The test brought together teams from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Environmental Management’s Hanford Field Office, WTP prime contractor Bechtel National Inc., AtkinsRéalis, and VSL to assess melter and emissions treatment system challenges and provide insights for ongoing HLW Facility engineering design.

“This test highlights how strategic partnerships are shaping the future of the Hanford cleanup mission,” said Mat Irwin, Hanford’s assistant manager for the WTP. “By partnering with technical and industry experts, we are able to accelerate progress, identify potential challenges and ensure that the HLW Facility is ready to safely and efficiently treat high-level waste when operations begin.”

The team performed the test over five days at VSL, which operates the largest collection of waste glass melters in the United States, including a one-third scale of the melter and emissions treatment system like what the HLW Facility will use. It was the second of six tests to be performed to validate melter and emissions treatment system design.

“Partnerships strengthen our ability to deliver safe and reliable operations for DOE, the environment and the surrounding communities depending on this cleanup,” said Mark Johnson, HLW Facility project manager for Bechtel. “They have been invaluable to WTP, both for the Low-Activity Waste Facility and HLW.”

Bechtel is advancing the design for direct-feed high-level waste to 90% complete while enclosing the HLW Facility.

Like Hanford’s Low-Activity Waste Facility, the HLW Facility will mix tank waste with glass-forming materials in two large melters operating at 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit. The mixture will be poured into stainless steel containers for interim safe storage prior to disposal.

About the Vit Plant

In southeastern Washington state, Bechtel National, Inc. is designing, constructing, and commissioning the world’s largest radioactive waste treatment plant for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The Hanford Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant, also known as the Vit Plant, will process and stabilize millions of gallons of radioactive and chemical waste currently stored at the Hanford Site.

"This achievement is a testament to the dedication and expertise of our team. Each gallon of immobilized waste brings us closer to a cleaner, safer environment and revitalized community,” said Brian Hartman, WTP project director and senior vice president with Bechtel National Inc., which designed, built and is commissioning the plant.

Treating waste through vitrification supports Hanford’s priorities of safely remediating contaminated sites while delivering measurable progress for taxpayers. It reinforces Hanford’s role in the cleanup mission by addressing complex environmental challenges with sustained performance.

"Treating 100,000 gallons is more than just a number; it represents our commitment to protecting the Columbia River and Tri-Cities community for future generations," added Mat Irwin, Hanford Field Office assistant manager for tank waste operations.

The waste being treated is part of the 56 million gallons of radioactive and chemical waste generated by plutonium production during World War II and the Cold War and stored in aging underground tanks located a few miles from the Columbia River. This progress is part of dual glass-plus-grout solutions that are advancing the Hanford tank waste mission.

The Bechtel-led team has operated the plant in extended hot commissioning since October 2025. The hot commissioning process will continue over the next year, during which the team will build production consistency and establish a steady rhythm for safe and sustained operations.

Inside the Low Activity Waste Facility’s two 300-ton melters, radiological and chemical waste is combined with glass-forming materials and then heated to 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit.

That process, called vitrification, transforms the waste into a stable glass form and seals it in stainless steel containers, each of which is 4 feet wide and 7.5 feet tall, weighing approximately seven metric tons when filled. The containers are delivered to Hanford’s Integrated Disposal Facility for long-term disposal.

The plant facilities can be viewed using the self-guided Hanford Virtual Tour available here.

About the Vit Plant

In southeastern Washington state, Bechtel National, Inc. is designing, constructing, and commissioning the world’s largest radioactive waste treatment plant for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The Hanford Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant, also known as the Vit Plant, will process and stabilize millions of gallons of radioactive and chemical waste currently stored at the Hanford Site.

Brian Hartman, Project Director of the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant 
Bechtel Senior Vice President

The Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP), better known as the Hanford Vit Plant, marked 2025 as a historic year as our team immobilized the first Hanford tank waste into a glass form that is stable and will protect the Columbia River and community.

This milestone represents a transition from readiness to results – and marks the beginning of sustained waste treatment at one of the most complex environmental cleanup facilities ever built. 

Designed and commissioned by Bechtel National Inc. for the Department of Energy (DOE), the Vit Plant exemplifies innovation, teamwork and an unwavering dedication to safety, quality and mission.

Making history at Hanford

Transforming the first Hanford tank waste into glass was the capstone to a year defined by significant achievement and forward progress.

Last year began with continued production of “clean” test glass, allowing skilled operators to build proficiency and prepare for rigorous readiness testing. This included simulated waste treatment commissioning and pouring glass from both melters.

By July, our team had completed all required operational readiness tests, including DOE’s comprehensive Operational Readiness Review. Authorization soon followed to begin hot commissioning and receive the first transfer of tank waste.

By year’s end, our team successfully vitrified the initial tank waste, treated over 30,000 gallons, and produced more than 25 containers of glass. These operations further recovered over 50,000 gallons of Double Shell Tank space that supports the ongoing retrieval of tank waste from the Single Shell tanks and reduction of risk to the environment.  We concluded the year by transferring the first containers to the Integrated Disposal Facility, managed by Central Plateau Cleanup Company, for secure, long-term storage.

Our progress extended well beyond low-activity waste hot commissioning. The High-Level Waste (HLW) team advanced design completion and met all 2025 performance goals ahead of schedule. The HLW construction team made significant progress on weathering in the facility, installing more than 30 major pieces of equipment and shield doors through the facility’s roof, along with critical structural steel.

Each accomplishment in 2025 moved the project closer to sustained, full-scale treatment of Hanford’s legacy tank waste.

Commitment to safety

Safety will always be at the core of everything we do. A key component of safety is mental health.

A standout initiative in 2025 was the launch of new mental health first aid training aligned with Bechtel’s industry support of these programs. More than 90 team members completed the program, gaining tools to identify warning signs of mental health struggles, provide immediate support in crisis situations, and connect team members with professional resources and ongoing help.

Community impact

Bechtel’s impact reaches beyond our facility gates.

In 2025, Bechtel and the Vit Plant invested in our community’s vitality. Notable contributions include:

- Supported STEM education and women in engineering through during Engineers Week, with employees mentoring and inspiring future professionals.

- Collaborated with the local chapter of the National Association of Women in Construction with their Girls Rock in the Trades camp. It provides young women hands-on experience and education about career opportunities in the construction industry. Bechtel supplied Personal Protective Equipment for participants, and vit plant team members shared their experiences in the construction field.

- Donated more than $135,000 to United Way of Benton & Franklin Counties, supporting vital programs and services for children.

- Raised over $25,000 for Special Olympics through the annual Polar Plunge, supporting individuals with developmental disabilities.

These investments reflect a long-standing commitment to the Tri-Cities community.

Looking ahead

The achievements of 2025 mark a turning point in history – not a finish line.

Our historic achievements in 2025 reflect a collaborative effort among the DOE, One Hanford contractor partners, the Central Washington Building Trades, regulators, and the local community.

Bechtel’s focus in 2026 remains clear: safe, consistent vitrification of low-activity waste and continued advancement of the High-Level Waste mission.

About the Vit Plant

In southeastern Washington state, Bechtel National, Inc. is designing, constructing, and commissioning the world’s largest radioactive waste treatment plant for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). When complete, the Hanford Tank Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant, also known as the Vit Plant, will process and stabilize millions of gallons of radioactive and chemical waste currently stored at the Hanford Site.

“Each container represents tangible progress in the mission to protect the Columbia River and community,” said Mat Irwin, the Hanford Field Office assistant manager for WTP.

