EM Richland Operations Office (RL) contractor Central Plateau Cleanup Company (CPCCo) is continuing to reduce risk around the Plutonium-Uranium Extraction Plant – better known as PUREX – on the Hanford Site.
Office of Environmental Management
August 24, 2021
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RICHLAND, Wash. – EM Richland Operations Office (RL) contractor Central Plateau Cleanup Company (CPCCo) is continuing to reduce risk around the Plutonium-Uranium Extraction Plant – better known as PUREX – on the Hanford Site.
The recent removal of an old guard house that served as a security command center for the plant during site operations was part of that effort. Watch this time lapse video of the guard house demolition.
“Remediation of the former PUREX guard house and other structures is a reminder of Hanford’s former mission as we continue to focus on the progress of the current cleanup effort,” said Bob Nichols, director for CPCCo’s inner area end states group.
PUREX was the fifth and final chemical processing facility built at Hanford. Located centrally at the site, the plant operated from 1956 to 1972, and again from 1983 to 1988, to reprocess fuel rods irradiated in Hanford’s reactors. Today, CPCCo crews are focused on risk-reduction activities to prepare the contaminated facility for demolition.
As a key plutonium-producing facility for the national defense effort during the Cold War, PUREX was among the most heavily guarded buildings at Hanford. Workers were required to clear the security checkpoint before entering the facility. Safeguards included a central alarm system, X-ray machines, and bulletproof glass
The guard house was closed in the early 1990s as Hanford’s mission transitioned from production to cleanup and the remaining plutonium was transferred to the nearby Plutonium Finishing Plant, removing many of the security requirements.
“PUREX was an amazing place to work during the final years of its operations,” said Mike Precechtel, a security guard at the facility from the late 1980s to early ‘90s, and currently a CPCCo employee. “We had an important job, and we did it well. I have a lot of fond memories from there.”
Other ongoing work at PUREX includes characterization of radiological and chemical hazards near and in the facility and asbestos abatement for more than 1,700 feet of old steam lines.
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