Crews demolished a former chemical storage area at the Hanford Site’s Reduction Oxidation Plant. (Photos: DOE)
Workers with the Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management’s contractor Central Plateau Cleanup Company recently demolished a former chemical storage area at the Reduction Oxidation Plant, one of five former plutonium production facilities at the Hanford Site.
The plant operated from 1952 through 1967, separating plutonium and uranium from irradiated fuel rods.
The work follows a similar project completed earlier this year to remove more than two dozen chemical storage tanks at the Plutonium Uranium Extraction Plant, another of Hanford’s former processing facilities.
The work: The demolition at the Reduction Oxidation Plant 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.
According to the DOE, crews spent the past year removing asbestos and other hazardous materials from and around the tanks. They also disconnected electrical and mechanical equipment to prepare the area for safe demolition.
Quotable: “Removing these aging chemical storage tanks reduces risk now and also paves the way for safe and efficient risk-reduction activities in the future,” said Andy Wiborg, Hanford acting deputy assistant manager for River and Plateau cleanup.
Eric Denton, contractor project manager, added, “I’m proud of our team’s effort to safely prepare for and demolish the area as we continue to advance our risk-reduction work.”
(Editor's note: This article has been revised since its original posting on September 20. The original article stated that the Reduction Oxidation Plant was demolished; this statement was in error. Only a former chemical storage area that supported the plant was demolished.)