The first pretreated tank waste was transferred to the plant’s Low-Activity Waste Facility in early October, when hot commissioning began. Inside that facility’s two 300-ton melters, radiological and chemical waste is combined with glass-forming materials and then heated to 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit.

That process, called vitrification, transforms the waste into a stable glass form and seals it in stainless steel containers, each of which is 4 feet wide and 7.5 feet tall, weighing approximately 7 metric tons when filled. The vitrified product meets the state of Washington’s requirements for long term disposal at Hanford’s Integrated Disposal Facility.

“Our team has turned progress into momentum, and we’re committed to carrying that forward through continued operations,” said Brian Hartman, WTP project director and senior vice president with Bechtel, the contractor leading design, construction and commissioning of the plant.

The accomplishment also represents the beginning of extended hot commissioning, during which the team will build production consistency and establish a steady rhythm of performance for safe and sustained operations.

Hanford is home to 56 million gallons of radioactive and chemical waste stored in 177 massive underground tanks. The waste was generated as part of the nation’s efforts to end World War II and win the Cold War.

The plant facilities can be viewed using the self-guided Hanford Virtual Tour available here.

About the Vit Plant

In southeastern Washington state, Bechtel National, Inc. is designing, constructing, and commissioning the world’s largest radioactive waste treatment plant for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). When complete, the Hanford Tank Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant, also known as the Vit Plant, will process and stabilize millions of gallons of radioactive and chemical waste currently stored at the Hanford Site.

“I appreciate the hard work and determination of the entire Hanford team to deliver on this legal commitment,” said Hanford Site Manager Ray Geimer. “This achievement enables us to shift focus to safely operating the plant and to progressing solutions for the Hanford tank waste mission in its entirety.”

The Consent Decree milestone for demonstrating the ability of the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant’s Low Activity Waste facility to produce immobilized glass of acceptable quality was met on time. With start-up of the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant’s Low Activity Waste facility, the focus now shifts to safely operating the Low Activity Waste facility, advancing the direct-feed high-level waste approach, and accelerating the tank waste mission.

Hanford is home to 56 million gallons of radioactive and chemical waste stored in 177 massive underground tanks. The waste was generated as part of the nation’s efforts to end World War II and win the Cold War.

About the Vit Plant

In southeastern Washington state, Bechtel National, Inc. is designing, constructing, and commissioning the world’s largest radioactive waste treatment plant for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). When complete, the Hanford Tank Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant, also known as the Vit Plant, will process and stabilize millions of gallons of radioactive and chemical waste currently stored at the Hanford Site.

Hanford crews are preparing for the site’s first-ever transfer of radioactive waste from one of its large underground tanks to the Vit Plant.

Contractors on both ends of the waste transfer are coordinating practice runs to prepare for those operations.

Teams from Hanford Tank Waste Operations and Closure (H2C) and Bechtel National Inc. are working together to verify each step of the transfer process. H2C is focused on preparing the underground tank systems that hold the waste, while Bechtel leads operations at the WTP, where the waste will eventually be turned into glass. Their joint efforts include checking pump systems, testing leak detectors and coordinating procedures between waste tank and treatment plant control rooms.

“Preparing for a first-of-its-kind waste transfer takes more than technical readiness, it takes alignment, communication and teamwork,” said Andy Wiborg, Hanford director for Tank Waste Operations. “These practice runs are proving what’s possible when Hanford teams unite to advance our tank waste treatment mission.”

Practice runs will continue through June as teams align procedures and confirm that equipment is functioning as intended. These coordinated efforts are key to getting the site ready for hot commissioning — the next major step in Hanford’s tank waste cleanup, expected to begin later this summer.

During hot commissioning, the Vit Plant will receive pretreated radiological and chemical waste, combine it with glass-forming materials, and heat it to 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit. This process, called vitrification, transforms the waste into a stable glass form, which is then sealed in stainless steel containers for safe disposal.

About the Vit Plant

In southeastern Washington state, Bechtel National, Inc. is designing, constructing, and commissioning the world’s largest radioactive waste treatment plant for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). When complete, the Hanford Tank Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant, also known as the Vit Plant, will process and stabilize millions of gallons of radioactive and chemical waste currently stored at the Hanford Site.

“Our progress in cold commissioning is the result of decades of preparation, dedication and collaboration between the Department and our contractor partners and is another step toward safely addressing Hanford tank waste,” said Hanford Field Office Acting Manager Brian Harkins.

With the introduction of ammonia and nitrous oxide-producing chemicals into the WTP melters to replicate tank waste, the Hanford team is ensuring systems are fully operational. Testing the plant and its systems with chemicals in simulated tank waste over the next few months is a key step in validating that all systems and equipment run safely and appropriately before nuclear waste components are introduced later this year. This achievement builds on significant progress over the last several years in the Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste program across the Hanford Site.

“Leadership from DOE and strong partnerships with the trade unions, suppliers, regulators, other Hanford contractors and local community have helped make this happen,” said Bechtel National Inc. Project Director and Senior Vice President Brian Hartman. “We’re proud to be part of a mission that’s critical to the health of our community and the environment.”

Once full-scale operations begin, the plant will process an average of 5,300 gallons of tank waste per day, mixing the treated waste with glass-forming materials, heating it to 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit, and pouring it into stainless steel containers for safe, long term disposal. Approximately 3.5 containers, weighing a total of 21 metric tons, will be produced each day.

The plant facilities can be viewed using the self-guided Hanford Virtual Tour available at www.Hanford.gov. Additional information is available regarding the cold commissioning process online.

About the Vit Plant

In southeastern Washington state, Bechtel National, Inc. is designing, constructing, and commissioning the world’s largest radioactive waste treatment plant for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). When complete, the Hanford Tank Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant, also known as the Vit Plant, will process and stabilize millions of gallons of radioactive and chemical waste currently stored at the Hanford Site.

On the heels of the Summer Olympics, two Hanford Site contractors have finished a first-time relay of test glass while preparing for a giant leap forward in the cleanup mission.

Working under the Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste Program, the whole site is preparing to start 24/7 operations to treat radioactive waste from large underground tanks by immobilizing it in glass for safe disposal.

Workers with Bechtel National Inc. started the relay when they loaded large containers of non-radioactive test glass on a specially designed trailer at the Low-Activity Waste Facility at the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP). They drove it to a nearby staging area. The Central Plateau Cleanup Company took the baton and drove the containers to the site’s Integrated Disposal Facility.

Mat Irwin, the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management’s acting assistant manager for the WTP Project, noted the training runs using test glass are important qualifiers for the One Hanford team.

“Moving the containers allowed the contractors to practice the transfer process and provided the disposal facility with containers for additional training,” Irwin said. “The relays move at the deliberate and methodical pace required in our work to protect people and the environment.”

The test glass in the containers was poured from one of the 300-ton melters, which will vitrify tank waste, in the plant’s Low-Activity Waste Facility.

Vitrification is a process of mixing liquid radioactive waste with glass-forming materials and heating them to 2,100 degrees in a melter. The melting incorporates the waste in the glass. The molten glass is poured into containers and allowed to solidify and cool.

After using containers of test glass for training at the disposal facility, Hanford will send them to a hazardous waste landfill in Oregon for disposal.

When operations begin vitrifying low-activity tank waste, contractors will relay more than 200,000 containers of waste immobilized in glass from the plant to safe disposal in Hanford’s Integrated Disposal Facility.

Learn more about Hanford waste treatment and disposal at the Hanford Virtual Tour.

