Comment Deadline Extended on Grouting Hanford Underground Facilities

Stakeholders now have until June 29 to comment on Energy Department plans to use grout to stabilize three underground waste structures at the Hanford Site in Washington state.

The original deadline for comments was April 24, which was later extended until May 22, then pushed back again, according to a recent notice from DOE.

The three retired structures are located within the footprint of the Plutonium Finishing Plant. All are contaminated with plutonium and at risk of failure. They would be filled with concrete-like grout eliminate the risk of collapse.

The at-risk structures are:

• The 216-Z-2 Crib, basically a large wooden box previously used for plutonium-contaminated waste from PFP, which DOE wants to stabilize this summer;
• The 241-Z-361 Settling Tank, a concrete facility with a steel liner that was also used for PFP waste, which would be shored up second; and,
• The 216 Z-9 Crib, which has a concrete cover and steel columns for contaminated waste. Stabilization would be done this fall and winter.

Hanford managers want to avoid another situation similar to the partial collapse in May 2017 of waste-storage Tunnel 1 at Hanford’s Plutonium Uranium Extraction (PUREX) Plant. In February, the Government Accountability Office said DOE should do a better job monitoring old facilities.

While the projects do not constitute emergency work, they are time sensitive and should not be put off too long, DOE has said. A virtual meeting on the proposed plans was held May 7.

Comments should be sent to [email protected].