Washington State Department of Ecology

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Facility Transition Project

Decontamination and Decommissioning of Hanford Facilities

The Facility Transition Project provides regulatory oversight of facilities at the Hanford Site that are either undergoing final cleanup and demolition, are being managed under the surveillance and maintenance (S&M) program, or are being evaluated for alternate use. The deactivation, decontamination, decommissioning, and demolition (D4) or the S&M of major processing facilities, or "key" facilities in the Tri-Party Agreement, fall within the Facility Transition Project.

Rick Bond (509-372-7885) is the Facility Transition Project manager.

Project Mission

Facility Transition Project members work with the U.S. Department of Energy (USDOE) to decommission facilities at the Hanford Site. If final disposition of a facility has not been decided, the Facility Transition Project provides oversight of these facilities until the final decision is made for removal or entombment (enclosing in a protective building), or until an alternate use is selected. The main driver for demolition of many of the facilities is to eliminate contamination near the Columbia River.  This lowers the risk of pollution entering the river and spreading to nearby communities and drinking water sources.  

Basic Principles of the Facility Transition Project

  • Prevent further impacts to human health and the environment and reduce or eliminate past impacts from contaminated facilities.
  • Provide support and oversight of ongoing USDOE facility transition activities.
  • Encourage the use of new, more efficient technologies, where possible, to enhance existing capabilities and timelines.
  • Strive for efficient use of resources.

Facility Transition Projects 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Washington State Department of Ecology share the oversight role of Hanford facilities. Ecology’s Facility Transition Project provides oversight for the following facilities:

  • 100 Area reactors
  • Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP)
  • B Plant
  • Plutonium Uranium Extraction Facility (PUREX)
  • PUREX tunnels
  • Waste Encapsulation Storage Facility (WESF)
  • 300 Area facilities (324, 327, and 340 buildings)
  • Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF)
  • 200 East Area facilities

In addition to our decommissioning responsibilities, the Facility Transition Project provides regulatory oversight for one operating Hanford facility, the Liquid Effluent Retention Facility/200 Area Effluent Treatment System, that stores and treats liquid wastes. The Facility Transition Project also regulates the Hanford Site liquids discharge permits.


Outside of our Hanford-related duties, the Facility Transition Project also oversees five operating facilities/companies that generate or accept commercial mixed waste (chemical and radioactive) for disposal:

 

Get Informed

USDOE Fact Sheet on Hanford's River Structures and Near-Term Cleanup Plans