RICHLAND, Wash. - View this video about how laboratory technicians at the Hanford Site ’s Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant have been building proficiency in using a system that will safely transfer samples of radioactive waste from the Low-Activity Waste (LAW) Facility to the plant’s Analytical Laboratory for analysis. This autosampling system functions much like a pneumatic tube system at a bank drive-thru. Samples collected from LAW Facility process vessels are put into containers and transferred to the lab through a tube system by using pressurized air. During Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste Program operations, plant chemists and technicians will analyze about 3,000 waste samples per year. Their analyses will confirm the correct “recipe" of glass-forming materials needed to mix with the waste during vitrification, or immobilization in glass, for safe disposal. This step ensures the plant produces a consistent glass form that meets all regulatory requirements and standards for disposal at Hanford’s Integrated Disposal Facility.
Source: U.S. Dept. of Energy, Office of Environmental Management
