Under a settlement with the state, the Department of Energy will install portable showers at the Integrated Disposal Facility once it starts receiving canisters of glass made from radioactive waste at the Hanford Site in Washington state.
The agreement, dated March 4 and signed by attorneys for DOE and the Washington Department of Ecology, was announced Thursday by the state.
The deal would resolve a legal dispute that arose between the agencies while DOE sought permit modifications for the disposal facility that figures prominently in plans to convert liquid low-level radioactive tank waste into solid glass.
In June 2023, DOE appealed a Washington Ecology permit action directing DOE and contractor Central Plateau Cleanup to install decontamination showers at the Integrated Disposal Facility. DOE balked, saying it has exclusive authority to regulate Hanford health and safety and decide if any decontamination showers are needed.
With the settlement, the Washington Pollution Control Hearings Board dismissed the DOE appeal on March 13.
The settlement agreement stipulates a portable shower, also known as a drench shower, will be installed at either the mobile support office, the restroom trailer, or both.
The shower “assists in flushing chemicals/grout used for treatment/landfill leachate from personnel,” according to the five-page document. The shower can capture the water and any contaminants washed off the workers so it could be managed “as dangerous waste, if applicable.”
Once the Washington Treatment and Immobilization Plant built by Bechtel starts operations next year, the Integrated Disposal Facility in the 200 Area will receive canisters of less radioactive waste solidified into a glass-like solid.
