RICHLAND, Wash. – As the EM Hanford Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) team moves closer to starting up the first of two melters inside the Low-Activity Waste (LAW) Facility, plant contractor Bechtel National, Inc. (BNI) has launched a website that explains the WTP commissioning process, including critical activities such as the loss-of-power test and the melter heatup process.

“We want our key stakeholders and local community to understand the steps being taken to ensure a safe, quality, and effective heatup of the first melter,” said Mat Irwin, Office of River Protection deputy assistant manager for the plant. “We are approaching a 24/7 operational situation at a pace not seen at the Hanford Site in many years. We’re excited to deliver on this commitment to our community.”

The two 300-ton waste melters will heat Hanford’s low-activity tank waste and glass-forming materials to 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit, vitrifying it for safe disposal. Vitrifying means immobilizing the waste and materials within a glass form. The loss-of-power test will demonstrate the team is able to protect the melter by putting the LAW Facility into safe condition and restoring power before any damage to the melter occurs.

The Journey to Melter Heatup website includes information such as:

• The many activities that must be completed to enable melter heatup, such as installing key equipment and tuning the exhaust system.
• Common melter heatup terminology definitions.
• Key facts such as how many days it takes to bring the melter up to target temperature.
• The latest news on progress toward heatup.

For example, initial heatup of the melter takes about 22 days, followed by several days of testing with the addition of glass startup materials that melt at low temperatures, and then another 30 days of feeding in glass-forming material.

Melter heatup will culminate the progress toward starting Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste (DFLAW) treatment by the end of 2023. DFLAW is a system of interdependent projects and infrastructure improvements, managed and highly integrated as a program, that must operate together to vitrify low-activity waste.