Vit Plant Receives First Simulated Tank Waste for Melter Testing

Workers recently unloaded a shipment of more than 10,000 gallons of sodium hydroxide delivered to the Hanford Vit Plant. The liquid sodium hydroxide will be the first chemical fed into the plant’s melters to simulate Hanford tank waste.

“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.