CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Company (CHPRC) consists of one VPP Site and is currently a Merit Site since July of 2011.

CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Company (CHPRC) is a newly recognized DOE VPP MERIT site organization.  CHPRC submitted an application in January 2011, was assessed by a DOE Headquarters led team in March 2011, and was added to the DOE VPP as a MERIT site in July 2011.

The Hanford Site is located in the southeastern portion of Washington State, north of the City of Richland, and encompasses 586 square miles (1,450 square kilometers).  CHPRC conducts activities in facilities and locations throughout the Site.

The Hanford Site was built during World War II to fabricate nuclear fuel, irradiate the nuclear fuel in production reactors, and chemically separate and recover plutonium for use in nuclear weapons. Several other valuable isotopes were also recovered.  The Hanford Site is currently one of the largest environmental cleanup sites in the world.

The CHPRC organization includes the following  work scope:

Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP) Closure. Manage critical decontamination and decommissioning work to cleanout and prepare the Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP) for demolition.  Operate and maintain the PFP facilities and associated waste sites, structures, operating systems and equipment, and monitoring systems in a safe, compliant and energy-efficient manner within the authorization envelope; maintain radiological control and access control to ensure personnel safety; demolish PFP-complex facilities to slab-on-grade condition; and prepare, package and disposition waste streams, as required.

Waste and Fuels Management. Oversight of several waste facilities and managing low-level waste disposal, mixed low-level waste treatment and disposal; TRU waste retrieval; underwater storage of cesium and strontium capsules and storage of spent nuclear fuels (SNF); and liquid waste storage and treatment. Responsibility for treating, packaging and shipping waste to reduce the inventory of stored materials and reduce potential impacts to workers and the environment.

Groundwater Treatment/Vadose Zone Project. Perform groundwater and ecological sampling and monitoring, well installation, well maintenance, borehole logging, on-going/new remedial operations and well decommissioning. Construct and operate groundwater treatment facilities; install wells for monitoring; extract and remediate groundwater and decommission wells that are no longer of service.

Groundwater, Soil, and Facility Regulatory Decision/Other Documents. Characterize assigned waste sites and facilities, complete analysis of remediation options, and prepare required regulatory and other decision documents necessary to implement remedial actions. 

100 K Area Remediation. Demolish  reactor support facilities and sample and/or remediate waste sites to shrink the cleanup footprint of two reactors, K East and K West. Maintain 100K Area in a safe and compliant manner; demolish K East Basin and superstructure; complete procurement, construction, and acceptance testing of the K Basin Sludge Treatment System; treat the balance of K Basin sludge; demolish K West basin and superstructure; place K East reactor in an Interim Safe Storage (ISS) configuration; and remediate and close the remainder of the 100K Area.

Facility and Waste Site Minimum-Safe/Surveillance and Maintenance (S&M).Perform activities necessary for Hanford Site structures and waste sites.

Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF).  Maintain FFTF in a safe and compliant manner and perform near-term shutdown activities. (FFTF is currently in a cold and dark configuration.)

Geographical Zone Remediation.  Remediate and close U Plant, Non-Radioactive Dangerous Waste Landfill (NRDWL), and BC Control Area contaminated soil geographical zones.