The Energy Department is taking public comment through Aug. 14 on options for management of deteriorating structures at the B Plant complex at the Hanford Site in Washington state.
B Plant is located in the 200 East Area of the 580-square-mile Hanford Site. From the 1940s until 1952, the complex was used for the chemical separation of plutonium from irradiated fuel rods for U.S. nuclear weapons. B Plant was modified and restarted in the 1960s to separate cesium and strontium from radioactive tank waste, according to DOE.
The work left behind a significant amount of contamination at the complex, which has been unoccupied since the 1990s. Hazardous materials such as asbestos, beryllium, and PCBs are found within the B Plant Complex, as are cesium and strontium are also found on the site.
Conditions of the B Plant complex structures are growing worse, “as evidenced by water leaks, stains, exposed insulation, and deterioration,” the Energy Department said in the public comment notice.
The engineering evaluation/cost analysis for the facility lays out three options. One is to do nothing. The second is a $118.4 million plan for surveillance and maintenance of B Complex structures, eliminating hazards at the 221 B Canyon building, and demolition and grouting of the 291 B Canyon ventilation system.
The third option, favored by the Energy Department, is a $123.1 million proposal that would include everything identified in Option 2 along with preparation for demolition of the 221 B Building. “Alternative 3 provides the best combination of actions to protect workers, the public and the environment while meeting the remedial action objectives,” DOE said in the notice.
The Energy Department describes this as a “non-critical” removal action that if left unaddressed could eventually pose a threat to human, health, and the environment. Background documents on the status of the B Complex, which can be found here. The records indicate that removal of major radioactive components at the facility started in 1996.
Waste from the B Plant Complex would be disposed of on-site at the Environmental Restoration Disposal Facility.
The notice did not include a timeline for completion of the work. Also ask DOE about that for Friday. Comments can be emailed by Aug. 14 to [email protected]. Questions can be directed to Mission Support Alliance Communications Specialist Dana Gribble at [email protected].
