An Overview of the Vitrification of Defense High-Level Waste at the Hanford Site

Nearly 63 percent of the nation's high-level nuclear waste has accumulated at the US Department of Energy's (DOE) Hanford Site in Washington State. This accumulation is due to defense materials production activities in the various processing facilities over the past 45 yr. The Hanford Waste Vitrification Plant (HWVP) is being developed to process the high-level waste fraction of the Hanford Site tank wastes into canisters of vitrified (borosilicate) glass. Storage of the filled canister will be provided for eventual shipment to a federal geologic repository. The Westinghouse Hanford Company (Westinghouse Hanford), a prime operating contractor for the DOE, has the lead responsibility for the successful completion and operation of the HWVP. Fluor Daniel, Inc. is the architect engineer with responsibility for facility and equipment specification and design. The general construction contractor is United Engineers and Constructors-Catalytic, Inc., which has the responsibility for all facility construction and equipment procurement. The Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL), operated by Battelle Memorial Institute for the DOE, is responsible for glass development technology. 2 refs., 3 figs.