Crews Make Progress Cleaning Up Outside Storage Areas at Hanford

Workers at the Hanford Site’s Central Waste Complex are reducing risk by moving large waste containers from two outside areas behind the complex.

RICHLAND, Wash. — Crews with U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Environmental Management contractor Central Plateau Cleanup Company (CPCCo) are making progress cleaning up the “backyard” at the Central Waste Complex (CWC) on the Hanford Site.

The backyard is two outdoor storage areas covering 12 acres behind the CWC on Hanford’s Central Plateau. For the past several years workers have been removing large waste containers from the outside areas that were moved from Hanford Site burial grounds.

“Transferring this waste to an offsite facility for treatment and repackaging or more secure storage facilities at the waste complex is a key risk-reduction effort,” said Scott Green, Hanford Field Office deputy assistant manager for River and Plateau cleanup. “Completing this project will also meet a significant Tri-Party Agreement milestone.”

In 2018, DOE and Hanford’s regulators — the U.S Environmental Protection Agency and Washington State Department of Ecology — established a milestone under the Tri-Party Agreement to remove all containers from the outside storage areas by Sept. 30, 2026. Originally, there were 132 containers. Today only 16 remain.

The containers store a variety of solid waste, such as reactor and laboratory equipment, tools, contaminated clothing, and a variety of other items used during Hanford’s plutonium production mission. The large containers are made of metal, concrete or fiberglass-reinforced plywood.

“There are always challenges that come with moving these large, heavy containers, especially when it involves crane and rigging,” said Sasa Kosjerina, CPCCo shift operations manager. “But we take pride in getting the work done safely with a highly skilled team that carefully plans and performs every job.”