About the Vit Plant

In southeastern Washington state, Bechtel National, Inc. is designing, constructing, and commissioning the world’s largest radioactive waste treatment plant for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). When complete, the Hanford Tank Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant, also known as the Vit Plant, will process and stabilize millions of gallons of radioactive and chemical waste currently stored at the Hanford Site.

“The delivery of sodium hydroxide is an important precursor to several months of testing using simulated waste, known as the cold commissioning phase,” said Mat Irwin, the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management’s acting assistant manager for the Vit Plant. “Vit Plant crews will test the waste processing and exhaust treatment systems in the plant’s Low-Activity Waste Facility before introducing actual tank waste into the plant during hot commissioning.”

Commissioning of the facility is an important step in preparing to vitrify, or immobilize in glass, millions of gallons of radioactive and chemical waste from Hanford’s large underground tanks.

A second, longer-term use of sodium hydroxide will be to treat hazardous liquids coming from the facility’s exhaust treatment system and the system that treats liquids generated during the vitrification process.

Many industries use sodium hydroxide, commonly known as lye, as a versatile chemical. However, sodium hydroxide, like other industrial chemicals, has to be treated as a hazardous substance. To ensure the safe handling of the chemical onsite, workers are required to follow strict safety protocols during its use, which includes storing it in an isolated tank at the Vit Plant.

“Our team prepared for this delivery by implementing safety measures to ensure the safe handling, storage and use of sodium hydroxide onsite,” said Rick Holmes, Bechtel National Inc. principal vice president and general manager for Waste Treatment Completion Company, primary subcontractor to Bechtel. “The team’s success marks an important step toward cold commissioning later this year and preparing for the future sustained production of vitrified waste.”

During future waste treatment operations, treated waste from Hanford’s underground tanks will be fed directly to melters inside the Low-Activity Waste Facility. The waste will be mixed with glass-forming materials and heated, and then poured into stainless steel containers for disposal at Hanford’s Integrated Disposal Facility.

About the Vit Plant

In southeastern Washington state, Bechtel National, Inc. is designing, constructing, and commissioning the world’s largest radioactive waste treatment plant for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). When complete, the Hanford Tank Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant, also known as the Vit Plant, will process and stabilize millions of gallons of radioactive and chemical waste currently stored at the Hanford Site.

“Plant crews have demonstrated that both melters are fully operational and capable of pouring glass,” said Mat Irwin, U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management acting assistant manager for WTP. “System tests will begin to look more like future waste treatment operations moving forward.”

Plant personnel will continue to pour glass from Melter 2 in batches so control room staff can practice the process until they have filled the container. The Vit Plant produced the first container of test glass last year after completing a similar series of pours from Melter 1.

Personnel heating up melters and pouring test glass are an important part of commissioning the facility to prepare for vitrifying, or immobilizing in glass, millions of gallons of radioactive and chemical waste from Hanford’s large underground tanks.

“The first pour from Melter 2 is another important step in commissioning the plant and preparing for the future sustained production of vitrified waste,” said Brian Hartman, senior vice president for Bechtel National Inc., lead contractor for the Vit Plant. “I’m proud of our team’s progress in heating a second melter, managing other first-time systems and moving forward with filling more containers.”

During future waste treatment operations, Hanford crews will feed waste from underground tanks that have been treated to remove radioactive solids and cesium to the melters inside the LAW Facility. The waste will be mixed with glass-forming materials in the melters, then poured into specially designed stainless-steel containers for disposal at Hanford’s Integrated Disposal Facility.

About the Vit Plant

In southeastern Washington state, Bechtel National, Inc. is designing, constructing, and commissioning the world’s largest radioactive waste treatment plant for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). When complete, the Hanford Tank Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant, also known as the Vit Plant, will process and stabilize millions of gallons of radioactive and chemical waste currently stored at the Hanford Site.

“Heating up the second melter is an important achievement for Hanford and critical in our journey to advance tank waste treatment to immobilization and ultimately disposal,” said Brian Vance, DOE Office of River Protection Manager. “This success is the culmination of years of employee expertise, ingenuity and commitment to advancing the cleanup mission and providing real return on taxpayer investment.” 

With both melters now at their operational temperature, the Hanford team will next begin running nonradioactive simulants through the Vit Plant systems over the next several months prior to performing environmental performance testing. This achievement builds on significant progress in the Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste (DFLAW) program. 

The two 300-ton Vit Plant melters are the heart of the vitrification process, which will immobilize Hanford tank waste in glass. During vitrification, treated waste will be fed to the melters where it will be mixed with glass forming materials, heated to 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit and poured into specially designed stainless-steel containers for disposal at the Integrated Disposal Facility. 

“We are immensely proud of the successful heat up of Melter 2 at the Vit Plant. This milestone reflects the dedication, expertise, and collaborative spirit of our employees, contractors, and our partner, the Department of Energy," said Brian Hartman, Bechtel Senior Vice President and Project Director of the Hanford Vit Plant. "By incorporating the lessons learned from the first melter, we have reached this historic milestone safely and efficiently, underscoring our commitment to excellence and safety." 

With the operating temperature successfully attained and a molten glass pool established, the next phase involves the removal of startup heaters. They will be replaced with bubblers, specialized equipment designed to introduce air into the molten glass, circulating it and maintaining an even temperature. 

Hanford contractor Bechtel National, Inc. is responsible for designing, constructing, and commissioning the Vit Plant. Once completed, the plant will process and stabilize millions of gallons of 
legacy tank waste using the vitrification process. Information on the commissioning process is available on the Journey to Melter Heatup website. The plant facilities can be viewed using the self-guided Hanford Virtual Tour available at www.Hanford.gov.

About the Vit Plant

In southeastern Washington state, Bechtel National, Inc. is designing, constructing, and commissioning the world’s largest radioactive waste treatment plant for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). When complete, the Hanford Tank Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant, also known as the Vit Plant, will process and stabilize millions of gallons of radioactive and chemical waste currently stored at the Hanford Site.

The Vit Plant team last week poured the first batches of glass-forming beads, called frit, into a melter heated to 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit. At that temperature, the beads melted and created the first molten pool inside the melter, which during future hot operations will immobilize radioactive and chemical tank waste in a form safe for permanent disposal.

The accomplishment represents another positive step toward waste treatment operations at the Vit Plant’s Low-Activity Waste (LAW) Facility as part of DOE’s Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste program at Hanford.

“This is a proud time for our Hanford team as we have established a molten glass pool in our first melter,” said Hanford Site Manager Brian Vance. “It’s a tremendous success made possible through the entire team’s dedication to safely progressing our important cleanup mission.”

Two 300-ton melters inside the LAW Facility are the heart of the vitrification process, which will immobilize the tank waste in glass. During vitrification, treated waste will be fed to the melter and then mixed with glass-forming materials heated to 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit and poured into specially designed stainless-steel containers. The containers will then be moved a short distance to the Integrated Disposal Facility at the Hanford Site for disposal.

“Our team is excited about furthering our progress in achieving continuous melter operations,” said Brian Hartman, Vit Plant project director and senior vice president for Bechtel, which is designing, building, and commissioning the plant for the EM Office of River Protection.

On June 24, the team initiated heat up of the first melter and over a multiweek process slowly ramped to the 2,100-degree operating temperature.

Vance said many DOE and One Hanford team members, past and present, contributed to the important achievement.

“This accomplishment, and the many others delivered daily across the Hanford Site, reflect the expertise and commitment to excellence shown by our talented One Hanford team of dedicated professionals,” Vance said.

A total of about 40,000 pounds of frit will be added to create a molten pool about 31 inches deep.

