(The Center Square) – A radioactive-waste pretreatment system at the Hanford nuclear site is back in operation after a six-month pause, but the delay is highlighting a larger challenge facing the decades-long cleanup; Hanford is retrieving and pretreating radioactive waste faster than it can currently be processed.
The Department of Energy announced on Tuesday that the Hanford Tank-Side Cesium Removal System had resumed operations after stopping Feb. 25.
The system was ready to restart in March, but crews had to wait for space to open in Tank AP-106, where pretreated waste is stored before being sent to the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant.
Destry Henderson, Hanford’s communications and public relations director, spoke with The Center Square about the restart, the delay and the site’s treatment capacity.
Henderson said he could not readily determine the financial cost of keeping TSCR offline for six months. Instead, he pointed to the impact the delay had on Hanford’s cleanup mission.
“The biggest cost is a six-month delay in risk reduction,” Henderson said.
Henderson said the storage and treatment capacity issue currently facing Hanford is a “significant” bottleneck for the cleanup.
About one million gallons of TSCR-pretreated waste is currently stored in AP-106, awaiting treatment at the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant.
Since the plant began hot commissioning in October 2025, more than 242,000 gallons of TSCR-pretreated waste have been transferred from AP-106 to the plant, according to the materials from DOE.
The current TSCR batch is expected to run through September and produce approximately 230,000 gallons of additional pretreated waste.
According to Henderson, the capacity issue is part of the reason Hanford is pursuing a dual glass-plus-grout strategy for appropriate waste streams.
Henderson said adopting the dual approach could save an estimated 12 years and $12 billion in Hanford cleanup costs.
That estimate is tied to the proposed dual-treatment strategy and is being provided by Hanford officials; it is not a guaranteed savings figure.
“The restart underscores why Hanford is advancing a dual glass-plus-grout approach for appropriately treated waste streams,” said Mat Irwin, assistant manager for tank waste operations, in the press release.
“Glass remains central to the mission, while grout could add another disposal path to reduce bottlenecks and support continued cleanup progress.”
Irwin said the added flexibility could also help reduce costs over time by shortening schedules and improving operational efficiency.
The potential need for additional treatment capacity comes as Hanford continues to retrieve waste from its underground tanks.
Ken Langdon, president and program manager for Hanford Tank Waste Operations & Closure, said the site is receiving more material than it can handle.
“We are retrieving and pretreating waste faster than it can be immobilized through vitrification alone,” Langdon said in the release.
Under vitrification, radioactive tank waste is combined with glass-forming materials and heated to approximately 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit. The waste is transformed into a stable glass form and sealed in stainless-steel containers for disposal.
Since hot commissioning began last October, the Vit Plant has vitrified more than 185,000 gallons of tank waste and filled more than 125 containers, according to DOE.
Other Hanford projects
The treatment bottleneck comes as crews continue work on several other major Hanford projects.
At the Waste Encapsulation and Storage Facility, crews have moved six of 18 planned dry-storage casks, transferring one-third of the facility’s inventory of 1,936 radioactive cesium and strontium capsules out of underwater storage.
Moving the capsules to dry storage reduces the risk associated with a potential loss of water from the storage pool and could eventually allow the facility to be deactivated.
Hanford officials estimate deactivating the facility could save approximately $6 million in annual operating costs.
Construction is also continuing at the Vit Plant’s High-Level Waste Facility.
Crews recently poured 200 cubic yards of concrete at the 72-foot elevation, while additional decking and roofing work is bringing the facility closer to being enclosed. The first custom roofing panels have also arrived.
Hanford contractors are also looking for smaller ways to reduce costs and speed up work.
At Tank A-102, crews modified an existing clamshell tank-waste sampler by drilling holes that allow liquid to drain while retaining solid material for sampling. The modification could help crews avoid months of waiting for additional drying before post-retrieval work can continue.
In another cost-saving effort, Hanford Mission Integration Solutions said its procurement team transitioned work with a supplier to an existing Department of Energy Supply Chain Management Center agreement, resulting in a 45% cost savings, but did not provide a dollar amount for the savings.