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2026 Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
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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.
2022 ANS Annual Meeting
Lou Martinez Sancho is the Vice President of Strategy & Innovation for Kairos Power and oversees the Supply & Procurement and Marketing & Communications teams. She has over 20 years of progressive experience managing teams in an array of industries including bio-tech, energy, automotive, and architecture, engineering and construction (AEC).
Martinez Sancho has focused on accelerating the innovation of the nuclear industry by developing strategic integration of technologies as key solutions against climate change, guaranteeing energy supply security, and competitiveness of energy prices.
Martinez Sancho is the former Chief Innovation Officer of Spie Batignolles and also served as Vice President of Global Innovation at Framatome Groupe (formerly AREVA).
Martinez Sancho earned a bachelor’s degree from Ramon Llull University in Barcelona and obtained two Master of Science degrees in Physiology and Biomechanics at Pierre et Marie Curie-Paris VI University, and in Human Factors Engineering at René Descartes-Paris V University. Martinez Sancho is Master Black Belt Lean Six Sigma certified by The Ohio State University.
Last modified February 17, 2022, 2:08pm PST