Information on the Vit Plant commissioning process is available on the Journey to Melter Heatup website. The plant facilities can be viewed using the self-guided Hanford Virtual Tour.

Contact: Staci A. West, 509-378-0308 or sawest@bechtel.com

Staff conducted the drill as part of the plant’s Operations Drill Program, which is designed to ensure Vit Plant personnel are prepared to respond to events that could compromise the plant’s operability.

“The program is built to promote a strong, long-lasting operational culture,” said Tom Fletcher, EM Office of River Protection assistant manager and federal project director for the Vit Plant. “It’s a key piece in preparing the team and site for future direct-feed low-activity waste (DFLAW) operations to treat radioactive and chemical waste from large, underground storage tanks.”

The program team holds a drill at least once per week, rotating through the operations shift crews and pulling from a wide variety of systems and possible situations. New drill scenarios are created regularly.

“Our program covers any plant system or event not included in the emergency preparedness drill scope,” said Arnoldo Saenz, the Vit Plant operations support specialist who runs the program. “We cover everything from the melter control systems to support systems like cooling water. If it can go wrong, we drill for it.”

During DFLAW operations, treated waste from Hanford’s underground storage tanks will be fed directly to melters inside the Vit Plant’s Low-Activity Waste Facility. The waste will be mixed with glass-forming materials and heated in the melters in a process known as vitrification, then poured into specially designed stainless steel containers for disposal at Hanford’s Integrated Disposal Facility.

“Brian is an exceptional leader with a proven talent for building strong partnerships with customers and creating high-performance teams,” said John Howanitz, president of Bechtel’s Nuclear, Security, and Environmental business. “His deep experience on complex projects and across all aspects of project management and execution, from development to startup and commissioning, makes him an ideal choice to lead the WTP project forward.”

Effective May 30, Hartman will lead the WTP team through final commissioning of the Low-Activity Waste Facility and its support facilities, which will immobilize low-activity waste in a form safe for disposal. He also will oversee the team working the engineering, design, and procurement for a facility to treat the Hanford Site’s high-level waste. 

“I look forward to building on the WTP team’s quality culture and collaborative approach to how we do work,” Hartman said. “We have an important mission to protect the environment and the public. I’m eager to work with our customer, other Hanford contractors, regulators, and the local community as we achieve hot commissioning for low-activity waste and ramp up efforts toward vitrifying high-level waste.”

Hartman served most recently as Bechtel’s corporate manager of Engineering and Technology and project execution manager. In this role, he headed the global engineering and technology functions for 5,000 professionals in 115 locations across 20 countries. Over the past year he also managed collaborative engineering efforts between Bechtel, NASA, and subcontractors to design a new launch facility at the Kennedy Space Center supporting NASA’s Artemis Mission.

Hartman began at Bechtel as an intern in 1982 and joined the company full time in 1983 as a junior engineer on the Grand Gulf Nuclear Station project in Mississippi. His career includes leadership roles related to nuclear, thermal, and renewable energy systems, including distributed control systems, instrumentation and controls, and facilities.

Hartman was elected a principal vice president in 2013 and senior vice president in 2020. He holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He is a certified professional engineer and a member of the International Association of Automation ISA and National Society of Black Engineers.

Hartman succeeds Valerie McCain, who passed away earlier this year.

Contact: Staci A. West, 509-378-0308 or sawest@bechtel.com

Bechtel National Inc. has named John Atwell as the acting Project Director for the Hanford Site’s Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (Vit Plant), effective immediately. John is a principal vice president and for the past two years has served as Project Director for Bechtel’s Vogtle Units 3&4 Completion project for Georgia Power.

Atwell served as manager of Functions and Operations for Bechtel’s Nuclear, Security, and Environment business unit from 2020 to 2021. During this time, he was responsible for operational oversight of the Vit Plant project on behalf of Bechtel.

He has more than 40 years of managerial experience leading engineering and project management activities across a range of projects, including nuclear power plants, nuclear and high-hazard facilities, and corporate functional departments. Atwell is a proven leader in both the field and corporate office, leading some of Bechtel’s largest and most complex nuclear power projects.

He earned a Bachelor of Science in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Maryland and a Master of Business Administration from National University. He was elected a Bechtel principal vice president in 2005.

Atwell moves into the role in an acting capacity after the recent passing of Valerie McCain, who was the project director from October 2018 until March 2023.

Contact: Staci A. West, 509-378-0308 or sawest@bechtel.com

“As we close in on operations for the Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste (DFLAW) Program, it becomes even more critical that our team members achieve and maintain full qualifications,” said Tom Fletcher, Department of Energy EM assistant manager for the Vit Plant Project. “These team members are essential as we move forward with our tank-waste treatment mission.”

The training includes systems and safety classes, drills and many other related qualifications, such as serving as the building director during an emergency. The shift operations managers also demonstrate their knowledge of safe plant operations to lead shift supervisors and technicians during the qualification process.

“The intensive series of training and performance demonstrations can take up to 18 months,” said Rick Holmes, general manager for Waste Treatment Completion Co., a subcontractor to Vit Plant lead Bechtel National Inc. “These managers are the backbone of our operations team, which works 24/7 to run the plant and prepare to immobilize tank waste in glass.”

The DFLAW Program is a system of interdependent projects and infrastructure improvements, managed and highly integrated as a program, that will operate together to immobilize tank waste in glass. During DFLAW operations, waste from Hanford’s large underground tanks that has been treated to remove radioactive cesium and solids will be fed directly to the LAW Facility’s melters. The waste and glass-forming materials will be mixed and heated in the melters, then poured into specially designed stainless-steel containers for permanent disposal at the site’s Integrated Disposal Facility.

The Vit Plant facilities can be viewed using the self-guided Hanford Virtual Tour.

Contact: Staci A. West, 509-378-0308 or sawest@bechtel.com

“We’ve been involved with the installation of just about every piece of major equipment that comes into the plant, from 300-ton melters to tower cranes and 275-ton vessels,” said Sean McGaughy, the crane and rigging team superintendent with the Waste Treatment Completion Company (WTCC), a subcontractor to project lead Bechtel National Inc. “Melters, vessels, structural steel; we’ve installed it all.”

Their work has included assembling three tower cranes and nine heavy-lift crawler cranes and, in what McGaughy calls one of the team’s most challenging projects, disassembling the low-activity waste tower crane, which the team did 200 feet in the air.

“The difference between doing work in the air and on the ground is if you pick something up and you’re a little off and it’s only six inches off the ground, you can set it back down and reconfigure,” he said. “You have to be spot on in the air.”

The size of the rigging crew used for a task varies by the job but usually includes McGaughy, who has been with WTP since 2002; Ryan Hoff, the WTCC rigging engineer who creates plans for equipment that weighs more than 10 tons or is of high value to the project; and as many as 10 operators, six ironworkers and nine truck drivers. The team creates an engineering lift plan, gathers the rigging hardware, determines which crane or equipment should be used for installation, performs load tests and safely installs the equipment.

“I look back at everything this team has done and who’s done what to get the plant up and running, and this team has been a huge part of the success,” said John Andreatta, the High-Level Waste Completion manager. “During the startup and commissioning phase of the Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste (DFLAW) Program, the team led the way on the lift planning, load testing and testing of the low-activity waste permanent operations cranes.”

Most of the equipment arrives at the site on trucks, but the heavier, larger items — such as two massive vessels that weighed 170 tons each — arrive on barges on the Columbia River from Portland, Oregon, to the Port of Benton in Richland, Washington. There they are offloaded onto hydraulic platform trailers and transported to the jobsite at Hanford.

