The spread of radioactive and hazardous contamination in the Hanford Site’s REDOX processing complex is escalating, according to a new Department of Energy engineering evaluation and cost analysis. The plant is not expected to be demolished until about 2032, but might be left standing longer due to its proximity in central Hanford to the 222-S Laboratory. The lab might be used for another 40 to 50 years to support Waste Treatment Plant operations.
The evaluation considered three options to help prevent the spread of contamination at REDOX. The preferred alternative provided the most protection among the three options, which would range in cost from $148 million to $181 million. It calls for tearing down an annex and the Nitric Acid and Iodine Recovery Building; removing hexone storage tanks; and doing work inside the main REDOX building, including hazard abatement and demolition preparation.
Inspections from 2012 to 2015 showed increased contamination spread each year within the plant, according to the evaluation. A white powder found on floors in 2013 is believed to be salt used to neutralize the processing system after it was shut down in 1967. It appeared to have corroded through the stainless steel piping. Leaks in the roof and contamination joints allowed precipitation into the building, spreading other radioactive waste. The inspections also found animal intrusion.
REDOX, the Reduction-Oxidation Plant, was used to process irradiated uranium fuel rods to remove plutonium. Unlike earlier plants it also recovered uranium for production into additional fuel rods. While the earlier T and B Plants could process 1 to 1.5 tons of uranium each day, REDOX could process up to 12 tons daily. The heavy use from 1952 through 1967 left the plant highly contaminated, according to DOE. The plant is 470 feet long and 160 feet wide.
