The Department of Energy said Wednesday it has deposited its first big batch of glass logs, made from liquid radioactive tank waste, at the Hanford Site’s Integrated Disposal Facility at Richland, Wash.
DOE’s Office of Environmental Management and contractor Central Plateau Cleanup said in a press release that the Integrated Disposal Facility received the first containers last fall, and staged them on a nearby concrete pad prior to disposal. About 25 stainless-steel containers are ready to be moved into the disposal cell, according to the press release.
After decades of work, Hanford crews finally started vitrifying Hanford’s less radioactive tank waste into a solid glass form in October. The work is occurring at Direct Feed Low Activity Waste (DFLAW) Facilities at the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant, the multibillion-dollar plant built by Bechtel National.
“This is a proud and meaningful achievement for the entire Hanford team,” Hanford Site Manager Ray Geimer said in the release. “Safely beginning disposal shows that the systems, facilities and people needed to support tank waste treatment are working together. Each container placed in the IDF reduces long‑term environmental risk and moves us forward on DOE’s commitment to protect the community and the environment.”
Glass logs made from the low-level waste can be disposed of at the on-site IDF, but vitrified glass made from high-level radioactive waste, which should start in the 2030s, must wait for a DOE-approved deep underground repository.
Hanford has 56 million gallons of tank waste, most of it low-level, left over from decades of plutonium production.