DOE CHANGING WASTE HAULING PRACTICES
WC Monitor
3/14/2014
The Department of Energy is making changes to improve the safety of how it moves mixed waste on 12.3 miles of roads open to the public on Hanford land and in north Richland, Wash. They include closing all lanes of those roads when waste shipments are moved from Hanford to Perma-Fix Northwest in north Richland. The Washington State Department of Ecology raised some concerns last year after it conducted an inspection of Hanford’s compliance with transportation regulations, including those of the U.S. Department of Transportation and in a memorandum of understanding between the Western Governors Association and DOE.
A DOE study led by its Office of Packaging and Transportation and done in response to the state’s concerns concluded that shipments to Perma-Fix were generally being done in a safe and secure manner, but it made several recommendations to improve safety or better meet regulatory requirements, including closing lanes in both directions. In the past, only the 0.9 mile of the route to Perma-Fix Northwest along Battelle Boulevard was closed to traffic in both directions. On the rest of the route—mostly along Route 4 South to the Hanford Wye Barricade—traffic was only stopped in the direction the waste was being hauled. The waste is moved on a public road across Hanford land and then for about 1.5 miles within city limits in an area that is primarily industrial. It is used by DOE contractors and other businesses focused on dealing with waste or hazardous materials, and there are no homes, schools, churches or retail businesses along the route, according the study.
The lane closures are not required on Route 4 South because the highway south of the security barricade is classified as a divided highway, but the study identified the change in procedures as an opportunity to improve safety. The shipments of waste to Perma-Fix are accompanied by both pilot cars and the Hanford Patrol in front and in back and shipments travel at 10 to 30 mph.
DOE to Increase Coordination With State
Other changes to procedures are required to comply with regulations. The study found that more coordination was needed with the state of Washington, and DOE and the state have drafted a transportation plan. It calls for advance notice of shipments and thorough inspections by the Washington State Patrol of the vehicles used to ship the waste before each shipment. If any problem is found during an inspection that takes about two hours, the shipment cannot be made. DOE also will update the DOE Transportation Safety Document annually, which had not been done. In addition, DOE has responded to a Department of Transportation determination that regulations require that waste be hauled by federal drivers rather than contractor drivers, who are Teamsters who routinely haul mixed waste at Hanford. DOE has arranged for a Bonneville Power Administration driver who lives near Hanford to fill in, said Stacy Charboneau, the DOE Richland Operations Office assistant manager for safety and environment. But the federal driver will be accompanied by a Teamster familiar with Hanford waste procedures.
The changes made by DOE have addressed the state’s concerns, said John Price, of the Washington State Department of Ecology. DOE has been hauling waste to Perma-Fix for about two decades without an accident or incident on the roads, according to DOE. Only 10-to-12 shipments a year to and from Perma-Fix are planned now, but the number of shipments was higher when Hanford was spending American Recovery Act money. The waste often is sent to Perma-Fix to be cut down to a size that will fit in certified shipping packages for trucking waste to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. When the waste is in certified shipping packages, it no longer needs the special handling, such as closed roads and slow speeds.
DEMOLITION OF 300 AREA BUILDINGS IS OVER, FOR NOW
WC Monitor
3/14/2014
Work has come to an end to tear down above-ground buildings at the Hanford 300 Area, at least for a few years, with only a few buildings still scattered across the area. Now all that remains above-ground are the problematic 324 Building and several buildings that are being left for continued use. They include four buildings used by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory researchers, a fire station and a records storage building. The 324 Building is not expected to be torn down for several years as work continues to address a leak of high level radioactive waste from one of its hot cells into the ground beneath it. Over more than a decade the public could see the progress to tear down about 180 obsolete buildings there as they passed by on Route 4 South. Workers displayed many of the signs from the demolished buildings on the fence along the road.
The final structure to come down for now is the Hanford Site Badge House, where above-ground demolition was completed this month. It was one of the newer buildings in the 300 Area, where work started during World War II to fabricate uranium into fuel and to conduct research. The 138-foot-long, single-story badge house was built in 1982 of reinforced concrete. It initially provided office space, including for security workers and personnel relations, and its basement was used as an evacuation control center for some 300 Area workers. It first was called the Security Office Building and later the Security Operating Support Facility, according to the Department of Energy. In 1991, it became the badge house as security measures at Hanford were eased after plutonium production ended. Security badges were issued to some visitors to the site there, and the basement was remodeled for safeguards and security staff offices.
DOE contractor Washington Closure Hanford demolished the building in part by punching holes in the main floor of the building and dropping the debris into its basement, according to DOE. The below-ground demolition and load-out of the debris is expected to be finished this spring. However, the 300 Area will remain an active cleanup site for more than a year. The remaining underground structure of the Plutonium Recycle Test Reactor is still being removed and the 300 Area has piping and waste sites that still must be cleaned up. DOE plans to complete most cleanup in the 300 Area by fall 2015, with the exception of the 324 Building.
