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It's made of steel, weighs about 140,000 pounds and it took four months to assemble.
And Friday the 68-foot-tall emission stack was set atop the Analytical Laboratory building at Hanford's vitrification plant by 32 workers and engineers in an hourlong operation. The stack will help block the release of contaminants from the lab into the environment.
"It's a significant milestone, a good symbol of our progress for the community to see," said David Leeth, plant construction manager.
The $12.2 billion Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant Project, of which the lab is a key component, will help take care of the 53 million gallons of radioactive and chemical waste stored in underground tanks at Hanford.
The lab will analyze radioactive waste samples before they're treated to identify the best recipe to convert the waste into molten glass, and will ensure quality control in the treatment process.
The plant, which is being constructed by Bechtel National, is expected to become operational in 2019.
"Every installation we make brings us closer to operations and supports our efforts to clean up the Hanford site," said Delmar Noyes, deputy manager of the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant Project for the U.S. Department of Energy.
The plant will be the world's largest vitrification facility and will be a model for the nuclear industry to follow, he said. It's designed to last 40 years, he added.
The plant spread over 65 acres will include a pretreatment facility and separate facilities for treating low-activity waste and high-level waste. Low-activity waste will be processed faster than the high-level waste and be stored at Hanford, while high-level waste eventually will be shipped to an underground repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada.
For the Tri-Cities, construction of the plant is an engine of community growth. It brings federal money to the area and provides thousands of high-paying jobs, said Deanna Smith, spokeswoman for the Tri-City Development Council.
It's nice to see work at the plant is progressing well, Smith said.
About 800 to 1,000 professionals including chemical and radiological technicians and health physics specialists will be needed to run the plant when it's operating.
It's made of steel, weighs about 140,000 pounds and it took four months to assemble.
And Friday the 68-foot-tall emission stack was set atop the Analytical Laboratory building at Hanford's vitrification plant by 32 workers and engineers in an hourlong operation. The stack will help block the release of contaminants from the lab into the environment.
"It's a significant milestone, a good symbol of our progress for the community to see," said David Leeth, plant construction manager.
The $12.2 billion Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant Project, of which the lab is a key component, will help take care of the 53 million gallons of radioactive and chemical waste stored in underground tanks at Hanford.
The lab will analyze radioactive waste samples before they're treated to identify the best recipe to convert the waste into molten glass, and will ensure quality control in the treatment process.
The plant, which is being constructed by Bechtel National, is expected to become operational in 2019.
"Every installation we make brings us closer to operations and supports our efforts to clean up the Hanford site," said Delmar Noyes, deputy manager of the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant Project for the U.S. Department of Energy.
The plant will be the world's largest vitrification facility and will be a model for the nuclear industry to follow, he said. It's designed to last 40 years, he added.
The plant spread over 65 acres will include a pretreatment facility and separate facilities for treating low-activity waste and high-level waste. Low-activity waste will be processed faster than the high-level waste and be stored at Hanford, while high-level waste eventually will be shipped to an underground repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada.
For the Tri-Cities, construction of the plant is an engine of community growth. It brings federal money to the area and provides thousands of high-paying jobs, said Deanna Smith, spokeswoman for the Tri-City Development Council.
It's nice to see work at the plant is progressing well, Smith said.
About 800 to 1,000 professionals including chemical and radiological technicians and health physics specialists will be needed to run the plant when it's operating.
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