The Department of Energy and Washington state have agreed to grant federal and contract managers a 75-day extension until Oct. 15 to start making glass from some of the less-radioactive tank waste at the Hanford Site at Richland, Wash.
The prior deadline was Aug. 1 and DOE officials announced this latest extension in a Monday morning press release.
This latest extension deal with the Washington state Department of Ecology delays startup of hot-commissioning of the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant’s (WTP) Low-Activity Waste (LAW) Facility. It modifies the pre-existing consent decree with the state.
The hot commissioning deadline has been extended via consent decree modifications in the past, including a significant one granted to make up for work time lost during the Covid-19 pandemic.
In the Monday press release, DOE said this latest extension gives work crews more time to finish testing out equipment and components used in vitrifying some low-level radioactive waste into a solid glass form. The extra time also gives the state more leeway to finish its final permitting
“The process of commissioning this first-in-kind facility is comprehensive and dynamic,” Hanford Field Office Acting Manager Brian Harkins said in the release. “DOE has been working diligently with its contractors, and we anticipate that this will allow sufficient time to complete the complex commissioning process.
“While we’re eager to see the Low Activity Waste Facility begin operation, we recognize the importance of thorough testing of this system for performance and safety,” said Stephanie Schleif, Ecology’s Nuclear Waste program manager, in the same release. “We look forward to the facility treating tank waste early this fall,” Schleif went on to say.
The WTP was built by Bechtel. There is about 56 million gallons of radioactive liquid waste stored in underground tanks at Hanford. It is the residue of decades of plutonium production for the government.