Decommissioning of eight surplus production reactors at the Hanford Site, Richland, Washington: Draft environmental impact statement

The purpose of this Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) is to provide environmental information to assist the US Department of Energy (DOE) in the selection of a decommissioning alternative for the eight surplus production reactors at the Hanford Site, Richland, Washington. Five alternatives are considered: (1) No Action, in which the reactors are left in place and the present maintenance and surveillance programs are continued; (2) Immediate One-Piece Removal, in which the reactor buildings are demolished and the reactor blocks are transported in one piece on a tractor-transporter across the Site along a predetermined route to an onsite low-level waste burial area; (3) Safe Storage Followed by Deferred One-Piece Removal, in which the reactors are temporarily stored in a safe, secure status for 75 years, after which the reactor buildings are demolished and the reactor blocks are transported in one piece on a tractor-transporter across the Site along a predetermined route to an onsite low-level waste-burial area; (4) Safe Storage Followed by Deferred Dismantlement, in which the reactors are temporarily stored in a safe, secure status for 75 years, after which they are fully dismantled and any remaining radioactive waste is transported to a low-level waste-burial area on the Hanford Site; and (5) In Situ Decommissioning, in which the reactors remain at their present locations, contamination is immobilized, major voids are filled, potential pathways (openings such as large pipes, air ducts, and doors) are sealed, and an engineered mound of building rubble, earth, and gravel is constructed over the decommissioned reactor to act as a long-term protective barrier against human intrusion, water infiltration, and water and wind erosion. A second No Action alternative of closing the facilities and doing nothing further is neither responsible nor acceptable and is not considered further. 2 refs., 44 figs., 95 tabs