Before
and after: Photos of the Plutonium Finishing Plant’s main processing
facility at the Hanford Site from November 2016, at top, and after the
completion of demolition earlier this month.
RL
contractor CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Company (CHPRC) began the
final phase of demolition in early November last year after completing lower-risk demolition activities in late October.
The
PFP main processing facility was nicknamed “Z-Plant,” because it was
the last stop of plutonium production at Hanford. It operated from 1949
to 1989 and contained two processing lines where workers using glove
boxes would create hockey-puck-sized plutonium “buttons” for shipment to
weapons-manufacturing facilities. Plutonium production left glove boxes
and other pieces of plutonium processing equipment highly contaminated.
Decades
of demolition preparations included decontaminating and removing about
200 pieces of plutonium processing equipment like glove boxes,
contaminated process lines, asbestos, ventilation piping, and other
hazards.
Following
removal of the main processing facility, the final activities at PFP
include packaging and safe disposal of the rubble from the Plutonium
Reclamation Facility, core sampling of soil beneath the building pads,
and stabilization of the site with a soil cover. This work — part of the
overall Hanford cleanup effort that focuses on the safety of the
workforce, the public, and environment — begins this month and is
expected to be completed this summer.
The work will continue to be done under the same demolition strategy
and same enhanced safety controls that have proven effective in
protecting workers, the public, and the environment since lower-risk
demolition work began in September 2018.
“This
demolition project was one of the most challenging risk-reduction
efforts in the DOE complex,” said Jason Casper, CHPRC vice president of
the PFP closure project. “I could not be more proud of our dedicated
workforce in safely completing this monumental task.”
This time-lapse video highlights demolition of the main processing facility from November 2016 through completion of the teardown earlier this month.
Weekly updates on PFP activities may be found here.
-Contributor: Dieter Bohrmann
Oak Ridge Begins Takedown of Last Standing ETTP Lab Facility
Oak Ridge crews knock down the K-1006 Building at the East Tennessee Technology Park.
OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – Demolition is underway on the last laboratory facility remaining at Oak Ridge's East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP), as EM moves toward completing all major teardowns at the former uranium enrichment complex by the end of this year.
EM
and cleanup contractor UCOR are demolishing the K-1006 Building, which
was constructed in 1962 to support operations at the former Oak Ridge
Gaseous Diffusion Plant. The structure is among the few unneeded
buildings still standing at the site.
As
part of a deactivation process, teams removed asbestos and other waste
from the building. Asbestos abatement presented challenges due to
densely packed asbestos piping, making it difficult to access, but crews
finished the work successfully.
An EM crew gathers before performing deactivation work inside the K-1006 Building to prepare the facility for demolition.
EM
workers at the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center transfer
Experimental Breeder Reactor-II spent nuclear fuel from the Chemical
Processing Plant-666 basin to a shipping cask.
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho – EM workers are set to soon begin transferring spent nuclear fuel from an underwater basin to a dry storage area at DOE’s Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Site.
The project is necessary for DOE to meet a milestone with the state of Idaho to have all spent nuclear fuel
transferred from wet to dry storage by 2023. Workers are safely
transferring the fuel from wet to dry storage and preparing for its
final disposition at an off-site repository.
Spent nuclear fuel from the Experimental Breeder Reactor-II
(EBR-II) reactor is currently stored in the Chemical Processing
Plant-666 (CPP) basin at the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering
Center. The fuel will be retrieved from there, transferred to a shipping
cask, loaded onto a tractor trailer, and transported across the INL
Site to the Radioactive Scrap and Waste Facility (RSWF). The cask will
then be unloaded from the trailer, placed over below-ground steel fuel
storage liners, and lowered into place.
EBR-II
operated at the former Argonne National Laboratory-West, now the
Materials and Fuels Complex, from 1964 until 1994. It generated power
for the INL and supported reactor research. Spent nuclear fuel from
EBR-II was transferred to the CPP-666 basin from 1986 to 1999.
