RICHLAND, Wash. - EM Richland Operations Office (RL) contractor Central Plateau Cleanup Company (CPCCo) is preparing to implement key components of a system that will isolate and stabilize about 15,000 pounds of radioactive debris in the K West Reactor spent fuel storage basin on the Hanford Site.
Workers recently completed system testing at a mock-up in Hanford’s Maintenance and Storage Facility, as well as at a site in Texas. Mock-ups are used extensively at Hanford to train workers and test equipment before starting work in a radiological environment.
Stabilization of debris in the 1.2-million-gallon water-filled basin follows the successful removal and transfer of radioactive sludge in September 2019.
“Stabilizing and removing debris is one of the final steps leading to removing water from and demolishing the basin," said Mark French, RL project and facilities division director. “Installing this system will allow us to do the work needed to complete cleanup activities in Hanford’s K West Area."
Waste material left in the K West Reactor Basin after 60 years of fuel storage operations - such as contaminated tools, scrap metal, and fuel canister lids - will be placed into baskets, washed, and remotely loaded into 4-foot-diameter, 22-foot-tall tubes - called vertical pipe casings - installed in the basin.
The partially filled casings will then be drained and filled with an engineered grout to stabilize the waste. After the basin has been drained and filled with grout, an auger will blend the contents of the pipe casings to prepare the material for removal and packaging during basin demolition. The packaged waste will be characterized to identify the appropriate disposal path.
“Our skilled team continues to make excellent progress installing the stabilization system," said Matt St. Germaine, contractor operations manager for the project. “This effort builds on the successful removal of radioactive sludge from the basin and maintains our focus on reducing risk to the nearby Columbia River."
Waste processing in the vertical pipe casings is expected to begin this summer.
Source: U.S. Dept. of Energy, Office of Environmental Management
