Hanford Site cleanup crews recently completed one of the most challenging projects in recent years, according to workers at the hazardous waste site.
They reportedly worked in a valve pit—an underground area filled with pipes and valves that help control the management of the waste storage tanks. Before the job, the pit had high levels of radiation and debris, making restoration work difficult.
“Thanks to careful planning, contamination control, and diligent execution, Hanford Tank Waste Operations & Closure (H2C) workers were able to lower the radiation dose by 80%, creating a safer space for future waste retrieval projects and maintenance,” wrote the Hanford Site. “Their hard work made a big difference.”
History of Hanford
For more than 40 years, reactors located at Hanford produced plutonium for America’s defense program. According to an explainer from hanford.gov, the process of making plutonium was extremely “inefficient” in that a massive amount of liquid and solid waste was generated, while only a small amount of plutonium was produced.
Additionally, all the facilities and structures that were associated with Hanford’s defense mission must also be deactivated, decommissioned, decontaminated, and demolished. That environmental cleanup project is the work that about 13,000 Hanford workers are involved in today. Learn more here.
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