Atlanta-based Perma-Fix Environmental Services anticipates playing a larger role in tank waste cleanup at the Hanford Site in Washington state, thanks to a decision last week by the Department of Energy.
DOE’s amendment of a 2013 environmental decision clears the way for the agency to treat and dispose of certain secondary wastes from the agency’s Hanford Site off-site, creating work for Perma-Fix grout facilities, CEO Mark Duff said in a Monday press release.
DOE’s decision “recognizes the unique value that Perma-Fix can provide” on some of Hanford’s “more complicated waste streams,” Duff said. The statement specifically cites the Perma-Fix Northwest plant, 35 miles from Hanford, and the Diversified Scientific Services Inc. plant in Kingston, Tenn., Duff said.
In an amendment released last week, DOE said it would allow the grouting of certain secondary wastes at one of the two Perma-Fix plants for a decade until analogous facilities could be built on site for Hanford’s Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste program. Under that program, the inaugural run for the site’s Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant, DOE plans to convert low-level radioactive tank waste into more stable glass cylinders between 2023 and 2025.
“The volumes and waste types defined in this amendment reflect our core offering and represent a significant opportunity for growth in our backlog,” Duff said. “We remain committed to exceeding expectations by providing safe, commercial, waste processing to support the Hanford closure mission.”
The bulk of the secondary waste, up to 8,300 cubic meters annually, including liquids and solids categorized as low-level or mixed low-level-waste, would be treated at the Perma-Fix Northwest Facility in Richland, Wash., according to the company’s release.
Secondary waste can include liquid waste such as decontamination solutions and scrubber wastes. Liquid waste can result from the process cell at the Direct Feed Low Activity Waste Facility, which has three stainless steel vessels that feed tank waste into melters and another three that cool offgas from the melters. The latter three make up a submerged scrubber to cool melter offgas and remove particulates.
Secondary solid waste, such as air filters, according to the DOE notice. Once grouted, this waste could be sent to commercial disposal sites such as Waste Control Specialists in West Texas, according to DOE. It can also go onsite to Hanford’s Integrated Disposal Facility, which accepts mixed low-level waste.
