A new legally binding deadline requires cesium and strontium capsules at the Hanford Site in Washington state to be moved to dry storage by August 2025, though some key stakeholders argued the work should done sooner.
The Department of Energy and its regulators, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Washington state Department of Ecology, announced the new milestone in the Tri-Party Agreement on Thursday.
Hanford keeps 1,936 capsules under 13 feet of water in a concrete pool at the Waste Encapsulation and Storage Facility at the center of the site. The 22-inch-long capsules hold cesium and strontium removed from Hanford’s underground waste storage tanks from 1974 to 1985 to help control the buildup of heat in the containers. The capsules account for about a third of the radioactivity remaining at the former plutonium production complex.
The Energy Department has considered moving the capsules to dry storage for at least a decade, with a 2014 report from its Office of Inspector General helping push the project forward. The report said the capsules should be moved as soon as possible given the potential for damage to the storage pool in a severe earthquake. A loss of water could cause the capsules to overheat and breach, releasing radiation.
Stakeholders commenting before the new milestone was finalized echoed those concerns. The Tri-Party Agreement agencies responded to comments in the final approval package for the new milestone, saying funding is the issue even though they agree with the need “for concerted action” to move the capsules to dry storage.
The Energy Department asked Congress for an additional $10 million for the dry storage project in fiscal 2019, but it was not included in the final appropriations bill signed into law last month. If Congress provides funding beyond what DOE requests for compliance with legal requirements for fiscal 2020, the Tri-Party Agreement agencies would consider accelerating the transfer to dry storage, the agencies said in response to comments.
