RICHLAND — Workers at the Hanford Site have finished filling the last large concrete tank in the K Reactor Area.
From 1944 to 1989, Hanford produced 74 tons of plutonium for the country’s nuclear weapons program.
The site used thick, reinforced concrete tanks lined with steel and buried under several feet of soil to store the radioactive and chemical byproducts.
Each tank held up to a million gallons. By the end of the Cold War, 56 million gallons of waste were stored in 177 of these large tanks.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, workers recently filled the final tank with 6,500 cubic yards of cement-like grout—enough to fill two Olympic-size swimming pools.
It used to contain 16 feet of water to provide radiation shielding for workers.
The grout surrounds contaminated debris left behind and stabilizes it for future demolition.
To shorten the time it took to go back and forth between deliveries, Central Plateau Cleanup Company built a grout plant nearby to reduce costs and improve efficiency
“Finishing grouting of the basin is a critical step in our mission to clean up the K Reactor Area,” said Central Plateau Cleanup Company Project Manager Mike Kruzic in a news release.
“I’m proud of our team’s focus and commitment to safety throughout this complex project.”
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