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Conference Spotlight
2026 Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
Standards Program
The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
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Latest News
DNFSB spots possible bottleneck in Hanford’s waste vitrification
Workers change out spent 27,000-pound TSCR filter columns and place them on a nearby storage pad during a planned outage in 2023. (Photo: DOE)
While the Department of Energy recently celebrated the beginning of hot commissioning of the Hanford Site’s Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP), which has begun immobilizing the site’s radioactive tank waste in glass through vitrification, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board has reported a possible bottleneck in waste processing. According to the DNFSB, unless current systems run efficiently, the issue could result in the interruption of operations at the WTP’s Low-Activity Waste Facility, where waste vitrification takes place.
During operations, the LAW Facility will process an average of 5,300 gallons of tank waste per day, according to Bechtel, the contractor leading design, construction, and commissioning of the WTP. That waste is piped to the facility after being treated by Hanford’s Tanks Side Cesium Removal (TSCR) system, which filters undissolved solid material and removes cesium from liquid waste.
According to a November 7 activity report by the DNFSB, the TSCR system may not be able to produce waste feed fast enough to keep up with the LAW Facility’s vitrification rate.
Technical Session|Panel|Sponsored by FCWMD|Cosponsored by ETWDD
Wednesday, June 15, 2022|8:00–9:45AM PDT|Santa Monica
Session Chair:
Tim P. Tinsley
Session Organizer:
Alternate Chair:
Christina Leggett
The provision of alpha-related skills, knowledge, and capability that can support long term or future projects is a challenge due to the specific and unique nature of the skills required. The timeline to develop skills, especially subject matter expertise, is often long, is expensive, and needs access to unique facilities. Developing a sustainable and long term skills development program is therefore essential, and collaboration between organizations can be a real benefit. This panel will present the challenge around alpha-related skills and discuss the potential approaches to providing a robust and sustainable skills development program.
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