Page 249 - Beyond Decommissioning

230 Beyond Decommissioning

Demolition of the radiologically contaminated parts of the R-MAD Facility com-
menced in October 2009, with the funding provided through the American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Personnel who formerly operated this facility were
also engaged in characterization, decontamination, and demolition. The availability
of this experienced staff contributed to thorough and timely work planning. Moreover,
the use of a single demolition contractor provided additional bonuses as resources
could be shared between projects. Building debris was used to fill the basements,
which were then capped with 30 cm of grout/concrete. The remainder of the debris
was packaged and transported to the NNSS Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management
Complex for disposal. After removal of the building debris, the area was posted for
restricted use due to the presence of PCBs and radionuclides in the building pad
and basements. Demolition of the R-MAD Facility was completed on July 15,
2010, and demobilization of the workforce was completed on August 31, 2010.
Figs. 6.27 and 6.28 show images of R-MAD before and after decommissioning.
This example is meant to stress that postdecommissioning reuse in a remote site like
NNSS can be of little interest.

6.5.6 Building 305, Hanford, WA, USA (Gerber, 1993)
Having been one of the first Hanford installations, already in operation during WWII,
building 305 has a long history and modifications and reuses, including reactor oper-
ation. For our purposes, it will suffice to highlight some of the plant’s achievements.
The 305 Test Pile operated as a reactor until 1972. It performed QA trials on devel-
opment, mock-up, and testing for much of the graphite used to build N Reactor in the
early 1960s and tested Li-6 (depleted lithium) in aluminate fuel targets used to make
tritium in N Reactor. From 1968 to 1973 copper silicon preshapes used in the

Fig. 6.27 R-MAD at the onset of decommissioning.
Credit to US DOE.