DOE Submits Plan to DNFSB to Upgrade Tank Farm Ventilation
WC Monitor
9/19/2014
The Department of Energy has submitted reports on upgrading ventilation for Hanford’s double-shell tanks and new examination technologies in response to a Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board recommendation on flammable gas safety at the tank farms. “This report proposes using portable exhausters with self-contained generator units to provide the necessary air flow when the flammable gas hazard exists and the DST primary tank ventilation system is inoperable,” DOE said in a Sept 10 letter to the DNFSB. The portable exhauster units would cost $10.8 million and take 20 months to implement, according to a rough order of magnitude estimate included in the report.
The Department also submitted a report on several types of non-destructive examination technologies. “The report also includes advantages and disadvantages of the technologies in view of the configuration of the ventilation ducts and lengths of duct runs in the various double-shell tank (DST) primary ventilation systems,” states a Sept. 10 letter accompanying that report. However, DOE’s Office of River Protection has not yet completed its evaluation of the proposed approach and proposed inspection technologies, which both are slated for completion in early Fiscal Year 2015, according to the letter. DOE also recently delayed completion of seven deliverables in its implementation plan for a time period of between 6 and 18 months.
