Waste Treatment Plant (WTP)
The World’s Largest Radioactive Waste Treatment Facility
At the Hanford Site, Bechtel National Inc. is designing, building, and commissioning the world’s largest radioactive waste treatment facility for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).
Once fully operational, the Waste Treatment Plant (WTP) will treat and stabilize a significant portion of the 56 million gallons of radioactive and chemical waste stored in Hanford’s underground tanks.
How the WTP Works –
Vitrification Technology
The WTP will use vitrification, a process that:
Combines radioactive and chemical waste with glass-forming materials
Heats the mixture to 2,100°F inside large melters
Pours the molten mixture into stainless steel canisters
Cools the waste into a glass-like solid that is:
Stable
Resistant to environmental factors
Capable of safely containing radioactivity for hundreds to thousands of years
Phased Approach – Starting with Low-Activity Waste
Originally, the WTP was designed to treat both high-level waste (HLW) and low-activity waste (LAW) at the same time.
To accelerate cleanup, DOE adopted a phased approach:
2025: Begin with low-activity waste treatment
~2033: Begin high-level waste treatment
This plan, known as Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste (DFLAW), sends pretreated LAW directly from Hanford’s Tank Farms to the Low-Activity Waste Facility for vitrification.
The LAW Facility will produce up to five containers of vitrified waste per day, which will be disposed of at Hanford’s Integrated Disposal Facility.
Supporting Facilities
Several key facilities support the LAW vitrification process, including:
Effluent Management Facility (EMF): Processes liquid secondary waste generated by vitrification. The EMF uses evaporation to reduce effluent volume.
High-Level Waste (HLW) Vitrification Facility: Will vitrify the 5–10% high-level waste fraction of Hanford’s tank waste, with startup and commissioning scheduled for 2033.