Workers prepare the shipment of highly radioactive sludge for movement to the center of the Hanford Site. Cleanup efforts at Hanford include a new tool to solidify waste.
October 10, 2022
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October 10, 2022 2:48 p.m.
World's largest radioactive waste melter starts in Eastern WA
Oct. 9/HANFORD — There's no turning back at the Hanford site's vitrification plant after the heat up of the world's largest melter for radioactive waste started Saturday, 20 years after construction of the plant began. The 300-ton melter now must remain hot continuously around the clock as it initially makes practice glass and eventually starts glassifying radioactive waste for the first time at the nuclear reservation. Glassification prepares the waste for permanent disposal.