Hanford Plant Pours First Glass From Second Melter

RICHLAND, Wash. — Crews at the Hanford Site’s Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) have poured the first test glass from a second melter into a stainless steel container in the plant’s Low-Activity Waste (LAW) Facility.

“Plant crews have demonstrated that both melters are fully operational and capable of pouring glass,” said Mat Irwin, U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management acting assistant manager for WTP. “System tests will begin to look more like future waste treatment operations moving forward.”

Plant personnel will continue to pour glass from Melter 2 in batches so control room staff can practice the process until they have filled the container. WTP produced the first container of test glass last year after completing a similar series of pours from Melter 1.

Personnel heating up melters and pouring test glass are an important part of commissioning the facility to prepare for vitrifying, or immobilizing in glass, millions of gallons of radioactive and chemical waste from Hanford’s large underground tanks.

“The first pour from Melter 2 is another important step in commissioning the plant and preparing for the future sustained production of vitrified waste,” said Brian Hartman, senior vice president for Bechtel National Inc., lead contractor for WTP. “I’m proud of our team’s progress in heating a second melter, managing other first-time systems and moving forward with filling more containers.”

During future waste treatment operations, Hanford crews will feed waste from underground tanks that have been treated to remove radioactive solids and cesium to the melters inside the LAW Facility. The waste will be mixed with glass-forming materials in the melters, then poured into specially designed stainless steel containers for disposal at Hanford’s Integrated Disposal Facility.