“Everything we do has a schedule,” said McGaughy. “We need to have our work done before the project can proceed with the next activity. We do our best to meet the schedule, but we never sacrifice safety for schedule.”

One of the greatest challenges was installing two 300-ton melters, the largest nuclear industry melters in the world, which are key to the plant’s DFLAW process.

“Our involvement with the melters has been a pretty big chunk of work,” said Hoff.

“We’ve been involved with the melters since about 2010,” said Andreatta. “It’s been gratifying to see it come to completion. This is a megaproject, and these are the team members getting it done in the background.”

Contact: Staci A. West, 509-378-0308 or sawest@bechtel.com

The visit provided tangible experience and built upon training the team has received at a project simulator at the Hanford Site. VSL is home to small prototypes of the two melters installed in the Low-Activity Waste (LAW) Facility at the Vit Plant, which EM Office of River Protection prime contractor Bechtel National Inc. is building. The full-size, 300-ton melters are the heart of the vitrification process, which will immobilize radioactive and chemical tank waste in glass.

During vitrification, treated radioactive and chemical tank waste will be fed to the LAW Facility’s melters. The waste will be mixed with glass-forming materials, heated to 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit and poured into specially designed stainless-steel containers. The containers will then be moved a short distance to the Integrated Disposal Facility at the Hanford Site for disposal.

“By observing our VSL colleagues work with the melters, we got a feel for how a melter behaves during operations,” said Vit Plant Commissioning Test Director Mark Rieb, who was one of six operations and commissioning team members on the visit.

VSL operates four test melters that can produce up to three tons of glass per day. Two of the VSL melters also have prototypes of the Vit Plant’s exhaust, or offgas, treatment system, which the team saw in operation.

The team observed VSL employees removing equipment, such as bubblers that keep a steady molten pool inside the melter, and observed the employees establishing waste flow into the melter.

“We were able to see molten glass poured, observe how it congeals when poured, and pick it up after it had cooled,” said Rieb. “It was a perfect test before we heat up and then run our first melter later this year.”

The visit is the latest collaboration between the Hanford team, contractor Atkins and VSL since work at the Vit Plant began. Atkins and VSL have been partners in long-term research and development since the late 1970s and developed the melter technology for the Vit Plant. VSL staff, led by Director Ian Pegg, have worked closely with the Vit Plant team and Atkins to test, improve and validate designs for key systems such as the melter, off-gas systems, waste feed, and glass formulations.

“It was a pleasure to work with such a smart and enthusiastic group; the plant is in good hands,” said Pegg. “The group came loaded with questions and it’s so much more powerful to be able to address them by showing and not just telling.”

The Vit Plant team is also planning to expand its experience through additional visits.

“It’s exciting for us to host our Vit Plant colleagues, given how close their facility is to heating up the first melter to make glass,” said Brad Bowan, senior vice president of engineering, technology and training for Atkins. “We are proud to be an integral part of the project and know we’re helping achieve an important cleanup mission at the Hanford Site.”

Information on the Vit Plant commissioning process is available on the Journey to Melter Heatup website. The plant facilities can be viewed using the self-guided Hanford Virtual Tour.

Contact: Staci A. West, 509-378-0308 or sawest@bechtel.com

The startup heaters will be installed through ports in the lid of the melter and will raise the melter’s internal operating temperature to 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit — hot enough to sustain the pool of molten glass to be used to start the waste vitrification process.

“This is an exciting and important step for our team as we drive toward melter heatup,” said Vit Plant Project Director Valerie McCain. “The melters are the heart of the Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste (DFLAW) Program and bringing Melter 1 online is a significant milestone on our journey to begin treating tank waste.”

Heating up the melter is a complex process, consisting of a series of activities to prepare for and establish the pool of molten glass. After the startup heaters raise the melter to operating temperature, small glass beads called frit will be added until the pool covers the heating electrodes inside the melter.

After melter heatup, the startup heaters will be removed and replaced with bubblers to mix the molten glass pool and help maintain an even temperature. Finally, more frit will be added to the melter to bring the pool up to operating level. The melter will then be ready to receive simulated materials to test the system before processing tank waste.

During DFLAW operations, waste from Hanford’s large underground tanks that has been treated to remove radioactive cesium and solids will be fed directly to the LAW Facility’s melters. The waste and glass-forming materials will be mixed and heated in the melters, then poured into specially designed stainless-steel containers for permanent disposal at the site’s Integrated Disposal Facility.

Contact: Staci A. West, 509-378-0308 or sawest@bechtel.com

The transfer of 6,000 gallons was the first simulation of the process that will be used to treat secondary liquid waste from the plant’s Low-Activity Waste (LAW) Facility during Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste (DFLAW) Program operations to treat tank waste.

“This is a tremendous accomplishment that culminates years of work by our team and alumni toward being ready for hot commissioning,” said Valerie McCain, project director and senior vice president for Bechtel National, Inc. “It’s an important step for the entire Hanford team and our collective mission of protecting the Columbia River and its shoreline communities.”

To demonstrate the transfer, Vit Plant crews inside the LAW Facility control room started a delivery sequence, and crews with tank operations contractor Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS) began their acceptance protocols at the LERF. These steps released the test water from the EMF, allowing it to travel through underground transfer lines to the LERF.

“Testing like this gives us a chance to ensure our people and procedures are ready to operate safely and efficiently, and are integrated,” said Wes Bryan, WRPS president and project manager. “It demonstrates not only that the equipment works, but also how the teams work together to get one step closer to treating tank waste through DFLAW.”

During vitrification — the process of immobilizing tank waste in glass — secondary liquid, called effluent, will be generated by the LAW Facility, the Analytical Laboratory, and when transfer pipes are flushed. The effluent is fed to the EMF, where excess water is boiled away. The water is then piped into holding vessels, where testing ensures it meets waste-acceptance criteria before transfer to the LERF. The remaining waste concentrate is returned to the LAW Facility for treatment.

During full operations, the LAW Facility is designed to vitrify up to 5,000 gallons of low-activity waste per day, equal to 1.75 million gallons per year.

Contact: Staci A. West, 509-378-0308 or sawest@bechtel.com

The team at the Vit Plant follows that model in its approach to operations with the recent addition of conduct-of-operations coaches.

The coaches, who have experience in nuclear or environmental cleanup operations, observe work performed, provide constructive feedback and reinforce positive operational behaviors. Their mentoring, training and coaching help implement a disciplined and structured operations approach to support commissioning and future operations while promoting worker, public and environmental protection.

“These operations coaches help shape our staff’s behaviors and conduct as we move into melter heatup, cold and hot commissioning and future Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste (DFLAW) Program operations,” said Eugene Nemeth, nuclear facility manager for Waste Treatment Completion Company, a subcontractor to project lead Bechtel National, Inc. “Their experience and mentorship provide our team with valuable insights and learning.”

The Vit Plant employs three coaches: one from Hanford contractor Washington River Protection Solutions and the others from Bechtel’s team at the Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant in Colorado. There are plans to hire a fourth coach in the near future, with each coach supporting the four rotating operations shifts.

The addition of the coaches is part of a larger strategy at the Vit Plant to enhance the operational mindset and culture, which includes the creation of a conduct-of-operations council. The council is the governing body for ensuring continuous improvement of facility operations using the Vit Plant conduct-of-operations program. The objectives of the council are to provide oversight and direction for plant-wide conduct of operations, including implementation and monitoring, and recommendations regarding program effectiveness, lessons learned and consistency.

The team is closing in on heatup of the first melter that will be used during the DFLAW Program operations to convert radiological and chemical waste from the Hanford tank farms into a form safe for disposal.

