A nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating the cleanup at Hanford and ushering in a new clean energy mission
What’s New?
July 7, 2023 — Federal judge unseals decision to toss out winning $45B Hanford nuclear waste contract, by Annette Cary, Tri-City Herald
A federal judge has ordered the Department of Energy to reconsider bids from both a company that it previously awarded a $45 billion contract and also the losing bidder on the work at the Hanford nuclear reservation site.
A Tribute to Robert L. Ferguson
Port of Benton hosted a community tribute on July 6, 2023, to recognize Bob Ferguson’s vision, leadership, dedication. and advocacy for the Tri-Cities. The event included a street-renaming ceremony and the unveiling of a commemorative monument in honor of the late community leader who died on Aug. 12, 2022.
“Bob’s generosity and compassionate spirit will live on in those who were lucky enough to work with him and will remain strong for generations to come, and the impact of Bob’s contributions to the community will forever stay a legacy throughout the community.”
Bob was an essential leader in advanced clean energy and education initiatives, including a major contribution to Washington State University, which led to the creation of the Institute of Northwest Energy Futures.
He was one of the youngest reactor operators at Hanford’s B Reactor, project manager at the Fast Flux Test Facility, Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Department of Energy, and President of R.L. Ferguson & Associates.
Bob was the first chairman of the Tri-Cities Development Council (TRIDEC), a former chief executive officer of Washington Public Power Supply System, now Energy Northwest, a tireless advocate of the Hanford site, and co-founder of the Northwest Energy Associates, a nonprofit organization advocating for the cleanup of the Hanford site, particularly the 56 million gallons of legacy nuclear waste stored in aging underground waste tanks.
Grouting vs. Vitrification for Tank Waste
Gary Petersen and Duane Schmoker - Clean Up Hanford Now
Question?
Why are the Department of Energy and the Washington State Department of Ecology supporting the carbon-intensive vitrification process over the low-carbon grout process for treating and disposing of the low-level waste from Hanford tanks?
The vitrification process will dump 500 tons of CO2 per day into the atmosphere the moment it begins operation via its steam plant, which will burn 45,000 gallons of diesel per day.
NEA Opinion: Dept. of Ecology is wrong that all Hanford waste must be vitrified
A November letter from law firm Morgan, Lewis & Bockius representing Waste Control and Storage Services (WCS) in Texas provides input to DOE on the revised draft Environmental Assessment for the Test Bed Initiative (TBI). The TBI demonstration will show that waste can be pretreated to become low-level waste and safely immobilized in grout and shipped out of the state of Washington to a repository site such as WCS in Texas. This letter makes clear that the Washington State Department of Ecology is wrong in stating that “all tank waste from the Hanford Site must be vitrified prior to disposal.”
The legal analysis in this letter states that Ecology’s comments confuse the public and unnecessarily attempt to distinguish synonymous terms. Ecology disregards DOE’s express authority to regulate the radioactive portion of mixed waste under the Atomic Energy Act. The Dept of Ecology is misapplying regulatory guidance on the proper scope and timing of the hazard determination for waste undergoing a “new point of generation.”
Ecology’s recent public suggestion that WCS “might return waste to the state of Washington after they have received it” is without basis or logic. WCS has developed a safe waste repository with a federal permit to permanently store grouted waste such as the low-level waste from Hanford tanks.
Northwest Energy Associates believes that the Washington State Department of Ecology is overreaching its regulatory authority to block the TBI demonstration because it will show that low-level waste, which constitutes 90 percent of the 56 million gallons of waste in Hanford tanks, can be safely grouted and removed from the state for offsite disposal. Grouting the low-level waste instead of vitrifying material that is essentially wastewater, will save billions of dollars and decades of time.
Our Mission:
Is to promote the safe, accelerated cleanup of the Hanford Site by disseminating facts to the public who are interested and affected by the lack of cleanup progress.
Our Vision:
Is to change the mission of the Hanford Site to hosting a Clean Energy Research & Development Park, using the assets that are still intact from the historic Manhattan Project and the abundant access to nuclear, hydro, wind, and solar energy sources in the region. A Clean Energy Park would offer solutions for mitigating global climate change and provide the regional community with new jobs, more educational opportunities, and both new and updated infrastructure.
Photo courtesy of Energy Northwest
Our Initiatives
The Clean Up Hanford Now initiative will vigorously support the demonstration of tank waste treatment and immobilization methods recommended in recent reports by the U.S. Government Accountability Office and the National Academy of Sciences that are safer, faster, and one-fifth the cost of vitrification. The DOE is not actively supporting this initiative and the Washington State Department of Ecology has threatened to use its regulatory authority to block DOE’s effort to permit necessary site activities.
The Clean Energy Advocates initiative is dedicated to transitioning the Hanford Site’s historic Manhattan Project mission to a new clean energy mission. A Clean Energy Research & Development Park on the Hanford Site will bring new jobs and more educational opportunities to the region.
Cost savings from completing cleanup of the tank waste at Hanford using the alternative grout method instead of vitrification could be used to develop Hanford’s unique features and infrastructure to take advantage of the region’s existing energy resources – hydro, nuclear, solar, and wind. Scientific R&D capabilities at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory will expand development of a national smart grid system to demonstrate the integration of carbon-free energy generation and large battery storage to deliver stable base-load energy to the region and beyond.
By teaming with the regional national laboratory, energy utilities, universities and colleges, this initiative supports educating a new clean energy workforce and building a solid job source for the region well into the next century.