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Introduction
The environmental protection goes beyond the boundaries of the government responsibilities. It is also the duty of the businesses as well as every citizen of the state. The corporations are socially responsible for the decrease in the pollution and the implementation of the environmentally safe technologies of production. As an employee of Bechtel Corporation, one of the biggest construction firms in the United States, I was delegated to verify the compliance of the nominated facilities with the relevant legislation and ensuring that the constructed object is able to dispose waste in a responsible manner. The purpose of this report is to present the results of the investigation of the Hanford vitrification plant, a construction projct of Bechtel Corporation.
The Description of the Facility
Hanford vitrification plant is the new waste treatment facility constructed by Bechtel Corporation. The firm is undergoing a review of its environmental performance and has to prove that the objects of construction are environmentally safe. Hanford vitrification plant was ordered by the U.S. Department of Energy. It was constructed by Bechtel Corporation in Richland, Washington. The US law on the hazardous waste regulation provides the list of the wastes, their characteristics and norms for their identification, classification, generation, management and disposal (Hazardous waste regulations 2012).
The Hanford vitrification plant is aimed at disposing the hazardous radioactive waste. The object was constructed on the place of the nuclear plant, which was out of operation. The leak of the radioactive substances from the former nuclear plant led to the pollution of the surrounding area. In particular, the results of the investigation indicated to the significant pollution of the Columbia River. The construction of the Hanford vitrification plant was aimed at processing the hazardous waste and reducing the environmental pollution. Its construction site spans 65 acres (26 hectares) and includes facilities for pretreatment, low-activity waste vitrification, and high-level waste vitrification, as well as an analytical laboratory (Hanford vitrification plant 2013, par.4).
The Functions of the Plant
The principles of Hanford vitrification plant ensured the maximum diversion from landfill. The purpose of the facility is the disposal of the waste stored at the Hanford site (Hanford vitrification plant 2013). The construction of the project required the total investment of $12.2 billion. The newest technologies were used to build the plant. In particular, the company used the vitrification technologies and glass-forming materials to combine with the stainless steel (Hanford vitrification plant 2013). The research on the benefits from the implementation of the vitrification technologies was conducted by the Department of Energy. According to the obtained results, the potential benefits included the increase in the safety level, the reduction of the costs, the simplification of the process of the waste disposal, and the improvements in meeting the Waste Acceptance Criteria for off-site treatment of disposal (Hnat et al. 2000).
The use of the vitrification technologies represent the innovative step taking to minimise the impact of the operations on the environment and on the working conditions of the plants personnel as well. The plant is processing and stabilizing 53 million gallons (200 million liters) of radioactive and chemical waste (Hanford vitrification plant 2013, par. 1). All these wastes are acceptable for treatment at the facility.
The specialized US Commission released its opinion on the current American legislation regulating the disposal of the radioactive waste. It stated that the American nuclear waste management policy is o soft and requires the implementation of the changes (Immediate action needed on US waste policy 2012). Lisa T. Belenky discusses the provision of the US and international law on the hazardous waste disposal indicating to the contradiction between the stated aim of the US law to ensure that the American hazardous waste is disposed domestically and the implications of the tightening of the regulation, which leads to the increase in the cost of the domestic disposal and encourages the companies and other entities to export its hazardous waste to the countries with less strict rules (Belenky 1999). At the same time, the countries often do not have the technologies for the safe disposal of the wastes. As a result, the tightening of the regulation in the countries, which possess the necessary technologies for the safe disposal, indirectly leads to the pollution of the Earth. The vitrification technologies used in the construction of the plant allows the US Department of Energy to process the radioactive waste without abnormal costs.
Recommendations
I would recommend the utilization of the facility. I think that the Bechtel Corporation has the substantial experience in the construction of such type of projects. The knowledge and technology base of the company allows it to participate in the construction of the hazardous waste disposal plants in other areas of the country.
Conclusion
In order to summarize all above mentioned, it should be said that Hanford vitrification plant is the state-of-the-art facility for the processing and disposing of the nuclear waste. The technologies used in the construction of the plant allow its safe and economically efficient utilization. In addition, they contribute to the improvements in the meeting of the Waste Acceptance Criteria.
References
Belenky, L 1999, Cradle to border: U.S. hazardous waste export regulations and international law, Berkley Journal of International Law, vol. 17. no. 1, pp. 1-43.
Hanford vitrification plant. 2013. Web.
Hazardous waste regulations. 2012. Web.
Hnat, J, Pineda, M, Detwiler, D, & Schaffer, M 2000, Innovative pretreatment and vitrification technology for waste remediation. Web.
Immediate action needed on US waste policy. 2012. Web.
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