The plant facilities can be viewed using the self-guided Hanford Virtual Tour.

Contact: Staci A. West, 509-378-0308 or sawest@bechtel.com

This accomplishment moves the plant fully into the commissioning phase where final steps are taken to prepare for vitrifying, or immobilizing in glass, radioactive and chemical waste as part of Hanford’s Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste (DFLAW) Program.

“It was a huge milestone for the startup team to transfer the final DFLAW systems to the care, custody, and control of plant management,” said Valerie McCain, project director and senior vice president for Bechtel National, Inc., the prime contractor designing, building, and commissioning the plant. “We are in the final phase of our preparations to start vitrifying waste.”

The DFLAW Program is a system of interdependent projects and infrastructure improvements, managed and highly integrated, that must operate together to vitrify the waste.

“With the completion of startup testing, we can focus on commissioning and establishing the operating culture necessary to safely begin a new era of operations at Hanford,” said Mat Irwin, Office of River Protection deputy assistant manager for the plant. “All contractors are driving toward 24/7 operations to ensure we can operate the plant successfully.”

During vitrification, waste is treated to remove radioactive cesium and solids and will be fed directly to the plant’s Low-Activity Waste Facility melters. The waste and glass-forming materials will be mixed, heated, and poured into specially designed stainless-steel containers. The containers will be transported a short distance to the site’s Integrated Disposal Facility for disposal.

The plant facilities can be viewed using the self-guided Hanford Virtual Tour.

Contact: Staci A. West, 509-378-0308 or sawest@bechtel.com

Bechtel is the prime contractor for the Hanford Vit Plant. Each year, Bechtel recognizes supply chain partners that have supported Bechtel’s execution of key projects around the world and across the energy, infrastructure, nuclear, security, environmental, mining & metals, equipment, technology and logistics markets.

The 2020/2021 Bechtel Global Supplier awards recognized 55 suppliers and subcontractors. The four Vit Plant suppliers recognized include:

• Fluid Controls and Components, Inc. (FCCI) of Richland, Wash. Known for its expertise with precision valves, FCCI provided valves, piping and piping components for Vit Plant construction. FCCI also sourced 108,000 pounds of frit, a mixture of chemicals heated in a furnace to form glass, that will be used during the heatup of the Vit Plant’s first melter later this winter.
• Inland Asphalt Company, which has facilities in Spokane and Richland, Wash. Inland Asphalt paved 115,000 square yards, the equivalent of 18 football fields, of roadways, parking lots and walkways around 17 structures at the Vit Plant. The work was coordinated with ongoing construction work and completed with no safety incidents.
• Pacific Office Solutions in Richland, Wash. Pacific Office Solutions offers a wide variety of diverse products and created “shopping agreements” that allowed Bechtel staff at the Vit Plant to easily order necessary supplies. Pacific Office Solutions also helped protect Vit Plant employees during the early days of the pandemic by sourcing personal protective equipment even when demand for those items was at its highest.
• Petersen, Inc., of Ogden, Utah, and Pocatello, Idaho. Petersen, Inc. built the two 300-ton melters that will be used at the Vit Plant to vitrify the low-activity tank waste. The melters are so intricate that the specifications for each melter included about 1,200 engineering drawings and took two to three years to fabricate. Petersen, Inc. also manufactured the stainless steel containers that will be used to dispose of the waste and is fabricating a third spare melter for Bechtel.

“The partnerships we have with suppliers and subcontractors are crucial to the success of the Vit Plant,” said Frank Salaman, Bechtel procurements and subcontracts manager at the plant. “Their outstanding dedication to quality and customer service makes them vital partners for the success of our important project.”

The Vit Plant, also known as the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant project, will use the vitrification process to safely treat and store a portion of the 56 million gallons of radioactive and chemical waste generated at Hanford during the Manhattan Project and Cold War. The waste is mixed with silica and other glass-forming materials, heated to 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit in one of two melters, then poured into stainless steel containers. The treated low-activity waste will be disposed of at Hanford in permitted trenches covered with soil.

The suppliers and subcontractors recognized by Bechtel with 2020/2021 Global Supplier Awards are a diverse group: some 65% of the recipients are small and/or minority-owned businesses, and the recipients come from seven different countries and across the United States.

Companies were evaluated on multiple factors including overall performance, ability to deliver quality services/supplies on time, ability to work collaboratively to meet milestones, and meeting or exceeding project expectations in aspects of safety, performance, technical expertise, and environmental compliance.

The Vit Plant facilities can be viewed using the self-guided Hanford Virtual Tour.

Company Contacts for Interview Requests:

Bechtel: Staci A. West, 509-378-0308 or sawest@bechtel.com

Fluid Controls and Components Inc.: Russ Watson, 509-375-0774 or russ@fluidcontrols.net

Inland Asphalt Company: Steve Hanson, 509-946-2860 or steve.hanson@inlandnw.com

Pacific Office Solutions: Julie Valdez, 509-452-1993 or jvaldez@posolutions.com

Petersen Inc.: Rob Despain, robd@peterseninc.com

When offsite power was cut during the test, plant personnel activated backup power to keep critical safety systems operational while they worked through procedures to restore power to the plant.

“Our proficiency in responding to a LOOP is important, because during 24/7 plant operations, each of our shift crews needs to be able to respond appropriately,” said Rick Holmes, general manager for the Waste Treatment Completion Company, a subcontractor to project lead Bechtel National, Inc. “They need to place the plant in a safe configuration and restore power to the melters to ensure they stay at their operating temperature.”

Offsite power is provided to the plant by infrastructure that is managed by contractor Hanford Mission Integration Solutions (HMIS). To “cut” offsite power, HMIS remotely opened the primary power supply breaker to the plant and then closed it once the test was completed.

The ability to restore power to the plant is critical. Two melters inside the plant’s Low-Activity Waste (LAW) Facility will immobilize radioactive and chemical waste in a glass form. Once a melter has reached its operating temperature of 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit, it must remain at temperature for its entire lifespan. If a melter were to cool and the glass inside became solid, the melter would need to be replaced. The first melter will be brought up to temperature in the next few months.

“Achieving this milestone brings us a significant step closer to initiating melter heatup,” said Mat Irwin, ORP deputy assistant manager for the plant. “The training has paid dividends and brings us one step closer to vitrification.”

The entire Hanford Site is preparing for a shift to 24/7 operations by the end of 2023, when vitrification of tank waste is scheduled to begin as part of EM’s Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste (DFLAW) Program. The DFLAW Program is a system of interdependent projects and infrastructure improvements, managed and highly integrated, that must operate together to vitrify the waste.

During vitrification, waste treated to remove radioactive cesium and solids at a tank farm will be fed directly to the LAW Facility’s melters. The waste and glass-forming materials will be mixed, heated, and poured into specially designed stainless-steel containers. The containers will be transported a short distance to the site’s Integrated Disposal Facility for disposal.

The 300-ton Hanford melters are each four times larger than the one in operation at EM’s Defense Waste Processing Facility at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina. Hanford’s LAW Facility is designed to vitrify 5,000 gallons of low-activity waste a day — or 1.75 million gallons a year — when operating at full capacity.

Contact: Staci A. West, 509-378-0308 or sawest@bechtel.com

Glass frit is a mixture of chemicals that will mimic Hanford tank waste materials during the melter heatup process in the Low-Activity Waste (LAW) Facility. The melter is at the heart of the vitrification process that transforms radioactive and chemical waste into an immobilized glass form safe for disposal through the Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste (DFLAW) Program. The DFLAW Program is a system of interdependent projects and infrastructure improvements, managed and highly integrated, that must operate together to vitrify the waste.

