HANFORD WORKERS BEGIN MOVING K BASIN SLUDGE AWAY FROM RIVER

Hanford workers moved the first batch of highly radioactive sludge from the K West Basin near the Columbia River to central Hanford for storage late last week. The transfer marked the culmination of three years of equipment design, system testing and operator training by contractor CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Co. “Today marks a turning point in our cleanup,” said Matt McCormick, manager of the Department of Energy’s Richland Operations Office. It’s also a major step toward preparing the K West Basin for demolition, said John Lehew, CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Co. president.

 

Work to remove the sludge has started with the knockout of pot sludge, which includes the heaviest particles removed when fuel stored in the K Basins for decades was washed before it was removed for dry storage. Although the knockout pot sludge accounts for less than half a cubic yard of the 37 cubic yards of sludge held in the K West Basin, it has almost a third of the curies. Like the fuel, the knockout pot sludge is being packaged in multicanister overpacks, taken to the nearby Cold Vacuum Drying Facility to be vacuum dried and then moved to central Hanford for storage until it can be sent to a national repository. Up to six shipments of the knockout pot sludge to central Hanford are expected to be made through about mid September to get the last of it out of the K West Basin. Removal of the rest of the sludge will require a new system, and its final design is expected to be completed in September.