Direct-Feed Low-Activity Nuclear Waste

As originally envisioned, the Hanford Vit Plant would treat high-level and low-activity radioactive waste simultaneously. To begin treating waste as soon as practicable, the U.S. Department of Energy developed a sequenced approach that would treat low-activity waste first.

The sequenced approach is called direct-feed low-activity waste, or DFLAW. This approach sends low-activity waste from the tank farms directly to the Low-Activity Waste (LAW) Vitrification Facility. To accommodate DFLAW, a new Effluent Management Facility (EMF) has been built at the Vit Plant. 

About 90 percent of the 56 million gallons of waste stored in Hanford’s underground tanks is low-activity waste.

Watch a video explaining the details of the DFLAW process at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWfAI1Elx4Q.