FCCI was contracted by Bechtel National Inc. (BNI), the prime contractor designing, building, and commissioning the plant, to provide 108,000 pounds of the frit. FCCI has also provided valves, piping, and piping components for plant construction.

“It was the first time we dealt with frit,” said Russ Watson, FCCI vice president. “The chemistry and physical profile of the frit were very complex. The specifications were strict, and the monitoring process was extensive.”

During vitrification, radioactive and chemical tank waste is pretreated near large underground tanks to remove radioactive cesium and solids. It's then fed to the LAW Facility where it will be mixed with glass-forming materials, transferred to two melters, heated to 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit, and poured into specially designed stainless-steel containers for disposal at the nearby Integrated Disposal Facility.

The frit will be used only during melter heatup. It mimics waste by dissolving into a solid form at high temperatures. During the heatup process, the glass frit will be flushed out of the melter with a simulated feed.

“Partners like FCCI are crucial to the success of the project,” said Frank Salaman, procurements and subcontracts manager for BNI. “We rely on them to meet the complex specifications the project requires.”

The project team is scheduled to initiate heatup of the first melter by the end of 2021. Information on the commissioning process, including a loss-of-power test and melter heatup, is available on the Journey to Melter Heatup website.

The plant facilities can be viewed using the self-guided Hanford Virtual Tour.

Contact: Staci A. West, 509-378-0308 or sawest@bechtel.com

“We are making positive, sustained progress toward ensuring the plant, our people, and the paper — such as procedures — are ready to heat up the first melter later this year,” said Project Director Valerie McCain, senior vice president with EM Office of River Protection (ORP) prime contractor Bechtel National, Inc. “Our team is safely and compliantly demonstrating these systems will be ready to support melter heatup and then cold commissioning in 2022.”

After completing testing, the plant’s startup team handed over the two melters and supporting equipment to the plant management team for commissioning. Following melter heatup, operators will feed simulated waste and glass-forming materials into the melters in a step called cold commissioning. A hot commissioning phase, in which low-activity tank waste will be vitrified, will then occur prior to full operations.

“The plant workforce is expected to complete all startup testing in the Low-Activity Waste Facility in the next several weeks,” said Mat Irwin, ORP deputy assistant manager for the plant. “Commissioning of equipment and systems is already underway in the plant’s various facilities, and we’re all gearing up for the loss of power test this fall.” The loss of power test will demonstrate that all Vit Plant shifts can restore power to facilities and to the melters in a timely and safe manner.

The entire Hanford Site is preparing for a shift to 24/7 operations by the end of 2023, when treatment of tank waste using vitrification is scheduled to start as part of EM’s Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste (DFLAW) Program. The DFLAW Program is a system of interdependent projects and infrastructure improvements, managed and highly integrated, that must operate together to vitrify the waste.

During vitrification, waste treated near large underground tanks to remove radioactive cesium and solids will be fed directly to the LAW Facility’s melters. The waste and glass-forming materials will be mixed, heated to 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit, and poured into specially designed stainless-steel containers. The containers will be transported a short distance to the site’s Integrated Disposal Facility for disposal.

The 300-ton Hanford melters are each four times larger than the one in operation at EM’s Defense Waste Processing Facility at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina. Hanford’s LAW Facility is designed to vitrify 5,000 gallons of low-activity waste each day — or 1.75 million gallons each year — during full operations after hot commissioning. Startup testing is complete on about 75% of the facility’s 94 systems, which have been turned over to the plant management team for commissioning.

Information on the commissioning process, including a loss of power test and melter heatup, is available on the Journey to Melter Heatup website.

The plant facilities can be viewed using the self-guided Hanford Virtual Tour.

Contact: Staci A. West, 509-378-0308 or sawest@bechtel.com

RICHLAND, Wash. – As the Vit Plant team moves closer to starting up the first of two melters inside the Low-Activity Waste (LAW) Facility, Bechtel National, Inc. today launches a new website that explains the commissioning process, including critical activities such as the loss of power test and melter heatup process.

“We want our key stakeholders and local community to understand the steps being taken to ensure a safe, quality, and effective heatup of the first melter,” said Mat Irwin, Department of Energy Office of River Protection deputy assistant manager for the plant. “We are approaching a 24/7 operational situation at a pace not seen at the Hanford Site in many years. We’re excited to deliver on this commitment to our community.”

The two 300-ton waste melters inside the LAW Facility will heat Hanford’s low-activity tank waste and glass-forming materials to 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit and transform, or vitrify, it for safe disposal. Vitrify means immobilizing the waste and materials within a glass form. The loss of power test will demonstrate the team is able to protect the melter by putting the LAW Facility into safe condition and restoring power before any damage to the melter occurs. 

The Journey to Melter Heatup website includes information such as:

• The many activities that must be completed to enable melter heatup, such as installing key equipment and tuning the exhaust system.
• Definitions of common melter heatup terminology.
• Key facts such as how many days it takes to bring the melter up to target temperature.
• The latest news on progress toward heatup.

For example, initial heatup of the melter takes about 22 days, followed by several days of testing with the addition of glass startup materials that melt at low temperatures, and then another 30 days of feeding in glass-forming materials.

Melter heatup will culminate 2021’s progress toward starting Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste (DFLAW) treatment by the end of 2023. DFLAW is a system of interdependent projects and infrastructure improvements, managed and highly integrated as a program, that must operate together to vitrify low-activity waste.

Twenty commissioning technicians and four control room supervisors recently began their training at the plant’s simulator building, an offsite duplicate of the LAW Facility control room. The courses are readying staff to meet two of this year’s key milestones in preparations to bring the world’s largest radioactive waste vitrification facility online: a Loss of Power test followed by heating up the first of the two melters.

“Once we heat up a melter, it needs to stay hot until we start treating tank waste,” said Mat Irwin, Department of Energy Office of River Protection deputy assistant manager for WTP. “We are establishing contingencies, but the impacts to the project if we lose a melter are significant. We need to successfully keep the melters hot until they wear out and we replace them with new melters.”

The Loss of Power test will demonstrate the team is able to protect the melter by putting the LAW Facility into safe condition and restoring power before any damage to the melter occurs.

During future plant operations, the pair of 300-ton melters will use electricity to heat tank waste and glass-forming materials to 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit. The molten mixture will be poured into large stainless-steel containers that will be sealed and transported to Hanford’s nearby Integrated Disposal Facility.

“Once a melter goes hot, our operators need to be ready to respond quickly and decisively in the unlikely event of a loss of power,” said Kent Smith, plant manager for Bechtel subcontractor Waste Treatment Completion Company (WTCC). “By the time we’re ready to conduct the Loss of Power test, our operators and supervisors will be fully versed in running the melters and the off-gas and ventilation systems.”

The DFLAW approach is a system of interdependent projects and infrastructure improvements, managed and highly integrated as a program, that must operate together successfully to vitrify Hanford tank waste.

Commissioning technicians, shift managers and supervisors will also receive classroom training in operational safety protocols that ensure hazards are mitigated. Jobsite training will follow. Staff members are also developing a training course in Loss of Power response for rollout in the classroom this spring.

“We use a systematic ‘ADDIE’ approach in our training,” said Steve Goodrich, WTCC operations training supervisor. “ADDIE stands for analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation.”

