The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of River Protection manages the storage, retrieval, treatment, and disposal of Hanford's tank waste. The Office of River Protection was established by the U.S. Congress in 1998, as an independent office at the Hanford Site with the exclusive focus of solving the Hanford tank cleanup challenge. The goal of the Office of River Protection is to complete tank cleanup quickly, safety, and cost effectively. To this end, it provides contract management, safety oversight, and project integration for its prime contractors, CH2M HILL Hanford Group, Inc. and Bechtel National, Inc., to ensure that tank waste cleanup is accomplished as an integrated waste treatment operation. In order to ensure the safety of the overall project, the Office of River Protection implements an Integrated Safety Management approach for benchmarking its safety culture.
CH2M HILL Hanford Group, Inc. (CH2M HILL)
CH2M HILL Hanford Group, Inc., is the Office of River Protection's prime contractor responsible for the storage, retrieval, and disposal of Hanford's tank waste. The contractor has served in this role since 1999 and was awarded a five-year contract extension in January 2001. Specific responsibilities include: 1) the retrieval of tank waste; 2) the delivery of retrieved waste for treatment; 3) the storage and disposal of the treated waste; and, 4) the closure of tanks. CH2M HILL Hanford Group, Inc., also has responsibility for maintaining the tank farm infrastructure in a safe and stable configuration until the ultimate goal of closing Hanford tanks is achieved. Bechtel National, Inc. (BNI)
Bechtel National, Inc., is the Office of River Protection's prime contractor responsible for the design, construction, and start up of the Waste Treatment Plant. The contractor was awarded a ten-year contract in December 2000. Bechtel National, Inc.'s, responsibilities include project management, engineering/design, procurement, construction, and quality assurance relative to the Waste Treatment Plant. Washington Group International, Inc. is Bechtel's principal subcontractor on the project and has responsibilities for operations support, process technology, research and technology, commissioning, and management of environment, safety and health processes. Bechtel National, Inc. and Washington Group Internation, Inc., operate as an integrated team.
Advanced Technologies and Laboratories International, Inc. (ATL)
The Department of Energy has awarded a five-year contract to operate the 222-S Laboratory the primary laboratory for highly radioactive samples at the Hanford Site to Advanced Technologies and Laboratories International Inc.
