The state of Washington said Wednesday the Department of Energy has its final authorization to start turning radioactive tank waste into glass at the Hanford Site’s Low-Activity Waste Facility.
DOE faces an Oct. 15 deadline to begin operating the facility that state officials had recently feared the feds might walk away from.
The Washington state Department of Ecology issued an operating permit for the Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste (DFLAW) facility at the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP). The state said DOE can start making glass once testing is complete on the second melter.
“Our state has done our part to start up the Waste Treatment Plant,” said Gov. Bob Ferguson (D) in a statement emailed to Exchange Monitor. “Now the federal government needs to live up to its responsibilities and clean up what they left behind.”
In addition, the Washington state Department of Health issued the Radioactive Air Emissions License for operation of the LV-S3 Melter Exhaust System, which was the final license needed by that state agency.
“With this approval, we are now just days away from transforming nuclear waste into glass,” said Ecology Director Casey Sixkiller in a statement emailed to Exchange Monitor. “This is a milestone in our state’s efforts to oversee cleanup of the Hanford Site’s toxic legacy.”
“Pulling dangerous waste out of aging underground tanks and turning it into glass for safe, permanent disposal is what we’ve been working toward for decades,” Sixkiller said.
“This license reflects our commitment to the highest safety standards as we address one of the most serious environmental health risks in our state,” said Washington Secretary of Health Dennis Worsham. “We will maintain rigorous oversight and continue working with our partners to ensure this cleanup is done safely and responsibly, protecting Washington residents for generations to come.”
Members of the DOE hierarchy, from Secretary of Energy Chris Wright to the acting head of DOE’s Office of Environmental Management have in recent weeks sought to allay fears that federal commitment to the $24-billion project is wavering. A couple of weeks ago DOE issued its critical decision in favor of WTP operation.
Industry sources have told the Monitor in recent weeks that disagreement over the plant, meant to vitrify liquid radioactive sludge into a solid glass form, factored into the termination of the prior acting head of nuclear cleanup, Roger Jarrell.
Hanford has about 56 million gallons of liquid radioactive tank waste stored in underground tanks, some of which have already leaked. The tank waste is the residue of plutonium production for U.S. nuclear defense purposes. Hanford stopped making plutonium in 1987.
Bechtel has a $16-billion contract, which started in December 2000, for construction of WTP. The often-delayed glassification of low-level waste is scheduled to start this month followed by startup on the high-level waste facilities at WTP in the 2030s.
At some point to be determined by DOE, Bechtel will hand over operation of the DFLAW facilities to BWXT-led Hanford Tank Waste Operations & Closure. It has a $45-billion contract to empty tanks and vitrify waste. Its contract runs through 2034.
The federal government shutdown, should it become protracted, could complicate the Oct. 15 startup of glass-making at the new plant.