Crews recently began retrieving radioactive waste from the 24th single-shell tank at the Hanford Site, two years after using an innovative system to cut into the tank dome for the installation of new equipment. February 10, 2026
Office of Environmental Management
February 10, 2026
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Radioactive and chemical waste inside Tank A-106 at the Hanford Site before workers started pumping it out to a double-shell tank for safe storage.
RICHLAND, Wash. — Crews recently began retrieving radioactive waste from the 24th single-shell tank at the Hanford Site, two years after using an innovative system to cut into the tank dome for the installation of new equipment.
Tank A-106 is a million-gallon tank that contains about 80,000 gallons of solid waste, which now is being transferred to a newer, double-shell tank for continued safe storage. It’s one of two tanks currently undergoing retrieval operations by the Hanford Field Office and its tank operations contractor, Hanford Tank Waste Operations & Closure (H2C).
“Safely cleaning up legacy waste at Hanford is not just a technical challenge — it’s a responsibility that honors our commitment to protecting our workforce, our communities and the environment,” said Katie Wong, program manager with the Hanford Field Office Tank Farms Programs Division. “Every step forward reinforces our dedication to a safer future for generations to come.”
Hanford Tank Waste Operations & Closure workers recently conducted leak tests on Tank A-106’s piping systems and equipment in preparation for starting retrieval operations.
In late 2023, workers drilled an opening through the thick concrete top of Tank A-106 and installed a pipe, called a riser, to provide access for waste retrieval equipment. This task had only been done three times in the previous 15 years at Hanford.
Hanford is home to 177 underground storage tanks built in groups called tank farms. Workers built A-106 and five other million-gallon tanks in the A Tank Farm in the 1950s to store waste from plutonium processing during the Cold War era.
A Tank Farm is the third farm to undergo retrieval at the site. Retrieval field operations on the farm’s first tank and Hanford’s 22nd single-shell tank, A-101, were completed last September.
“The retrieval team persevered through several challenges this past year, making it better as the year progressed,” said Dave Saueressig, H2C’s retrievals manager. “Other H2C organizations stepped up and supported retrievals in creating more double-shell tank space, allowing A-101 to finish by the end of fiscal year 2025 and A-102 to resume operations.”
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