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Hazardous research facility demolished and hot cells shipped
09.08.2010
Hazardous research facility demolished and hot cells shipped
It’s taking only about three weeks to demolish the 327 Building, a large hazardous research facility, but it’s taken more than two years to get it ready to tear down. By Hanford standards, the building is relatively small at 20,500 square feet. However, it’s what was inside that caused workers to proceed carefully and cautiously.
The research facility was used to study spent reactor fuel from Hanford’s plutonium production reactors and other highly radioactive materials. The materials were stored and studied in ten hot cells, which are large, shield boxes. It is the hot cells that presented the primary challenge for readying the facility for demolition. They had to be safely secured and removed from the facility, as well as transported and disposed in the Environmental Restoration Disposal Facility. The largest, when prepared for transport, weighed nearly 250 tons.
In addition to the normal tasks of getting a facility ready for demolition – removing hazardous materials, such as lead, asbestos, oils and other hazardous chemicals – radioactive contamination from accidents and spills had to be secured.
The contained significant radioactive and hazardous materials that had to be stabilized so workers could safely demolish the facility. In addition, process upsets and other unplanned events created wastes sites underneath the building, which must be removed so the waste sites can be remediated. Located only a few hundred yards from the Columbia River, the 327 Building is a good example of the risks and challenges faced by workers as they work to protect the Columbia River.
The 327 Building demolition project will be completed by September 30, 2010.
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