The Hanford Site’s Spent Nuclear Fuel Project

The Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF) Project supports the Hanford Site cleanup mission by providing management of Hanford's spent nuclear fuel in a manner that places the fuel in dry, interim storage, and deactivates the 100K Area Facilities.

The Spent Nuclear Fuel Project was formed specifically to address the urgent need to move spent fuel from degraded wet storage conditions in the 105 K East (KE) and the 105 K West (KW) Basins in the 100 K Area on Hanford's Central Plateau.

About 80% of the Department of Energy's (DOE's) remaining spent nuclear fuel has been stored in the K-Basins, and continues to corrode.

The SNF Project decreases human and environmental risk by removing the spent fuel from the present deficient storage conditions, drying it, and placing it several miles from the Columbia River until a national geologic repository is available.

The SNF Project will also remove sludge, debris, and water from the basins.

Approximately 30 metric tons of non-defense production reactor spent nuclear fuel is also stored at various locations at the Hanford site. The SNF Project is consolidating this fuel in the 200 Area for safe interim storage.

The Hanford SNF Project has six major objectives:

* K Basin Site-Workers - Click to Enlarge Removing and repackaging K Basins spent nuclear fuel into metal containers called multi-canister overpacks (MCOs) suitable for safe fuel handling and interim storage;

* Drying the fuel to enable safe transport to an interim storage in the 200 Area;

* Removing sludge and debris collected in the K Basins for disposition as Remote-Handled Transuranic and low level wastes, respectively, in accordance with disposition plans being developed;

* Treating water contained in the basins to maintain safe water quality and conditions and allow removal of water for disposition;

* Consolidating Hanford's non-defense spent nuclear fuel in the 200 Area pending final disposition (See Backgrounders: Non-K-Basins Spent Fuel At the Hanford Site); and

* Deactivating 100K Area facilities to reduce the cost of maintenance.

To accomplish this scope, the SNF Project has built and now operates and maintains the following major new facilities: The Canister Storage Building (CSB), the Cold Vacuum Drying Facility (CVDF), and the 200 Area Interim Storage Area (ISA).

Additionally, new systems are being acquired and operated within the 100-K Basins, including the Fuel Retrieval System (FRS), the Fuel Transfer System (FTS), the Sludge/Water System (SWS), and the Canister Cleaning System (CCS). Acquisition of the MCOs and Cask/Transportation System also is part of the SNF Project scope.