Facility Transition Project

Decontamination and Decommissioning of Hanford Facilities

The Facility Transition Project consists of numerous facilities undergoing either final cleanup, or evaluation for alternate usage. A wide range of facilities are involved in this effort. The major groupings are:

• 300 Area Facilities near the Columbia River, drinking water sources, and the City of Richland (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 and waste activities (Maintenance and Storage Facility, Fuels and Materials Examination Facilities, unenriched uranium stored in the 200 and 300 Areas, etc).

The eventual decontamination and decommissioning of major processing facilities and/or "key" facilities identified in the Tri-Party Agreement (TPA) 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, thereby decreasing 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 three active non-Hanford facilities.

Basic Principles of Facility Transition Project

• Prevent further impacts to human health and the environment, and where possible, reduce or eliminate existing impacts.
• Provide support and oversight of ongoing U.S. Department of Energy (USDOE) 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 through application of environmental laws and regulations and by continual consultation with the public.

Facility Transition Project Facilities

• 100 Area Reactors
• Hanford Generating Plant
• Plutonium Finishing Plant
• U Plant
• B Plant
• Plutonium Uranium Extraction Facility
• Waste Encapsulation Storage Facility
• 300 Area Facilities
• Fast Flux Test Facility
• Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
• Framatome
• Puget Sound Naval Shipyard
• Energy Northwest