Hanford Crew Completes Key First Test of 'Bubblers'

RICHLAND, Wash. – When the Hanford Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) becomes operational and is transforming radiological and chemical tank waste into immobilized glass, a team will periodically replace various parts of the treatment system during routine maintenance. One of those parts will be “bubblers,” which are inserted into the top of two large melters in the plant’s Low-Activity Waste Facility, where waste and other materials are mixed and heated and immobilized, or vitrified, into a glass form. The bubblers send air to the bottom of the melter to stir the 2,100-degree mixture before it is poured into stainless steel containers to cool and then be disposed of at the Hanford Site. Each of the two melters at the Low-Activity Waste Facility will use 18 bubblers at a time during the vitrification process. As part of ongoing proficiency testing, crews recently installed the bubblers, then removed them to test special equipment called a consumable changeout box. The WTP team had worked diligently over several weeks to modify the boxes after identifying ways to improve their design and effectiveness