A Heavy Lift: How Crews Are Tackling Air Quality at Hanford

Crews with Hanford Field Office contractor Central Plateau Cleanup Company recently replaced 72 air filters at the Hanford Site’s Plutonium Uranium Extraction Plant to ensure the continued safe operation of the facility’s ventilation system.

RICHLAND, Wash. — Swapping out an air filter at home is a simple task that most people can complete in minutes. But replacing dozens of massive, high-efficiency filters in a 70-year-old plutonium processing plant? That's a challenge.

Crews at the Hanford Site's Plutonium Uranium Extraction Plant (PUREX) facility — a sprawling, multi-story structure with 40 feet of its footprint underground — recently tackled that job. Hanford's longest-running chemical separations plant, which played a key role in plutonium production for national defense, is being prepared for eventual demolition.

"Replacing these filters is an important part of maintaining safe conditions at the facility," said Heather Dale, assistant manager for River and Plateau with the Hanford Field Office. "This work ensures the ventilation system continues to protect workers and the environment as we move forward with cleanup and risk reduction."

Dressed in protective gear from head to toe and using respirators, workers from U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management Hanford Site contractor Central Plateau Cleanup Company (CPCCo) completed the project. Crews replaced 72 high-efficiency particulate air filters in the plant's exhaust system — each weighing 65 pounds and the size of a 2-by-2-foot box, 1 foot thick.

The filters, housed in three large units, were removed using long-reach tools, bagged to contain contamination and placed in specialized boxes for disposal at Hanford's Environmental Restoration Disposal Facility for radioactive waste.

“I’m proud of our team for their dedication and determination in completing this project," said Dave McMahon, a demolition manager for CPCCo. "This helps us keep the PUREX complex safe and ready for ongoing monitoring, maintenance and future cleanup efforts."