Project Director Peggy McCullough discusses commercial-grade dedication with suppliers

The Hanford Vit Plant recently hosted a commercial-grade dedication (CGD) supplier collaboration workshop to continue its effort to ensure quality through increased engagement and open communication with its suppliers.

Representatives from eight of the Vit Plant’s key suppliers attended the event focused on improving CGD execution at all levels of the supply chain.

The workshop focused on suppliers that provide items and services with nuclear safety functions at the Vit Plant, which is managed by Bechtel National, Inc., (BNI) for the Department of Energy’s Office of River Protection (ORP).

The focus of the two-day workshop was to optimize CGD-related activities for application in the Vit Plant’s engineering, procurement, and construction environment through face-to-face collaboration, sharing of best practices and lessons learned, and leveraging supplier and subcontractor experience.

The Vit Plant team collected feedback from the suppliers on various topics to identify areas for improvement within the supply chain processes and ongoing collaboration opportunities with suppliers who are completing CGD activities for services, materials, and equipment for the Vit Plant.

This was the second event bringing Vit Plant and ORP managers and staff together with suppliers. A third event is planned for later this month.

Read more about the workshop at http://bit.ly/29nbPt8.

A 65-ton stainless steel test vessel is prepared to be barged up the Columbia River from Vancouver, Washington in July 

A vessel critical to determining the safe mixing and processing of radioactive waste arrived at the Hanford Vit Plant's testing facility in early July.

Testing will be conducted on the vessel to determine mixing performance using nonradioactive materials that are simulants of the actual waste stream. Proper mixing is required to safely process and treat the waste at the Vit Plant’s Pretreatment Facility.

The test vessel is a full-scale prototype of several vessels that are expected to be used to process liquid radioactive waste containing solids. It is 35 feet high with a 16-foot diameter and 22,000-gallon capacity.

The vessel was barged up the Columbia River from Vancouver, Washington. Greenberry Industrial fabricated the vessel at its manufacturing facilities in Vancouver and Corvallis, Oregon.

It was loaded into the Full-Scale Vessel Test Facility in Richland through the roof and placed in a specially designed test stand. Reassembling the test stand and completing preparations for testing will take several months. The year-long testing program is expected to begin in late 2016.

For more information about the vessel and the testing process, visit http://bit.ly/29MaYpf.

A section of the thermal catalytic oxidizer is lowered into the LAW Facility

Workers recently completed installing two of the last major pieces of equipment for the Low-Activity Waste (LAW) Vitrification Facility at the Hanford Vit Plant, also known as the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant.

Installation of the thermal catalytic oxidizer and ammonia dilution skid is a major element in completing construction of the LAW Facility.

Critical to the safe treatment of waste, the 60-ton thermal catalytic oxidizer and 7-ton ammonia dilution skid are part of the system that will remove toxic contaminants from the low-activity radioactive waste glass melter exhaust.

Called the off-gas system, it is needed to ensure the exhaust meets regulatory requirements for release to the environment.

Ionex Research Corp. fabricated and tested the thermal catalytic oxidizer and ammonia dilution skid in its facilities in Lafayette, Colorado.

The caustic scrubber, the final piece of the off-gas system, will be received later this year. It also will be the last major piece of equipment to be installed in the LAW.

The three pieces of equipment are part of the off-gas system that will convert volatile organic compounds to carbon dioxide and water vapor, convert nitric oxide to hydrogen and oxygen, remove acidic gases from the exhaust and cool the exhaust before releasing it through the stack.

More photos and information are available at http://bit.ly/2a6PW45.

Tucker has more than 50 years of experience in the construction industry. He started as an electrician apprentice and progressed into construction management. He has worked in five countries and seven states on a myriad of power industry projects, including nuclear power plant modifications and expansions. He understands the quality required on a nuclear job, and he is applying that knowledge at the Hanford Vit Plant.

"This isn’t a typical construction job," said Tucker. "It requires more rigor and focus on safety and quality than any other job I’ve been on. It requires everyone to play their part—ask questions, raise issues, watch out for each other. Everyone here has to be A players and bring their A games, and that’s what we have—solid, very skilled craft and professionals who are committed to getting the job done right.”

Tucker has used his construction expertise to help build the Vit Plant for the past 12 years, serving in various construction management roles, including as area and project superintendent and now as superintendent for the plant’s support facilities and the Analytical Laboratory.

When complete, the Vit Plant will be used to stabilize Hanford’s nuclear waste into a solid glass form that is safe for the environment. 

“We’re building a plant that will benefit our community, our state, and our nation, and it’s a great feeling to be a part of it," said Tucker.