Tank Waste News
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By installing the last piece of pipe, Hanford Site workers have completed the final connection between underground tanks storing radioactive waste and the waste treatment plant that will begin solidifying it in glass later this year. June 10, 2025June 10, 2025
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The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management is advancing the Hanford Site tank waste mission by introducing key chemicals into the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant as part of ongoing cold commissioning testing.May 27, 2025
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Cleanup crews transferred more than 20,000 gallons of radioactive liquid waste to reduce the environmental footprint of three underground waste tanks at the Idaho National Laboratory Site.May 20, 2025
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The Savannah River Site has improved workflow by creating a buffer area for radioactive waste transferred between two critical waste processing facilities.May 20, 2025
The Office of Environmental Management (EM) tank waste program consists of safely storing of 90 million gallons of radioactive liquid waste at the Hanford Site in Washington, the Idaho National Laboratory in Idaho and the Savannah River Site (SRS) in South Carolina.
EM operates major nuclear facilities to process and dispose of the waste as well as emptying, cleaning and closing the waste tanks. The SRS and ORP waste streams treatment involves separating the highly radioactive fractions and low activity factions. The high activity portion undergoes vitrification while the low activity portion is then either vitrified or grouted.
As liquid waste is processed, the tanks are operationally closed through a process that involves: bulk waste removal, heel removal, cooling coil flushing/annulus cleaning, isolation and residual sampling and grouting.
The EM tank waste program’s goal is to continue cleanup progress in a cost-effective manner that is risk informed, engages stakeholders, applies innovative solutions and provides value to the American taxpayer.
Waste Treatment and Immobilization PlantVisit Hanford website information about its liquid waste management program.
Visit the Savannah River Site website for information on its liquid waste management program.
Visit the Idaho Cleanup Project website for information about its liquid waste management program.
