A view of the Effluent Treatment Facility’s process floor. Since 1995, the facility has processed more than 330 million gallons of contaminated wastewater to remove radioactive and chemical waste.
A view of the Effluent Treatment Facility’s process floor. Since 1995, the facility has processed more than 330 million gallons of contaminated wastewater to remove radioactive and chemical waste.

RICHLAND, Wash. – A significant component of EM’s complex chain of Hanford Site waste treatment facilities is marking a quarter century of safely treating contaminated wastewater while stretching the storage capacity of underground double-shell tanks.

The “Liquid Waste Processing Facilities” is a term used to collectively describe four primary facilities that work together to store, treat, and dispose of large volumes of liquid waste from around the site. The four facilities are the Liquid Effluent Retention Facility, Effluent Treatment Facility (ETF), Treated Effluent Disposal Facility, and the State-Approved Land Disposal Site.

Since 1995, the four facilities have processed more than 330 million gallons of contaminated wastewater to remove radioactive and chemical waste, primarily from the 242-A Evaporator. That equipment boils liquid tank waste to evaporate water, also called effluent, to reduce the volume of waste stored in Hanford’s underground tanks. Waste volume reduction is also critical for single-shell tank waste retrievals to double-shell tanks.

“Continued operations and volume management are important to meeting the Hanford mission need,” said Richard Valle, Tank Farm program manager.

Two new vessels were installed in the Effluent Treatment Facility in 2019. The facility is undergoing upgrades as it prepares to support Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste operations to begin by the end of 2023.
Two new vessels were installed in the Effluent Treatment Facility in 2019. The facility is undergoing upgrades as it prepares to support Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste operations to begin by the end of 2023.

The Liquid Effluent Retention Facility is currently designed to store about 23 million gallons of liquid waste until it can be processed at the ETF. The ETF processes the liquid waste to remove chemical and radioactive contaminants. Treated hazardous and radioactive effluent from ETF is then discharged to the State-Approved Land Disposal Site. The Treated Effluent Disposal Facility collects nonhazardous and nonradioactive treated wastewaters that are pumped to two infiltration basins on the site.

“In 2019, the ETF treated 3.4 million gallons of contaminated wastewater, exceeding its goal for the year by 1.4 million gallons,” said Brandon McFerran, ETF manager for Washington River Protection Solutions, EM’s Hanford tank operations contractor.

The ETF is undergoing upgrades to improve operations and reliability as crews prepare it to support Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste operations. The ETF is part of the planned 24/7 conversion of liquid waste to a safe solidified glass form in the new Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant.