RICHLAND, Wash – The U.S. Department of Energy (USDOE), Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have finalized a landmark agreement that commits to a safe and effective cleanup of radioactive and chemical tank waste, Ecology said in a release.
After weighing public input and tribal input on proposed new and revised cleanup deadlines in the Tri-Party Agreement (TPA) and Washington v. U.S. Dept. of Energy consent decree, a final agreement was made Friday, January 10, said Ecology.
“This historic agreement, reached through years of negotiations with our Tri-Party Agreement partners from the Environmental Protection Agency and the Washington Department of Ecology establishes an achievable plan for our Hanford tank waste mission for the next 15 years. DOE also appreciates the time and effort that the public, stakeholders and Tribes took to review and provide comments on the agreement.” said Brian Vance, Hanford Field Officer Manager
Highlights of the agreement include:
Maintaining existing timeframes for starting treatment of both low-activity waste (2025) and high-level waste (2033) by immobilizing it in glass via vitrificationUsing a direct-feed approach for immobilizing high-level waste in glass, similar to the Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste ProgramBuilding a vault storage system and second effluent management facility to support treating high-level wasteRetrieving waste from 22 tanks in Hanford’s 200 West Area by 2040, including grouting the low-activity portion of the waste for offsite disposalDesigning and constructing 1-million gallons of additional capacity for multi-purpose storage of tank wasteEvaluating and developing new technologies for retrieving waste from tanks
“Cleaning up Hanford’s tank waste is critical for Washington state. With this final agreement, we’ve created a durable framework that will accelerate work while maintaining safety. More tank waste will get retrieved, treated, and disposed through 2040 and beyond. This is the best way to ensure surrounding communities and the Columbia River are protected,” Ecology Director Laura Watson added.
About 56 million gallons of radioactive and hazardous waste have been stored in 177 underground tanks since the Hanford Site began producing plutonium in the 1940s. The USDOE is responsible for the cleanup while Ecology and EPA are regulatory agencies overseeing the cleanup under the Tri-Party Agreement.
Later this year, USDOE plans to hold a 30-day review and comment period on the proposed plan for retrieving, grouting, and transporting some of Hanford’s low-activity tank waste for out-of-state disposal, the release said.
For more information on the Hanford Site cleanup, visit the DOE website and Ecology website.
