The Challenges of Preserving Historic Resources During the Deactivation and Decommissioning of Highly Contaminated Historically Significant Plutonium Process Facilities
- Fluor Hanford, Inc., PO Box 1000 Richland WA 99352 (United States)
- US Department of Energy PO Box 550, Richland WA 99352 (United States)
- Washington State Department of Ecology, WDOE 3100 Port of Benton Blvd., Richland WA, 99354 (United States)
The Manhattan Project was initiated to develop nuclear weapons for use in World War II. The Hanford Engineer Works (HEW) was established in eastern Washington State as a production complex for the Manhattan Project. A major product of the HEW was plutonium. The buildings and process equipment used in the early phases of nuclear weapons development are historically significant because of the new and unique work that was performed. When environmental cleanup became Hanford's central mission in 1991, the Department of Energy (DOE) prepared for the deactivation and decommissioning of many of the old process facilities. In many cases, the process facilities were so contaminated, they faced demolition. The National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) requires federal agencies to evaluate the historic significance of properties under their jurisdiction for eligibility for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places before altering or demolishing them so that mitigation through documentation of the properties can occur. Specifically, federal agencies are required to evaluate their proposed actions against the effect the actions may have on districts, sites, buildings or structures that are included or eligible for inclusion in the National Register. In an agreement between the DOE's Richland Operations Office (RL), the Washington State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP), the agencies concurred that the Hanford Site Historic District is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places and that a Site-wide Treatment Plan would streamline compliance with the NHPA while allowing RL to manage the cleanup of the Hanford Site. Currently, many of the old processing buildings at the Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP) are undergoing deactivation and decommissioning. RL and Fluor Hanford project managers at the PFP are committed to preserving historical artifacts of the plutonium production process. They must also ensure the safety of workers and the full decontamination of buildings or artifacts if they are to be preserved. This paper discusses the real time challenges of working safely, decontaminating process equipment, preserving historical structures and artifacts and documenting their history at PFP. (authors)
- Research Organization:
- WM Symposia, Inc., PO Box 13023, Tucson, AZ, 85732-3023 (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 21210688
- Report Number(s):
- INIS-US-09-WM-06411; TRN: US09V1116081150
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Waste Management 2006 Symposium - WM'06 - Global Accomplishments in Environmental and Radioactive Waste Management: Education and Opportunity for the Next Generation of Waste Management Professionals, Tucson, AZ (United States), 26 Feb - 2 Mar 2006; Other Information: Country of input: France; 3 refs
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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