Startup team members test the control system in the Analytical Laboratory.

Employees at the Hanford Vit Plant have begun startup testing at the Low-Activity Waste (LAW) Facility and the Analytical Laboratory, marking the next step forward in commissioning.

Critical testing is underway nearly every day. Startup verifies systems are complete and in safe, working order. Testing has begun in three areas at the LAW Facility:

• Nonradioactive Liquid Waste Disposal (NLD) System of sumps, pumps, pipes, valves, and instruments. The parts are generally in the basement, and include the system’s largest single component, an 18,000-gallon vessel. The NLD also includes floor drains and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning condensate drains throughout the building.
• Distributed Control System (DCS), consisting of sensors that monitor fluid levels, pressures, temperatures, and flow rates everywhere in the LAW Facility. Testing has begun on the first two floors.
• Electrical Motor Control Centers (MCC), including breakers, switches, and power supplies. Testing has begun on the basement and the first floor, as well as Building 24 switchgear.

Startup personnel also began testing on the Analytical Laboratory’s DCS and MCC systems adjacent to the test engineers work station, which includes the temporary control and monitoring room for all testing on the project.

Previous startup testing has focused on an extensive array of process support infrastructure called the plant’s Balance of Facilities (BOF).

Read more about this important progress at http://bit.ly/2EZwynR.

The successful procurement spending supported the positive progress made with continued construction and startup efforts for the Direct Feed Low-Activity Waste vitrification approach.

Total procurement spending tallied $211 million at the Vit Plant during Fiscal Year 2017.

Of the $211 million, 60 percent or $126 million was spent in Washington state and Oregon with $94 million of that in the Tri-Cities, where the Vit Plant is based. Local businesses provided goods and services such as safety supplies, small tools, electrical supplies, and vehicle maintenance.

Since Bechtel began construction of the Vit Plant, it has spent more than $4 billion in goods and services with companies across the United States. Of that, $1.94 billion has been in Washington and Oregon, with $1.36 billion in the Tri-Cities.

Read more about the Vit Plant's procurement impacts at http://bit.ly/2DZvH69.

A worker looks upwards at the Low-Activity Waste (LAW) vitrification facility’s complex infrastructure of electrical raceway, cables, and wiring. 

Construction crews completed a contract milestone for electrical work in the Low-Activity Waste (LAW) Facility. The contract milestone, called ‘bulk cable electrical installations,’ was completed nearly four months ahead of schedule. Completion of this milestone is a major step toward completing full construction of the LAW Facility structure.

“This milestone sets the stage for our workforce to meet the LAW physical plant complete contract milestone of June 2018,” said Brian Reilly, Bechtel's project director at the Vit Plant.

The LAW Facility includes more than 1.1 million linear feet of electrical raceway, cables, and wiring. That’s enough combined electrical infrastructure to span 840 laps around an Olympic-sized track or about 210 miles.

Read more about this milestone accomplishment at http://bit.ly/2Ga1sdw.