EM Office of River Protection (ORP) tank operations contractor Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS) recently began testing the renovated load-in station at the Effluent Treatment Facility (ETF) to ensure operational readiness. This is another step in preparing to treat tank waste on the Hanford Site.
“Expanding and modernizing the load-in station is a key part of our Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste (DFLAW) Program for treating tank waste,” said Bibek Tamang, ETF program manager for ORP. “The station prepares us for and will support 24/7 operations on the Hanford Site.”
DFLAW is a collection of interdependent projects and infrastructure, managed as a program, that will operate together to vitrify, or immobilize in glass, low-activity waste for disposal. The ETF is vital to the DFLAW process by removing contaminants from wastewater generated by tank waste activities, groundwater projects, solid waste disposal facilities and other Hanford cleanup activities.
During tank waste treatment operations, the load-in station will handle increased wastewater shipments. Most of the additional wastewater — an estimated 1.2 million gallons a year — will be leachate, or water from rain, snowmelt and dust suppression activities from the Integrated Disposal Facility on the site.
“The building overhaul was expansive,” said Rob Wood, ETF load-in station project manager at WRPS. “We spent six months gutting the old station and installing all new piping, electrical and mechanical equipment. The upgrades nearly double the building’s treatment capacity and will improve efficiency.”
Workers also extended the building by 30 feet to allow room for larger tanker trucks. Crews added new heating, ventilation, and air conditioning components and power and fire suppression systems. They also constructed a new offloading platform to allow tanker drivers to better communicate with facility operators. This modification will also enable an additional tanker to prepare for unloading while another tanker is being emptied.
The next steps for the load-in station include inspections and permitting, with readiness and turnover to operations planned for later this summer.
Original source can be found here.