WTP.
* The Steam Plant will supply high-pressure steam to equipment in the vitrification facilities. The plant also provides low-pressure steam for heating equipment throughout WTP.
“Turning these four buildings over to startup is another step that demonstrates our continued commitment to meeting the mission and supporting DOE’s DFLAW approach," said Rick Holmes, Waste Treatment Completion Company general manager.
BOF contains a total of 56 systems, including electrical power distribution, backup power, water purification, compressed air, steam, communication and control, and fire water systems. Of the 56 systems, 27 have successfully completed startup and testing and have transitioned to the commissioning phase; 24 are in the startup phase; and the final five are nearing turnover from construction to startup.
The DFLAW approach is expected to allow treatment of low-level waste to begin by the court-ordered milestone date of 2023.
Source: U.S. Dept. of Energy, Office of Environmental Management
