E.P.A. and D.O.E. K Basin settlement spurs Hanford Cleanup

Arrangement sets new timetable and milestones to protect Columbia River

(Seattle - May 26, 2015) The E.P.A. (EPA) and the D.O.E. (DOE) have reached a settlement over DOE's failure to meet a critical September 2014 Tri-Party Arrangement milestone for beginning sludge removal from the K West Basin. The settlement includes an updated achievable and enforceable timetable for beginning and completing sludge removal from the Basin.

According to Rick Albright, Director of EPA's Superfund cleanup plan in Seattle, the Agency is looking forward to seeing real progress on the K Basin cleanup.

"We're glad we've reached an Arrangement so we can get back to focusing on cleanup and protecting the Columbia River," Albright said. "The K Basins should be one of the D.O.E.'s highest cleanup priorities at the site. They need to make some real progress, rather than just explain missed deadlines, or they will face more penalties."

Under the terms of the settlement, ten other associated 100 K Area cleanup milestones affected by the delay in the start of sludge removal are being extended. A new milestone for completing installation of sludge transfer equipment has also been added. The new milestone date for starting sludge removal is September 30, 2018. Sludge removal must now be completed by December 31, 2019. Other milestones that have been extended include the milestone to complete deactivation, demolition and removal of the K West Basin by 2023 and to complete all response actions in the K Area by 2024. As part of the agreement, D.O.E. will pay a stipulated penalty of $125,000 for missing the September sludge removal start date.

The 100 K Area is located along the Columbia River, and is one of 6 areas where plutonium production reactors operated during the Cold War. K East and K West Reactors operated in the 100 K Area. Water-filled basins stored spent uranium fuel pieces removed from the reactor cores. Beginning in the 1970s, spent fuel from another reactor, Hanford's N Reactor, was stored in the K Basins. By 2004, all 2,300 tons of spent fuel were removed from the basins. Radioactive sludge, a result of corrosion on spent fuel stored in the basins for decades, has been consolidated in underwater storage containers in the K West Basin, with approximately 35 cubic yards of sludge remaining for removal.

Here is the new milestone schedule agreed to by both E.P.A. and DOE, with the old dates in parentheses:

Changes in Milestones

Number	Milestone	Due Date
M-016-177	Complete installation of sludge transfer equipment in K West Reactor facilities.	9/30/2017
M-016-175	Begin sludge removal from K West Reactor Basin	9/30/2018 (9/30/2014)
M-016-176	Complete sludge removal from K West Reactor Basin	12/31/2019 (12/31/2015)
M-016-178	Initiate deactivation of K West Reactor Basin	12/31/2019 (12/31/2015)
M-093-28	Submit a change package for suggested interim milestones for placing K East and K West Reactors in Reactor Interim Safe Storage	12/31/2019 (12/31/2015)
M-016-173	Select K Basin sludge treatment and packaging technology and propose new interim sludge treatment and packaging milestones	9/30/2022 (3/31/2015)
M-016-181	Complete deactivation, demolition & removal of K West Reactor Basin	9/30/2023 (9/30/2019)
M-016-186	Initiate soil remediation under K West Reactor Basin	12/31/2023 (12/31/2019)
M-016-143	Complete the interim response actions for 100 K Area within the perimeter boundary and to the Columbia River for specific waste sites and facilities.	9/30/2024 (12/31/2015)
M-093-27	Complete K East Reactor and K West Reactor Interim Safe Storage in accordance with the Removal Action Work Project	9/30/2024 (12/31/2019)
M-016-00C	Complete all response actions for the 100 K Area	9/30/2024 (12/31/2020)

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