RICHLAND, Wash. – Workers at the Hanford Site have reached a significant point in EM’s deactivation work to prepare the Plutonium Finishing Plant’s (PFP) major processing facilities for demolition.

   “Level B” suits — the highest level of protection in the form of supplied air and pressurized protective suits — may no longer be required for the remaining deactivation work prior to demolition, as workers have completed the last activities scheduled to use the Level B suits at the plant. 

   Meanwhile, one of the site’s most hazardous rooms is now a step closer to demolition after workers finished cleaning a major portion of PFP's Americium Recovery Facility. 

   Used during the Cold War to recover americium, that facility was also called the “McCluskey Room” by workers for Harold McCluskey, who was injured in 1976 when a vessel inside a glove box burst and exposed him to radioactive material. McCluskey, who was 64 at the time, lived for 11 more years and died from unrelated causes. The accident left the room severely contaminated, with workers rarely entering it.

   In 2014, EM Richland Operations Office (RL) contractor CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Company (CH2M) began final cleanup of the room after extensive preparations to ensure worker safety. Due to chemical and radiological hazards, workers took the initiative to research and train on the use of Level B suits.

   Since 2014, workers using the suits have removed glove boxes and other processing infrastructure from the room and prepared large radiological and chemical tanks for removal during demolition. 

   Crews also used the same suits to cut up and remove PFP's two most contaminated glove boxes.

   With those tasks complete, Level B protection is not anticipated to be needed for the rest of PFP’s demolition preparation work.

   “The teams that used the Level B suits safely performed some of the most hazardous work not only at Hanford, but across the DOE complex,” said John Silko, RL’s 242-Z project lead. “Completing this work is a significant accomplishment as we continue to prepare the plant for demolition.”

What’s next for demolition?

   As crews finish PFP demolition preparations, including removal of thousands of feet of contaminated ventilation duct and process piping, they continue to wear protective clothing and breathe filtered air. Removal of nearly all of these systems is necessary to protect workers, the public and the environment during demolition.

   “The PFP team has done some amazing work in preparing the building for demolition, and they’ve done so safely,” said Tom Bratvold, CH2M vice president of the Plutonium Finishing Plant Closure Project. “As we focus on beginning demolition itself, our priority remains on working safely, keeping each other safe, so we can reflect with pride on the progress we’re making on this historic project.”

   The PFP is the largest, most complex plutonium facility that has ever been deactivated or will be demolished across the EM complex. More than 20 years of demolition preparations are expected to conclude in coming months as demolition begins on the facility. 

   After coordinating with the Washington Department of Ecology and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, RL has announced a new milestone completion date of Sept. 30, 2017.