Workers on the Hanford Site are preparing to cut into the dome of an underground waste-storage tank later this summer to get ready for future waste retrieval operations.

The Hanford Site Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) team last week poured the first batches of glass forming beads, called frit, into a melter heated to 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit.

EM Richland Operations Office and contractor Hanford Mission Integration Solutions (HMIS) have introduced their newest team members, Dee and Freda, two highly skilled explosive-detecting K-9 officers.

Crews with EM Richland Operations Office contractor Central Plateau Cleanup Company have placed the final protective layer in Trench 31, a waste-disposal trench near the center of the Hanford Site.

The EM Office of River Protection (ORP) and contractor Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS) recently wrapped up initial worker training sessions on sustaining a nuclear safety culture, as the pace of Hanford Site operations picks up.

This EM story focuses on the Manhattan Project, the origin of EM’s nuclear cleanup mission.

Eight EM sites have been honored with the 2023 Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) Purchaser Award, the most the cleanup program has won in a year since the program honoring purchases of sustainable goods began in 2015.

Environmental cleanup at EM sites is a family affair. Each day, mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, and uncles and nephews show up together to perform the hazardous tasks and myriad support services necessary.

Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) staff at the Hanford Site recently conducted a drill simulating the response to an abnormality in the plant’s power system.

– Managers with EM Richland Operations Office (RL) contractor Hanford Mission Integration Solutions (HMIS) noted a pattern of successful hiring over the last three years.