Accordingly, before each classroom training session, the training team analyzes the employees’ jobs and tasks and creates a list of materials and documents that support performing those tasks. Then the training group develops lesson plans and training aids and delivers the training in the classroom or on the jobsite. Employees take tests to check their knowledge, periodically take refresher courses, and provide feedback to continuously improve the training.

“These specially engineered stainless-steel containers and the spare melter are critical to our ability to complete hot commissioning in just a few years,” said Valerie McCain, a Bechtel National principal vice president and Vit Plant project director.

Bechtel National is working in partnership with the Department of Energy to bring its Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste (DFLAW) program online by the end of 2023. The engineered 7-foot tall, 4-foot wide containers will be filled with molten glass containing simulated and real radioactive waste during the Vit Plant’s commissioning phase, and the spare melter will be on standby for when the current melters reach their end of lifespan.

The Vit Plant’s Low-Activity Waste vitrification facility is an integral part of the DFLAW program. The Low-Activity Waste Facility already contains two installed melters that will heat tank waste and glass-forming materials to 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit – a process called vitrification – before the mixture is poured into stainless steel containers for permanent storage. During plant operations the Low-Activity Waste Facility will treat about 1.75 million gallons of tank waste per year.

LAW Facility construction is substantially complete, systems startup testing is well underway and the computerized control room is operational and staffed 24-7 by workers. Construction of the Analytical Laboratory and plant-wide utilities infrastructure are finished, and startup testing is nearing completion.

Bechtel National’s commitment to local and small business

In Fiscal Year 2019, Bechtel National awarded $145 million in contracts to small and large businesses including small disadvantaged businesses, women-owned businesses, veteran-owned businesses and others. Nearly $67 million, or 62.5 percent, of the dollars awarded was spent in Washington and Oregon, with about $39 million of that remaining in the Tri-Cities.

EM’s Office of River Protection (ORP) and contractor Bechtel National, Inc. (BNI) recognized the Hanford Vit Plant team this month for completing assembly of the first of two Low-Activity Waste (LAW) Facility vitrification melters.

ORP Federal Project Director Bill Hamel and BNI Project Manager Kim Irwin congratulated the team members and presented them with certificates of appreciation during an employee event.

“Not only did you do a safe and quality job, you made sure safety and quality were constructed into the product,” Hamel said.

The 300-ton nuclear waste melter is one of two inside the LAW facility, and is the largest vitrification equipment of its kind in the U.S. The melters represent the “heart” of the Vit Plant low-activity waste vitrification process, and completing the assembly marks another step towards completing LAW facility construction. Completion of the second melter assembly is expected in September.

The LAW facility, an Analytical Laboratory, and 20 support facilities are part of EM’s Direct Feed Low-Activity Waste approach to treat low-activity tank waste ahead of full Vit Plant commissioning, taking advantage of facilities close to completion. When operational, the melters will heat Hanford’s low-activity tank waste and glass-forming materials to 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit — which is the vitrification process — before the mixture is poured into stainless steel containers for permanent storage. The melters will produce 30 tons of glass daily.

RICHLAND, Wash. —The Department of Energy’s Office of River Protection (ORP) and contractor Bechtel National Inc. (BNI) today announced employees have safely completed final assembly of the first melter at Hanford’s Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP), also known as the Vit Plant. The 300-ton nuclear waste melter is one of two located inside the WTP’s Low-Activity Waste (LAW) facility.

“The melters are the heart of the WTP low-activity waste vitrification process, and completing the assembly marks another step towards completing construction and shifting to commissioning. The melters are large complex pieces of equipment critical to WTP’s success,” said Bill Hamel, WTP Federal Project Director for the ORP.

Construction crews are now focused on safely assembling the second LAW melter.

“The melter final assembly brings us one step closer to Low-Activity Waste facility construction completion,” said Peggy McCullough, BNI project director for the WTP Project. “For our employees, this achievement represents a substantial, detailed design, fabrication and assembly effort for the largest nuclear waste melter ever built in the U.S.”

The melters will be used to heat Hanford’s low-activity tank waste and glass-forming materials to 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit – a process called vitrification – before the mixture is poured into stainless steel containers for permanent storage. During plant operations the two LAW facility melters will produce 30 tons of glass daily, ten times the capacity of the melter in operation at DOE Savannah River Site's Defense Waste Processing Facility in South Carolina.

The LAW facility melters, and other components of the facility, can be seen in the Vit Plant Virtual Tour.

BNI holds the prime contract to design, construct, start up and commission the Vit Plant, which includes the LAW facility, an Analytical Laboratory, the High-Level Waste (HLW) facility, the Pretreatment (PT) facility and a collection of more than 20 support facilities. The LAW facility, Analytical Laboratory and set of support facilities are part of DOE’s Direct Feed Low-Activity Waste  approach to treat low-activity tank waste as soon as 2022, and ahead of full WTP commissioning, taking advantage of those facilities that are close to completion.

About the Office of River Protection

The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Hanford Site in southeast Washington state is home to 56 million gallons of chemical and radioactive waste stored in underground tanks – the result of more than four decades of plutonium production. The Office of River Protection (ORP) is responsible for the retrieval, treatment, and disposal of this waste in a safe, efficient manner. The River Protection Project is the largest and most complex environmental remediation project in the nation.

About Bechtel

Bechtel is designing and building the world’s largest radioactive waste treatment plant for the DOE at the Hanford Site in southeastern Washington state. The Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant, also known as the Vit Plant, will immobilize the millions of gallons of radioactive liquid waste stored in 177 underground tanks using a process called vitrification. Visit www.hanfordvitplant.com.

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Aerial of the Low-Activity Waste (LAW) Facility. The LAW Facility will turn low-activity radioactive and chemical waste into glass to be permanently stored at Hanford.

In 2012, a Low-Activity Waste Facility melter is pulled out of the building on rails for inspection. The melter will be one of two used to heat Hanford’s underground low-activity tank waste and glass-forming materials to 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit before the mixture is poured into stainless steel containers for permanent storage in a process called vitrification.

In 2014, workers install refractory brick inside a Low-Activity Waste (LAW) Vitrification Facility melter. During operations the refractory brick will provide thermal insulation and structural support for the melter.

During operations the Low-Activity Waste (LAW) Facility’s two melters will produce 30 tons of glass daily, ten times the capacity of the melter in operation at the Department of Energy Savannah River Site's Defense Waste Processing Facility in South Carolina.

The Vit Plant Virtual Tour is a 360-degree online interactive tour that offers the public a chance to better understand the considerable undertaking of Bechtel and URS employees in building this one-of-a-kind complex. 

Virtually visit the active construction site, the nuclear processing facilities and their support structures and go inside the Low-Activity Waste (LAW) Vitrification Facility at http://www.hanfordvitplant.com/virtual-tour/.

The public can peek inside the Vit Plant even as construction continues.

The Vitrification Process Virtual Tour

The tour begins with views of the Hanford Site and the Vit Plant facilities. It also showcases the inside of the LAW Facility, including its two waste melters that are the largest in the world, its process cells and the components of its exhaust treatment system.

The tour also highlights the many support structures being built on the 65-acre construction site. Each tour stop includes information on the facilities, their components and their role in the vitrification process.

Vitrification is the process of mixing liquid radioactive waste with glass-forming materials and heating them in a high-temperature melter. This “liquid glass” is poured into stainless steel containers to cool before being disposed of permanently and safely. 

Two 300-ton melters will be used in the LAW Facility to vitrify up to 80 percent of the 56 million gallons of hazardous waste currently stored in underground tanks at the Hanford Site.

The Vit Plant will start processing low-activity waste as soon as 2022, followed by full plant operation, including high-level waste processing, in 2036.