Hanford pauses D&D prep work on REDOX facility

According to the DOE, the decision pause work on REDOX was made in the past year, and the plant was subsequently returned to a surveillance and maintenance (S&M) status by DOE cleanup contractor Central Plateau Cleanup Company.

One of five processing facilities that were built at the Hanford Site, REDOX was used from 1952 through 1967 for the chemical separation of plutonium and uranium from irradiated fuel rods.

In September, the DOE announced that Central Plateau Cleanup Company, in reducing risk at REDOX, demolished a former chemical storage area that supported the plant during operations. The demolition included removing eight empty aboveground chemical storage tanks ranging in capacity from 4,300 gallons to 149,000 gallons, and two smaller empty aboveground tanks.

DOE comments: “Following demobilization that included risk reduction work of removing potential fire hazards, the facility was placed back into surveillance and maintenance, therefore allowing the mission to prioritize higher-risk projects that optimize our risk reduction efforts across the site to enhance the safety of our workforce and our community as we clean up the environment,” the DOE said in a statement to ANS’s Nuclear Newswire.

The DOE said it anticipates REDOX will remain in S&M status for “some time” as the department makes progress remediating other areas of the Hanford Site, adding that the building is stable and does not represent a risk to the public or environment.

DNFSB observations: In an activity report dated November 8, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, which oversees DOE sites, noted that, overall, conditions at REDOX are better than when the facility was previously transitioned from an S&M status to a D&D status but that “problematic legacy conditions” will remain until D&D activities resume.

Specific items of concern identified by the DNFSB include water getting into the building, leaking pipes containing corrosive and hazardous liquids, leak confinements without drains or catches, and legacy waste material that will remain in the building during S&M status.

The DNFSB added that while the DOE did not determine a date for resuming D&D, it could take a decade or longer.