Hanford Site workers are making headway preparing to safely remove contaminated soil beneath the 324 Building.
Office of Environmental Management
July 13, 2017
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RICHLAND, Wash. – Hanford Site workers are making headway preparing to safely remove contaminated soil beneath the 324 Building, about 300 yards from the Columbia River and less than a mile from Richland.
Crews with EM contractor CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Company (CH2M) entered the building’s Radiochemical Engineering Complex airlock in April for the first time in about 15 years. They began decontaminating it and clearing debris placed there before the contaminated soil was discovered under the adjacent “B” hot cell. They must empty the airlock before installing remotely operated equipment to remove the B-cell floor and the soil beneath it.
“Removing combustible materials from the airlock to reduce the fire hazard potential is an important first step towards completing preparation for cleaning up the contaminated soils under the B-cell floor” said Bryan Foley, EM federal director for the project. The airlock helps provide contamination control when accessing adjacent hot cells where workers once handled radioactive materials.
Workers used a crane, remotely-operated manipulators, and airlock entries to package and remove combustibles such as plastic and clothing. They placed metal items in storage boxes for removal and washed targeted areas of the floor several times. The work reduced radiological hazards in the airlock, where a track system will be installed to bring items in and out of the adjacent hot cell.
“The crews have done a great job safely packaging and removing legacy combustible debris,” said Mike Douglas, acting vice president of CH2M’s 324 Building Disposition Project. “It’s not easy to do, but workers performed it successfully, reducing the hazards inside the airlock.”
Crews are isolating piping, conduit and other interference items to make way for the remote-operated equipment. They will test and train on that equipment at a nearby mockup structure, where modifications are underway for equipment installation, set to begin by the end of 2017.