The Hanford Waste Treatment Plant (WTP) will employ vitrification technology, which involves combining radioactive and chemical waste with glass-forming materials, heating it to 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit inside large melters, and pouring the molten mixture into stainless steel canisters. Once cooled, the waste solidifies into a glass-like state that is stable, resistant to environmental factors, and capable of safely containing radioactivity, which will gradually decay over hundreds to thousands of years.

Originally, WTP was designed to process both high-level and low-activity radioactive waste simultaneously. However, to speed up waste treatment, DOE implemented a phased approach, beginning with low-activity waste in 2025, with plans to treat high-level waste approximately a decade later. This approach, known as Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste (DFLAW), allows pretreated low-activity waste to be sent directly from Hanford’s Tank Farms, where the waste is stored, to the Low-Activity Waste (LAW) Facility for vitrification. The LAW Facility will produce up to five containers of vitrified waste daily, which will be disposed of at Hanford’s Integrated Disposal Facility.

Several key support facilities have been modified to assist the LAW Facility, including the Effluent Management Facility (EMF), which will process liquid secondary waste (effluent) generated by the vitrification process. Effluents are reduced in volume through evaporation at the EMF. In addition to startup and commissioning of the LAW Facility, Bechtel is continuing design, engineering and limited construction of the High-Level Waste (HLW) vitrification facility. This facility will vitrify the high-level waste fraction (estimated 5-10%) of Hanford’s tank waste, with startup and commissioning scheduled to begin in 2033.