A public meeting to discuss the planned Effluent Management Facility at the Hanford Site’s Waste Treatment Plant has been rescheduled to 5:30 p.m. Jan. 9 at the Richland, Wash., Public Library. The previously scheduled meeting Wednesday was canceled because of predictions for heavy snowfall. Hanford workers were sent home in stages to avoid traffic congestion at 1:30 p.m. and 2:15 p.m. Wednesday. Swing shift was canceled except for workers considered essential.
The Effluent Management Facility is being added to the vitrification plant to enable treatment of Hanford’s radioactive tank waste as soon as 2022 while full operation of the plant is delayed by technical issues. The additional facility, which will treat secondary liquid effluent, requires modification to the Waste Treatment Plant Dangerous Waste Permit, with the initial construction permit modification to be discussed at the rescheduled meeting.