To
prepare to move the fuel, engineers designed a mock-up of the spent
fuel liner at RSWF to practice unloading the fuel. This mock-up allowed
crews to practice using a mobile crane and forklift as well as
positioning, adjusting, and operating equipment to simulate the setup at
RSWF. Crews conducted test runs and project personnel even held an
emergency drill to simulate a non-normal event related to the fuel
moves.
“The
mock-up and dry runs are absolutely beneficial for crews to practice
fuel moves and get familiar with the type of equipment they will be
using for the actual moves,” said Mark Stubblefield, spent nuclear fuel
manager with Fluor Idaho, EM’s INL Site cleanup contractor.
Earlier
this year, the last of the U.S. Navy’s spent nuclear fuel was
transferred from the CPP-666 basin to the nearby Naval Reactors Facility
for dry storage. The basin is nearly 94-percent empty, with only two
fuel types remaining: EBR-II and Advanced Test Reactor (ATR). Workers
are making progress transferring the ATR fuel to CPP-603, a dry-storage
facility.
-Contributor: Erik Simpson
West Valley’s 200-Foot Meteorological Tower Passes Inspection
A
meteorological tower at EM’s West Valley Demonstration Site recently
underwent an annual inspection by the company Mid-State Communications.
WEST VALLEY, N.Y. – A 200-foot meteorological tower critical to cleanup planning at EM’s West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP) Site recently passed an annual inspection.
“The
annual inspection results are good news for the site and our use of the
meteorological tower information for site work,” EM WVDP Director Bryan
Bower said. “This information helps provide historical data for
long-term planning, weather impacts, and responses to any unplanned
conditions.”
Demolition
work is dependent on the weather, which can produce high winds, rain,
snow, and ice at this upstate site, especially in winter, according to
Janice Williams, vice president of regulatory strategy for WVDP cleanup
contractor CH2M HILL BWXT West Valley (CHBWV).
“The
meteorological tower is an important tool for the project and provides
key risk management information that can be used for project success,”
Williams said. “Being prepared is a key factor in the success of any
project.”
Inspectors
from the company Mid-State Communications examined the tower, including
wires and concrete blocks that keep it upright and in place. The wires
were re-tensioned as needed. The inspectors also climbed the tower to
check the structure’s steel and replace lights.
-Contributor: Joseph Pillittere
Interested in STEM News From DOE?
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EM Update | Vol. 12, Issue 6 | Feb. 11, 2020
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Hanford Crews Complete Demolition of PFP’s Main Processing Facility
RICHLAND, Wash. – The Hanford Site facility that produced two thirds of the nation’s Cold War-era plutonium no longer exists.
Workers recently demolished the Plutonium Finishing Plant’s (PFP) main processing facility, after 40 years of operations and 20 years of cleanout and demolition preparation.
“Removal
of this iconic building forever changes the landscape at the Hanford
Site and highlights a historic accomplishment in the Department of
Energy’s overall cleanup mission,” said Tom Teynor, federal project
director for PFP demolition at the EM Richland Operations Office (RL). “Everyone who contributed to this achievement should be very proud of their efforts.”
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A view of Oak Ridge's K-1006 Building before demolition. The building was constructed in 1962 to support operations at the site.
From
1998 to 2019, a portion of K-1006 was leased to Material and Chemistry
Laboratory, Inc., a commercial applied research company providing
consulting and analytical testing for industrial forensics, materials
characterization, and environmental chemistry.
EM
is transforming the former uranium enrichment complex into a multi-use
industrial park, national park, and conservation area. The cleanup
program has already transferred almost 1,300 acres at ETTP for economic
development, with another 600 acres slated for transfer in the years
ahead. EM has also set aside more than 100 acres for historic
preservation and placed more than 3,000 acres in conservation for
community recreational use.
-Contributor: Wayne McKinney
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Crews to Move Fuel to Dry Storage in Compliance with Idaho Agreement | ||
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An inspector climbs a 200-foot meteorological tower at EM’s West Valley Demonstration Project Site.
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