NON-NDAA Waste Incidental to Reprocessing (WIR) at the Hanford Site (HANF) in Washington – Vitrified Low Activity Waste Disposal (VLAW)

HANF Integrated Disposal Facility in Richland, Washington

Operator: U.S. Department of Energy Docket Number: PROJ0736 Tank Description: Various Waste Volume: 2.0x108 litres (5.3x107 gallons)

For WIR not covered under the Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 (i.e., non-NDAA WIR), the role of the NRC is: if requested by the DOE through an Interagency Agreement (i.e., the DOE funds the NRC), then the DOE will consult with the NRC and the NRC will provide a technical review evaluating the DOE documents describing how the DOE proposes to close the tank farms at the Hanford Site (HANF).

In accordance with the Hanford Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order (Tri Party Agreement) and State-approved closure plans, tanks in those HANF tank farms will be closed in coordination with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the State of Washington Department of Ecology. Note that the NRC is not a party to the Tri Party Agreement.

HANF, occupying approximately 1,518 square kilometers (km²) (586 square miles (mi²)) along the Columbia River near Richland, Washington, is a former federal government plutonium production complex. The cleanup of HANF involves more than 2.0x108 liters (5.3x10⁷ gallons) of radioactive and chemically hazardous waste in 177 underground storage tanks, with approximately 750K cubic meters (m³) (25 million cubic feet (ft³)) of buried or stored solid waste, spent nuclear fuel, and plutonium in various forms. The DOE Office of River Protection has the mission to retrieve and treat the Hanford Site's tank waste and close its tank farms to protect the Columbia River.

Major Non-NDAA WIR Consultation Documents For The HANF VLAW:

Current NRC Project Manager: Maurice Heath, 301-415-3137, Maurice.Heath@nrc.gov