The Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant at the Hanford Site has produced the initial container of test glass as workers commission the first of two large melters in the plant’s Low-Activity Waste Facility, the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management (EM) announced. “With the first container of test glass produced, we are entering the next era of risk reduction in the Hanford environmental cleanup mission as we work towards the start of tank waste immobilization,” Hanford Site Manager Brian Vance said. “This achievement represents a significant step towards a cleaner and more sustainable future. We are excited about the positive impact this project will have on our community and the environment, and we remain committed to our mission.”
Bechtel National, Inc., which is designing, building and commissioning the plant for EM, applauded the project team’s historic achievement “We are honored to celebrate this milestone,” said Brian Hartman, Bechtel senior vice president and project director for the plant. “It stands as a testament to the unwavering dedication and the hard work of our incredible partners and team.” Earlier this year, EM and Bechtel finished heating up the first of two melters that will transform Hanford radioactive and chemical tank waste into a vitrified glass form safe for disposal.
In August, Hanford crews started making glass after workers poured the first batches of glass beads, called frit, into the melter. By early September, the first molten pool of glass was created in a commissioning process that led to filling the first container with test glass recently at the plant. This is a major step toward future immobilization of low-activity tank waste from Hanford’s underground tanks in a glass form for disposal.
“Turning tank waste into robust and stable glass for final disposal is paramount to the protection of the Columbia River and the Pacific Northwest. Today we celebrate Energy completing the first test glass made by a state-of-the-art melter — the largest of its kind in the world,” said Suzanne Dahl, Tank Waste Treatment section manager with the Washington Department of Ecology’s Nuclear Waste Program. “We look forward to completion of additional testing, and finally to vitrification of actual tank waste. Thanks to Energy and its contractors for our productive partnership involving the permitting and construction of this crucial facility.”
Lessons learned from the first melter heatup have been integrated into plans to heat up the second melter in the near future. The frit for this project is provided by Richland-based Fluid Controls and Components Inc.