Hanford N Reactor Deactivation Faces Delay Department Of Energy Is Seeking A Deadline Extension To July 31

The deactivation of Hanford’s newest plutonium reactor and adjacent buildings could be delayed up to four months.

The U.S. Department of Energy and its contractor for the work say the delay would mean missing a legal deadline of March 31 for finishing the work on the N Reactor.

Cost of the project, begun in 1994, is expected to increase by $5 million, to $116 million.

The Department of Energy is seeking a deadline extension to July 31 from the state Department of Ecology and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Those agencies oversee the Tri-Party agreement to clean up Hanford contamination.

The Energy Department contends it has found more contaminants than expected in the reactor’s spent nuclear fuel basin.

The state Ecology Department does not believe DOE and Bechtel Hanford Inc. have adequately documented the need for the extension, and they haven’t included guarantees that a revised timetable can be met, said Ecology spokeswoman Sheryl Hutchinson.

Talks are continuing.

Bechtel is in charge of deactivating the 100N Area, which includes N Reactor and 90 to 100 auxiliary buildings and facilities. Deactivation consists of cleaning up most of the radioactive contamination and closing buildings.

Most of the work on outlying buildings is complete. The remaining hurdle is N Basin - which is two connecting indoor pools that once held spent nuclear fuel until it was transferred elsewhere.

The N Basin holds about 1 million gallons of water that is about 24 feet deep.

A fine is possible if the deactivation does not meet the Tri-Party Agreement deadline, but the state is not ready to consider what it will do about the delay, Hutchinson said.

The state has been increasing pressure on DOE to meet Tri-Party Agreement deadlines, considering fines and a lawsuit if some underground storage tank farm projects fall behind schedule.