Works Starts On Grouting 2nd Waste-Filled Hanford Tunnel, With Aim Of Preventing Another Collapse
Listen
Work began this week to fill a roughly 1.3-mile-long tunnel with grout at the Hanford Nuclear Site. The tunnel is filled with highly hazardous radioactive waste.
Despite objections of some watchdogs, Hanford’s so-called Tunnel 2 is being filled with grout, a sort-of thin concrete. The federal government’s plan is that the fill is sort of like a strange, sturdy cake that will keep to keep the tunnel from collapsing.
This all started when a much smaller nearby tunnel – called simply Tunnel 1 – collapsed back last spring. The worry is that another collapse could possibly release radioactive material or expose Hanford workers or the public.
The grout will be piped into Tunnel 2 at multiple points. Federal contractors say these first few days will be slow going. After that, they’ll pour increasing amounts of grout once things are running smoothly.
Federal officials call the entire process the PUREX Tunnel 2 Stabilization Project. This video from the Department of Energy explains the process.
The large Tunnel 2 holds 28 rail cars loaded down with large old equipment from a plutonium processing plant.
Both Tunnel 1 and Tunnel 2 were built and filled with waste during the Cold War. Critics worry that filling both tunnels with grout will mean they will become permanent radioactive waste dumps near the surface.
The work to fill Tunnel 2 is expected to take about 5,000 truckloads of grout and go until early next year.
WATCH: How Tunnel 1 Failed
Related Stories:
Cold Creek Fire Near Hanford Grows Big, Threatens Sensitive Ecological And Cultural Areas
A wildfire continued burning today near the Hanford Nuclear Site. The Cold Creek Fire is burning sensitive, federally protected habitat. As of Friday afternoon it was estimated at about 18,000 acres and 10 percent containment. Continue Reading Cold Creek Fire Near Hanford Grows Big, Threatens Sensitive Ecological And Cultural Areas
Feds Say Hanford’s PUREX Plant Is Degrading, Needs Stabilizing Soon
A new federal report says that a massive building at the Hanford Nuclear Site is worse off than managers thought. The so-called PUREX — Plutonium Uranium Extraction — plant isn’t clean. Starting in 1956 the plant processed loads of plutonium. Its walls are up to 6 feet thick, and it’s as long as three football fields. Continue Reading Feds Say Hanford’s PUREX Plant Is Degrading, Needs Stabilizing Soon
Washington State Sets New Deadlines For Hanford Waste Cleanup
The state of Washington is setting new deadlines for cleanup at Hanford and the plutonium production site that contains a massive quantity of radioactive waste. Continue Reading Washington State Sets New Deadlines For Hanford Waste Cleanup
