RICHLAND – Workers at south-central Washington’s Hanford nuclear reservation have finished vacuuming radioactive sludge from one of two basins near the Columbia River.
The K East and K West basins were built in the 1950s to store spent nuclear fuel. Workers completed the removal of 2,300 tons of spent nuclear fuel from both basins in 2004, but found removal of radioactive sludge that was left on the basin floors more difficult.
The pools have been prone to leaks, making cleanup a priority.
“It’s been a lot tougher going than anyone expected,” said Colleen French, spokeswoman for the Energy Department. “So reaching this point is a major, major accomplishment.”
The work completed by contractor Fluor Hanford meets an Oct. 31 commitment to the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, but it followed a string of missed deadlines.
Workers spent years preparing to remove the spent nuclear fuel, but not enough time was devoted to planning for sludge removal, according to a 2005 audit by the DOE Office of Inspector General that was critical of the management of the project.
Two changes turned the project around, said Chris Lucas, director of K East Closure for Fluor Hanford.
At workers’ urging, vacuuming was halted for about four months so fuel racks could be removed. Workers also helped to invent, design, build and test devices needed to retrieve the sludge, Lucas said.
K East is the more contaminated of the two basins, which are about 400 yards from the Columbia River.
One final vacuuming of the K East basin still must be done to collect residual sludge, which will remain underwater to shield workers from radioactivity.
Once the sludge is gone, workers will be able to remove contamination from the concrete walls and floors of the pool. Plans then call for draining the basin, tearing out the concrete and removing soil contaminated by leaks.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
