EM Office of River Protection (ORP) tank operations contractor Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS) recently completed construction of a backup load-in station at the Effluent Treatment Facility (ETF) — another step in preparing for tank waste treatment on the Hanford Site.
Watch a time-lapse video of the backup load-in station construction here.
“We broke ground on the backup facility about a year ago,” said Rob Wood, WRPS project manager. “I am proud of the team for completing this portion of the load-in expansion project and doing it safely. In phase two, expansion of the main load-in station will prepare us for 24/7 operations on the Hanford Site.”
The backup facility is handling waste transfers from across the site while crews work to expand the main wastewater load-in station at the ETF. Last month, the first tanker unloaded 6,200 gallons of low-level leachate at the backup facility. Leachate is water from rain, snowmelt and dust suppression activities.
Click here to watch a time-lapse video of the first tanker truck at the new backup facility unloading low-level leachate collected from a mixed-waste burial trench.
With the backup facility in operation, demolition has begun on the main load-in station interior. The building will also be extended 30 feet to allow tanker trucks to fit completely inside, and a new unloading platform will be constructed, allowing the drivers to better communicate with the facility operators. Modifications will also enable an additional tanker to prepare for unloading while another tanker is being emptied, which will nearly double the building’s capacity.
“Expanding the load-in station is a key part of our Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste Program for treating tank waste,” said Bibek Tamang, ORP’s ETF program manager. “This backup facility is phase one of construction and will carry us through the next six months of construction on the new facility.”
During tank waste treatment operations, additional leachate will be processed at the ETF. The leachate will be collected and sent from the site’s integrated Disposal Facility. Approximately 1.2 million gallons of leachate per year is expected to be sent to the ETF during the operations.
Original source can be found here.
