Nuclear wasteWashington State supports new Hanford project, but worries about cost

Published 4 December 2014

The state of Washington is supporting a new facility which would lessen the load on the Hanford vitrification (vit) plant to process nuclear waste, but has expressed concerns about how the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will pay for the project. Only rough estimates of the cost of the project – called LAWPS, or the Low-Activity Waste Pretreatment System — have been made, but these estimates run between $243 million and $375 million, though that number does not include infrastructure costs such as the addition of roadways and utility services.

The state of Washington is supporting a new facility which would lessen the load on the Hanford vitrification (vit) plant to process nuclear waste, but has expressed concerns about how the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will pay for the project.

As the Tri-City Herald reports, the project — referred to as LAWPS, or the Low-Activity Waste Pretreatment System — would prepare low-activity radioactive waste to be treated at the vit plant, allowing for it to bypass the existing Pretreatment Facility which has faced construction and technical issues, delaying progress. The vit plant at Hanford is not scheduled to begin full operation until 2031, but with the help of LAWPS it could treat low-activity waste as early as 2022.

“Getting some waste treated for disposal will free up more space in Hanford’s double-shell tanks to hold waste emptied from Hanford’s older and leak-prone single-shell tanks,” said Suzanne Dahl to a Hanford advisory board meeting. She is the manager of the tank waste treatment section of the state Department of Ecology.

LAWPS would produce five canisters of glassified nuclear waste per day. Each canister measures 7.5 feet tall and 4.5 feet wide, resulting in about thirty metric tons of glass each day. Using a two-step process, the facility would first use a cross flow filtration method to remove the suspended solids from the waste followed by an ion exchange action to get dissolved cesium out from the liquid.

“We are all about getting waste into glass as soon as possible,” said Dahl. However, she added, the state is concerned about how the use of funding for LAWPS might impact other projects at Hanford.

Only rough estimates of the cost have been made, but according to the DOE project director Steve Pfaff, the LAWPS site is estimated to run between $243 million and $375 million, though that number does not include infrastructure costs such as the addition of roadways and utility services.

Additionally, the LAWPS site will need to find a spot between the vit plant and a tank facility. Certain parts would need to be built below ground to improve radiation shielding. Further, there is a proposal for permanent piping to be put into place, as opposed to the usual hose system that is used throughout Hanford, given the fact that the LAWPS site may be in use for decades on end.

“Some technical difficulties still need to be worked out for LAWPS, but they do not appear to be insurmountable. The state is ready to start work toward issuing permits for the proposed LAWPS and hopes timely progress is made on it.” Dahl said.