The Hanford Site is a step closer to immobilizing radioactive liquid tank waste in glass for safe disposal.
Office of Environmental Management
January 14, 2025
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A worker performs maintenance inside the Hanford Site’s Tank-Side Cesium Removal System before the start of the latest processing campaign. So far, the system has processed more than 830,000 gallons of tank waste.
RICHLAND, Wash. — The Hanford Site is a step closer to immobilizing radioactive liquid tank waste in glass for safe disposal.
The Hanford Field Office and tank operations contractor Washington River Protection Solutions recently completed the second waste processing campaign through the Tank-Side Cesium Removal (TSCR) System.
TSCR is a demonstration project that removes radioactive cesium and solids from tank waste and delivers the waste to a nearby underground storage tank. More than 830,000 gallons of TSCR-treated waste are now staged and ready to be sent to Hanford’s Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant for treatment later this year.
“The TSCR System is accomplishing its mission as the first step in treating Hanford’s tank waste,” said Bibek Tamang, Hanford TSCR Program manager. “We’re making great progress toward the start of plant operations in 2025.”
Hanford Site workers remove a sample of waste from a large underground tank for testing to ensure it meets the criteria for sending it to the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant later this year.
The next campaign is scheduled to begin this summer. Once finished, it will bring the amount of waste available to feed to the treatment plant to more than 1 million gallons.
“During the two years we have been operating TSCR, we have reinforced our ability to run safely, efficiently and effectively,” said Wes Bryan, contractor president and project manager. “We’ve advanced operations to treat tank waste and will be ready for 24/7 operations when the plant starts treating tank waste.”
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