ORP Shifts Last of 14 DFLAW Buildings to Full Startup Testing

RICHLAND, Wash. – Earlier this month, crews at Hanford’s Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) turned over to startup the last of 14 infrastructure support buildings necessary for the plant’s Direct Feed Low-Activity Waste (DFLAW) operation. The achievement marks the substantial completion of engineering, procurement, construction, and transition to the startup testing phase. The recently completed building, which houses a standby diesel generator, is one of 14 structures that will eventually supply site-wide utilities to support WTP’s low-activity waste vitrification process. The generator will next undergo functional testing as part of its startup phase. As construction is completed, the systems and buildings are transferred to the startup team, which performs testing to verify the equipment functions as intended. After the startup phase, a commissioning phase ensures the utilities and process systems are integrated and ready to support future plant operations. So far, five buildings are in the commissioning phase, while the remaining nine building are undergoing startup testing. The support infrastructure includes an electrical power distribution system, backup power, water purification, compressed air, steam, communication and control, and fire water systems. Through the DFLAW vitrification approach, EM's Office of River Protection will begin treating tank waste no later than 2023.