Hanford Site workers recently demolished a 6,000-square-foot water treatment facility near the Columbia River that once supported major risk-reduction work. July 15, 2025
Office of Environmental Management
July 15, 2025
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Heavy equipment tears into a former water treatment facility that supported cleanup in the Hanford Site’s K Reactors area near the Columbia River.
RICHLAND, Wash. — Hanford Site workers recently demolished a 6,000-square-foot water treatment facility near the Columbia River that once supported major risk-reduction work.
The facility provided water for fire protection and dust suppression during the "cocooning" of the K East Reactor and removal of radioactive sludge from the K West Reactor’s spent fuel basin. Other fire and dust suppression systems are in place to support future cleanup activities at the reactor site.
Before demolition began, crews from Hanford Field Office contractor Central Plateau Cleanup Company removed hazardous materials and disconnected the building’s electrical and mechanical systems. Workers also drained about 365,000 gallons of water from a nearby water tank before that was taken down, too.
The debris was safely delivered to Hanford’s regulated disposal facility.
Watch the demolition in time-lapse here.
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