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Tagged: Hanford

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Environment
8:59 am
Wed November 14, 2012

Hanford Officials Prepare For Worst With Leaking Tank

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Routine periodic visual monitoring (via camera) of the AY-102 annulus found material that was never before seen. Photo courtesy of U.S. Department of Energy
Refractory installation of tank AY-102 at Hanford circa 1970. Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy
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Originally published on Wed November 14, 2012 8:53 am

RICHLAND, Wash. – Workers the Hanford Nuclear Reservation are readying pumping equipment at a slow-leaking radioactive waste tank in case the leak gets worse. A newly released report details why the tank became unstable.

Hanford officials say so far they’ve found no waste leaking into the environment from the tank called AY-102.

The new report says many of the tanks original welds from 40 years ago didn’t meet standards and had to be fixed before it was filled. Later, super-hot waste was added that was likely corrosive to the tank’s metal walls.

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Environment
7:56 am
Fri November 9, 2012

New Science Teams To Tackle Hanford Plant's Vexing Challenges

The Hanford Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant or vit plant, located on the U.S. Department of Energy's Hanford site is a 65-acre complex. Photo courtesy of Bechtel National, Inc.
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Originally published on Thu November 8, 2012 3:56 pm

RICHLAND, Wash. – Energy Secretary Steven Chu is bolstering the scientific brain power at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation’s waste treatment plant. A memo released to employees Thursday says the aim is to solve nagging technical problems at the plant more quickly.

The massive factory at Hanford is supposed to treat 56 million gallons of radioactive waste. That goo is currently in leaking, aging underground tanks near the Columbia River.

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Hanford
5:57 pm
Mon October 22, 2012

Hanford Managers Confirm Slow Leak In Radioactive Waste Tank

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Routine periodic visual monitoring (via camera) of the AY-102 annulus found material that was never before seen. Photo courtesy of U.S. Department of Energy
Refractory installation of tank AY-102 at Hanford circa 1970. Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy
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By Anna King

RICHLAND, Wash. – Managers at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation have confirmed that a radioactive waste tank has a slow leak. That waste isn’t getting into the environment.

This house-sized vessel is known as AY-102. It’s made of steel and concrete and buried underground to shield workers from high levels of radiation. It’s full of hazardous radioactive sludge left over from plutonium production here.

It was designed to last for about 40 years, and it’s already had its 44th birthday. The tank is leaking into the space between its two hulls in two spots.

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