A Department of Energy contractor has demolished a 175-foot-tall K West Reactor exhaust stack at the Hanford Site in Richland, Wash., DOE said Friday Feb. 20.
Last week’s implosion of the exhaust stack marks another big step by Amentum-led contractor Central Plateau Cleanup Company towards cocooning the last of nine Hanford reactors being placed into long-term storage, DOE’s Office of Environmental Management said in the press release.
DOE and its cleanup contractor are seeking to shrink the contaminated reactor area at Hanford near the Columbia River, according to the news release. Central Plateau Cleanup is also moving cesium and strontium capsules from wet to dry storage as part of its remediation work at Hanford.
“This project demonstrates how we are using careful planning and expert technology to expedite legacy cleanup actions,” said Hanford Site Manager Ray Geimer in the release. “Safely removing this structure is an important step in clearing the area around the K reactor for the next phase of demolition where heavy equipment will access and demolish the old K West fuel storage basin that is connected to the K West reactor building.”
A 30-second video of the exhaust stack implosion was posted on youtube.