Facility Transition Project

Decontamination and Decommissioning of Hanford Facilities

The Facility Transition Project oversees a wide range of numerous facilities undergoing either final cleanup and demolition , or evaluation for alternate use:

300 Area facilities, primarily the 324 and 327 facilities

Canyon facilities in the 200 Area.

Reactor facilities in the 100 Area.

Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) in the 400 Area

And other miscellaneous facilities throughout the Hanford Site.

The eventual decontamination and decommissioning of major processing facilities or "key" facilities in the Tri-Party Agreement fall within the Facility Transition Project. Additional facilities may be added to the Transition Project with time as the cleanup of these facilities progresses.

Rick Bond is the Facility Transition Project manager.

Project Mission

Work with the U.S. Department of Energy (USDOE) to decommission facilities at the Hanford Site. The decommissioning process involves deactivation, stabilization, removal of contamination, and the placement of these facilities in surveillance and maintenance mode until final removal or entombment (enclosing in a protective building) can be accomplished, or until the facility is evaluated for an alternate use.

A further mission of the project is to eliminate contamination near the Columbia River, to lower the risk of pollution entering the river and polluting nearby communities and drinking water sources.

The project also provides regulatory oversight for one active Hanford facility and four active non-Hanford facilities.

Basic Principles of Facility Transition Project

Prevent further impacts to human health and the environment, and reduce or eliminate impacts.

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.

Protect human health and the environment.

Facility Transition Projects

Hanford Facilities

100 Area Reactors

Plutonium Finishing Plant

U Plant

B Plant

Plutonium Uranium Extraction Facility (PUREX)

PUREX Tunnels 

Waste Encapsulation Storage Facility

300 Area Facilities

Fast Flux Test Facility

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Facilities Transition Progress New! 

 

100N Area

The face of Hanford’s landscape continues to change as cleanup at Hanford progresses.  Explosive charges were used to bring-down two stacks at Hanford’s N Reactor (link here to see a photo) and to drop heavy equipment in the N Area powerhouse.  The demolition occurred in June.  For a map of all the facilities that have been transitioned in the 100 Area, link to: 100N Facilities Transition Progress

 

300 Area

 

300 Area Facilities Transition Progress

Non-Hanford Facilities

• AREVA NP Inc.

• Puget Sound Naval Shipyard

• Energy Northwest

• PermaFix Northwest