Hanford Site Begins Certifying Transuranic Waste for Permanent Disposal

Hanford Site contractor Central Plateau Cleanup Company has resumed characterization of transuranic waste, which will be packaged for shipment to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico.

RICHLAND, Wash. — The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and contractor Central Plateau Cleanup Company (CPCCo) recently completed a significant achievement in the risk-reduction mission at the Hanford Site by restarting the certification of transuranic waste for shipment to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, New Mexico.

After pausing transuranic waste program activities in 2011 due to other cleanup priorities, Hanford restarted the program in 2018 and is scheduled to resume shipping contact-handled transuranic waste to WIPP by Sept. 30, 2028.

“The certification process is critical to safely and compliantly packaging and shipping transuranic waste to WIPP for permanent disposal,” said Scott Green, DOE Office of Environmental ManagementHanford Field Office acting assistant manager for River and Plateau. “The process streamlines our effort to reduce Hanford’s transuranic waste inventory, ensures safe operations at Hanford and WIPP and helps us achieve our ultimate goal of protecting our community and the environment.”

Generated during Hanford’s plutonium-production mission, transuranic waste consists of clothing, tools, rags, residues, debris, soil and other items contaminated with small amounts of plutonium and other human-made radioactive elements.

Hanford’s contact- and remote-handled transuranic waste is stored above ground at the onsite Central Waste Complex, which currently houses about 11,000 containers. Most of the waste is packaged in WIPP-compliant standard waste boxes or 55-gallon drums. Click here to read about the difference between the contact- and remote-handled waste.

The WIPP-approved transuranic waste certification program involves a team with the DOE-established Central Characterization Project to perform visual and radiological characterization of each waste container. Workers use sophisticated equipment to ensure the waste containers meet transportation requirements and WIPP’s waste acceptance criteria.

“We’re proud of the progress we’ve made to reestablish a WIPP-certified program at Hanford and are well positioned to resume waste shipments in the near future,” said Ron Reeves, CPCCo Transuranic Waste Program activity manager. “Restarting the certification process is a prime example of the Hanford team’s unified commitment to reducing long-term risk.”