WASH. STATE WANTS DOE TO BEGIN PUMPING LIQUID OUT OF LEAKING TANK BY SEPT.

The state of Washington ordered the Department of Energy Friday to start emptying liquid waste by Sept. 1 from Hanford double-shell Tank AY-102, which has an interior leak. The state is expected to follow up that order as early as this week with an announcement on the 2010 consent decree that sets milestones for tank retrieval and treatment. DOE had proposed waiting until at least March 2016 to start emptying the waste. “Waiting another two years, at best, to initiate actions to address this hazardous condition is neither legally acceptable nor environmentally prudent,” said Maia Bellon, director of the Washington State Department of Ecology. The state and DOE disagree on whether liquid should be pumped from the tank before DOE also is ready to pump sludge, which could require two years of advance work.

The liquid helps cool high-heat sludge beneath it, and removing liquid could add to corrosion, generation of hydrogen gas and influence the rate of leakage, according to DOE. The state counters that not addressing leaking waste from the inner shell may lead to a failure of the tank’s cooling system and increases the risk of a leak to the environment. It would allow 96 inches of liquid to remain above the sludge. The Sept. 1 deadline gives DOE time before pumping begins to isolate the AY-02A Pit drain line, which provides a route for additional waste to drain into the tank. The state order also directs DOE to start removing sludge from the tank, in addition to liquids, by Dec. 1, 2015. Complete removal of enough waste to determine the cause of the leak is required by Dec. 1, 2016.