PACIFIC NORTHWEST EDITION
A Supplement to:
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October 1 2017 Vol. II • No. 20
“The Nation’s Best Read Construction Newspaper… Founded in 1957.” Your Pacific Northwest Connection – Patrick Kiel – 1-877-7CEGLTD – pkiel@cegltd.com
Hanford Site Receives Official Shutdown Order, Begins Demo By Andrea Watts CEG CORRESPONDENT
In the west area of the Hanford Site’s Central Plateau, demolition is under way on a building that played a significant role in the United States’ weapons program history. From its production start in 1949 until its official shutdown in 1996, the Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP) was responsible for producing two-thirds of Cold War-era’s plutonium. Once the official shutdown order was issued, the demolition of the building was certain but unlike other concrete and
Department of Energy Richland Operations Office photo
Demolition of the americium recovery facility (located within the shaded circle) proved to be one of the most challenging portions of the PFP project. Department of Energy Richland Operations Office photo
An aerial view of the plutonium finishing plant predemolition. The buildings marked with a red X have since been demolished or are in progress.
steel structures scheduled for demolition, excavators couldn’t just tear into the building. “It’s taken us about 20 years to get the facility to a safe condition where we can do demolition,” said Kelley Wooley, deputy vice president of CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Co. (CH2M), the contractor that has been involved in the entire decommissioning process of the PFP. (To view an online video providing a brief history of the PFP and its demolition, visit hanford.gov/page.cfm/HanfordStory.) The PFP complex once comprised more than 90 buildings, and earlier this year, demolition began on the four main facilities: the plutonium finishing plant’s main processing facility (234-5Z) is the largest structure; there’s the americium recovery facility (242-Z); the plutonium recovery facility (236-Z); and the ventilation house (291-Z) that housed all the ventilation fans and was connected into the ventilation stack. see DEMOLITION page 8
FHWA Speeds Aid for Oregon Repairs Capt. Leslie Reed, Oregon Military Department Public Affairs photo
Oregon Army National Guard Soldiers from the 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team watch a controlled burn during a field training exercise at the Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Training in Salem, Ore., Aug. 28, 2017. The exercise was part of their four-day training certification before being dispatched to wild land fires across the state. The group received training on hose lays, deploying fire shelters, assessing and mitigating hot spots, protecting structures and understanding fire behavior. See full story on page 10.