На полигоне «Хэнфорд» возобновили сертификацию трансурановых отходов для отправки на постоянное хранение

HANFORD, Wash. — The Hanford Site in Richland has restarted the certification process for transuranic waste, a key step toward permanently disposing of materials left over from the site's plutonium-production era, the Office of Environmental Management announced. The waste, which includes contaminated clothing, tools, rags and soil, is stored in roughly 11,000 containers on site and is scheduled to begin shipping to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico by September 30, 2028. The effort is part of a broader mission to reduce long-term risk to the local community and environment. “The certification process is critical to safely and compliantly packaging and shipping transuranic waste to WIPP for permanent disposal. The process streamlines our effort to reduce Hanford’s transuranic waste inventory, ensures safe operations at Hanford and WIPP and helps us achieve our ultimate goal of protecting our community and the environment,” said Scott Green with DOE’s Office of Environmental Management at the Hanford Field Office The Department of Energy said a team in the Central Characterization Project carried out visual and radiological checks on each container. Workers used specialized equipment to make sure the containers met shipping rules and WIPP acceptance standards. Ron Reeves with Central Plateau Cleanup Company said the team is ready for the next phase. “We’re proud of the progress we’ve made to reestablish a WIPP-certified program at Hanford and are well positioned to resume waste shipments in the near future. Restarting the certification process is a prime example of the Hanford team’s unified commitment to reducing long-term risk,” said Ron Reeves.