Hanford Site Workers Apply Fixative to Lock Down Facility’s Contamination

RICHLAND, Wash. – EM recently completed one of the final activities before the safe demolition of a major building at the Plutonium Finishing Plant complex. Richland Operations Office contractor CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Company crews applied a layer of water-based rubber adhesive with a paint wand to the Plutonium Reclamation Facility canyon, allowing the job to be completed without crew members entering the canyon. Applying hundreds of gallons of blue adhesive as a fixative to the canyon’s walls and other interior surfaces locks remaining contaminants in place. Prior to the fixative application, workers spent tens of thousands of hours removing  52 pencil-shaped processing tanks, and cleaning out and decontaminating equipment and the canyon. The facility is the first of four main processing buildings in the plant complex scheduled to be demolished, with demolition expected to begin in weeks.