Evaluation of Alternatives for Hanford 327 Building Hot Cell Removal and Transport

The Department of Energy (DOE) Hanford site 327 Building, built in 1953, played a key role in reactor material and fuel research programs. The facility includes nine shielded hot cells, a fuel storage basin, dry sample storage, and a large inerted hot (SERF) cell. In 1996, the 327 Building was transferred from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to Fluor Hanford, Inc., to begin the transition from the mission of irradiated fuel examination to stabilization and deactivation. In 2001, a multi-contractor team conducted a review of the concept of intact (one piece) removal, packaging, and disposal of the 327 hot cells. This paper focuses on challenges related to preparing the 327 Building hot cells for intact one-piece disposal as Low Level Waste (LLW) at the Hanford Site. These challenges, described in this paper, are threefold and include: Sampling and characterization of the cells for low level waste designation; Packaging of the cells for transportation and waste disposal; Transportation from the facility to the disposal site. The primary technical challenges in one-piece removal, packaging, and disposal of the hot cells involve the techniques required to characterize, remove, handle, package and transport a large (approximately up to 12-feet long and 8-feet high) contaminated object that weighs 35 to 160 tons. Specific characterization results associated with two hot cells, G and H cells will be reported. A review of the activities and plans to stabilize and deactivate the 327 Building provides insight into the technical challenges faced by this project and identifies a potential opportunity to modify the baseline strategy by removing the hot cells in one piece instead of decontaminating and dismantling the cells