The Washington Department of Ecology agreed to allow a three-month extension to complete waste removal from the leaking double-shell tank AY-102 at the Hanford nuclear site. Moving the deadline will allow the U.S. Department of Energy (USDOE) and its contractor Washington River Protection Solutions to adequately prepare to safely pump both the liquid and sludge waste.
The agreement settles USDOE’s appeal of an Administrative Order Ecology issued in March 2014. The order had required USDOE to begin removing liquid waste from tank AY-102 by September 2014, and removing sludge waste 15 months later.
Until Ecology issued the Administrative Order, USDOE had made no commitment to empty tank AY-102, even though it was known to be leaking into its secondary containment in October 2012.
