Teams at EM’s Hanford Site recently welcomed a group of engineers from the United Kingdom’s Sellafield Site for a visit to exchange technical information and insights about ongoing cleanup missions at both sites.
Office of Environmental Management
December 19, 2023
minute read time
Teams from Hanford and the United Kingdom’s Sellafield Site exchanged information about ongoing cleanup missions at both sites during a recent visit to the Hanford Site. From left: Rick Raymond, a senior technical advisor with Central Plateau Cleanup Company; Kayle Boomer, Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS) Technology Management and Field Solutions manager; Ashley Furman, a project support engineer with Longenecker and Associates; Ryan Clifford, a Sellafield Ltd. Site Ion Exchange Effluent Plant (SIXEP) technical advisor; Tom McMillan, a Sellafield Ltd. SIXEP technical lead; Mike Leonard, WRPS Tank Farm Projects Engineering and Chief Technology Office (CTO) manager; Sam Manalertsakul, Jacobs Clean Energy Ltd. process engineer; Mike Sutey, WRPS Retrievals Engineering manager; Amanda Hede, WRPS CTO senior project manager; and Alonso Rodriguez, a WRPS mechanical engineer.
RICHLAND, Wash. — Teams at EM’s Hanford Site recently welcomed a group of engineers from the United Kingdom’s Sellafield Site for a visit to exchange technical information and insights about ongoing cleanup missions at both sites.
Sellafield is a former nuclear power-generation and fuel-reprocessing site in northwestern England and has mission goals and challenges similar to those of Hanford.
“This site visit was in support of a trilateral commitment to sustainability in decommissioning nuclear sites between EM, the U.K. Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and Atomic Energy of Canada Limited,” said Jim Greene, EM Tank Farms Program Division project manager. “Exchanges with other sites are invaluable in moving technology development forward and achieving our environmental goals.”
This international exchange underscores EM’s commitment to shared learning and expertise, reinforcing the global effort on safe and effective nuclear site cleanup.
During the visit, engineers from Sellafield met with workers from EM Hanford Site contractor Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS) to discuss Hanford tank waste-retrieval operations, the recent dome-core cutting and riser installation and ongoing technology development efforts.
“WRPS was thrilled to host this visit from our counterparts in the U.K.,” said Mike Leonard, WRPS manager of Tank Farm Projects Engineering and Chief Technology Office. “We shared some of our collective experience and lessons learned, and Sellafield shared theirs with project planning for a multiphase approach to waste retrieval, treatment and disposition.”
The collaboration extended to Hanford contractor Central Plateau Cleanup Company, responsible for several risk-reduction projects, and teams shared information about remediating contaminated soil and transferring radioactive sludge in the K West Reactor near the Columbia River to storage further inland.
“On behalf of Sellafield, thanks very much to everyone for coordinating and hosting our visit,” remarked Tom McMillan, technical lead for Sellafield’s Site Ion Exchange Effluent Plant. “Learning from Hanford’s experience in retrieval operations will help inform the design of new storage vessels on the Sellafield Site, creating a different legacy for future generations.”
-Contributor: Derek Miceli
To receive the latest news and updates about the Office of Environment Management, submit your e-mail address.