IG: TANK WASTE FEED DELIVERY REMAINS A CHALLENGE AT HANFORD

Challenges remain for completing Hanford’s tank waste feed delivery system, but DOE has made progress in completing the system that will allow the Waste Treatment Plant to operate, according to an audit by the Department of Energy Office of Inspector General. “We found the department completed a number of waste feed delivery sub-projects earlier than planned and was on track to complete other critical path activities,” the audit concluded. However, the plant’s waste acceptance criteria are yet to be set and uncertainties with tank waste mixing and sampling could also impact the delivery of the waste to the vitrification plant, the audit said. “The department was aware of these problems and told us that it had plans and strategies in place to mitigate the associated risks,” the audit said. DOE has committed to finalizing the waste acceptance criteria in 2015 as part of its plant to address the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board’s recommendation on vitrification plant mixing. Washington River Protection Solutions believes it will have adequate time to formulate the waste to meet the criteria if they are finalized by 2015, the audit said.