Workers with EM contractor Central Plateau Cleanup Company are performing construction activities to support the connection of three new exhauster units to the Reduction-Oxidation Plant on the Hanford Site.
Workers with EM contractor Central Plateau Cleanup Company are performing construction activities to support the connection of three new exhauster units to the Reduction-Oxidation Plant on the Hanford Site.

RICHLAND, Wash. – EM Richland Operations Office (RL) contractor Central Plateau Cleanup Company (CPCCo) has awarded a subcontract worth about $3.3 million to Kennewick, Washington-based Apollo Mechanical to advance important risk-reduction work at the Reduction-Oxidation Plant (REDOX), a contaminated former plutonium processing facility on the Hanford Site’s Central Plateau.

Apollo is tasked with installing new exhausters and support systems to improve airflow and filtration, allowing workers to safely continue decontamination activities inside the facility.

“REDOX has been in surveillance and maintenance mode for the last few decades,” said Mark French, RL division director for Hanford’s Central Plateau cleanup. “Improving ventilation is essential to allowing workers to safely continue cleanup work in the building — such as the characterization and removal of radiological and chemical hazards — to prepare the facility for demolition.”

One of three new temporary exhauster units was assembled for testing earlier this year. When installed at the Hanford Site’s Reduction-Oxidation Plant, the upgraded ventilation system will improve airflow and filtration to protect workers as they prepare the contaminated facility for demolition.
One of three new temporary exhauster units was assembled for testing earlier this year. When installed at the Hanford Site’s Reduction-Oxidation Plant, the upgraded ventilation system will improve airflow and filtration to protect workers as they prepare

REDOX was used from 1952 through 1967 for the chemical separation of plutonium from irradiated fuel rods. The facility processed approximately 24,000 tons of uranium fuel rods.

The new exhauster units can move up to 100,000 cubic feet of air per minute, not only improving ventilation, but also helping to control contamination within the facility, including naturally occurring radon. The new exhausters are equipped with high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters and will use the facility’s existing ventilation stack.

Three new exhauster units are anchored on a concrete pad and ready for connection to the Hanford Site’s Reduction-Oxidation Plant. When connected, the exhausters will improve airflow and filtration to protect workers as they continue to prepare the contaminated facility for demolition.
Three new exhauster units are anchored on a concrete pad and ready for connection to the Hanford Site’s Reduction-Oxidation Plant.

“Replacing the old filter technology with state-of-the-art HEPA technology will be a huge improvement in safety and efficiency,” said Bob Nichols, CPCCo inner area end states director. “The new system was also designed for mobility and flexibility, so the exhauster units can be deployed to other buildings in the future, which will also cut costs.”

The ventilation upgrade is the latest in several improvement projects at REDOX in recent years. In 2018, workers modified a small robotic device to remotely explore and safely sample areas suspected of high contamination. And a new roof was installed in 2017 to protect against moisture degrading the concrete structure.

The ventilation upgrade project is expected to be completed in spring 2023.