DEMOLITION OF HANFORDS 233-S PLUTONIUM CONCENTRATION FACILITY

This paper describes the technical approach being used to demolish a plutonium-contaminated processing facility at the Hanford Site. This project represents the first open-air demolition of a highly-contaminated plutonium facility at the Hanford Site. This project may also represent one of the first plutonium facilities in the DOE complex to be demolished without first decontaminating surfaces to near ''free release'' standards. Demolition of plutonium contamination structures, if not properly managed, can subject cleanup personnel and the environment to significant risk. However, with proper sequencing and innovative use of commercially-available equipment, materials, and services, this project is demonstrating that a plutonium processing facility can be demolished while avoiding the need to perform extensive decontamination or construct large enclosures. The project is utilizing an excavator with purpose-built concrete shears, diamond circular saws, water misting and fogging equipment, specialized fixatives and dust suppressant mixtures, conventional mobile crane and rigging services, and near real-time modeling of meteorological and radiological conditions. Between the months of October and December 2003, approximately 85 percent of the footprint of the 233-S Facility had been demolished and properly disposed. Demolition of the remaining and more technically-challenging portion of the facility is expected to be completed by April 2004