Posted on Jun 29, 2023
Melter to treat radioactive waste switches on for the second time at Hanford
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A massive melter that’s intended to help treat radioactive waste at Hanford has just been flipped on for a test – for the second time.
This low-activity-waste melter is sort of like an overgrown Easy-Bake-oven for radioactive waste. It’s huge: about as big as a semi-truck-pup trailer. The melter is meant to heat up to more-than 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The melter will take several weeks to prepare and keep a molten pool of glass inside the system.
“We’re pleased to see the melter heat up process begin again, and look forward to seeing the U.S. Department of Energy work through the commissioning process and eventually begin treating low-activity waste,” Ryan Miller said in a written statement. Miller is a Richland-based spokesperson for the Washington State Department of Ecology. “Getting tank waste treated and disposed of is a priority for the state of Washington.”
The Hanford site in southeast Washington state stores about 56-million gallons of radioactive waste in aging underground tanks, not far from the Columbia River. That’s the leftovers from making plutonium during WWII and the Cold War.
This low-activity-waste melter is sort of like an overgrown Easy-Bake-oven for radioactive waste. It’s huge: about as big as a semi-truck-pup trailer. The melter is meant to heat up to more-than 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The melter will take several weeks to prepare and keep a molten pool of glass inside the system.
“We’re pleased to see the melter heat up process begin again, and look forward to seeing the U.S. Department of Energy work through the commissioning process and eventually begin treating low-activity waste,” Ryan Miller said in a written statement. Miller is a Richland-based spokesperson for the Washington State Department of Ecology. “Getting tank waste treated and disposed of is a priority for the state of Washington.”
The Hanford site in southeast Washington state stores about 56-million gallons of radioactive waste in aging underground tanks, not far from the Columbia River. That’s the leftovers from making plutonium during WWII and the Cold War.
Melter to treat radioactive waste switches on for the second time at Hanford
Posted from kuow.org
State of Washington
Nuclear
Hazmat
American History
Posted >1 y ago
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Interesting. I don’t have a need to know anymore about it’s purpose PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
Eleven | Radioactive | Stranger Things
Music: Radioactive by Imagine Dragons / Stream on Spotify Show: Strangers Things / Stream on Netflix. Editing Software: Adobe Premiere ProNo copyright in...
Maj Kim Patterson Not Even 7 degrees of Separation between Me and Hanford. William "Chris" Nagel, My Son is Grainger's Rep to Hanford. The Fuel Rods and Waste from USS Arkansas CGN-41 and USS California CGN-36 both of Which I Served on Went There. My First Capt on USS California went on to be the Civilian Superintendent at Hanford. I was born Not Far from the Dump for the Waste from the Manhattan Project. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Hh7dQ72wPI
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