Engineering studies for the surplus production reactor decommissioning project at the Hanford site

Eight nuclear reactors on the Hanford Site are retired from service and ready for decommissioning. Viable, decommissioning alternatives for these facilities were assessed, and the Department of Energy (DOE) issued the Record of Decision for the Decommissioning of Eight Surplus Production Reactors at the Hanford Site, Richland, Washington on September 14, 1993. This document indicated DOE's selection of safe storage followed by deferred one-piece removal on a time frame consistent with the proposed Hanford cleanup schedule for remedial actions included in the Hanford Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order (Tri-Party Agreement). One-piece removal, following conventional Decontamination and Decommissioning (D ampersand D) of the reactor building, will dispose of the reactor blocks by transporting them intact to a disposal facility for burial. The project is technically complex; each reactor block weighs 9,000-11,000 tons and will be transported from 5/14 miles to the disposal site. The Westinghouse Hanford Company subsequently established the Surplus Production Reactor Decommissioning Project (SPRDP), and conceptual engineering for the SPRDP has been initiated