Construction Projects

Washington Closure Hanford - 100 B Reactor Roof Repair and Replacement

B reactor, the nation’s first large-scale plutonium product reactor ever built, rests on the south bank of the Columbia River. It is one of three nuclear reactors built in total secrecy during World War II as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project and operated between 1944 and 1967.

Washington Closure Hanford - 100 B Reactor Roof Repair and Replacement

FE&C’s job was to replace and repair the ten roof sections of the B Reactor. The work was categorized as very high risk due to radiological and asbestos hazards, as well as working at extreme heights during the high heat season.

Washington Closure Hanford - 100 B Reactor Roof Repair and Replacement

While the roof work was underway, extra precaution was proactively taken to investigate and remediate any found hazards as the plans are for this reactor was to be eventually opened to the public.

Washington Closure Hanford - 100 B Reactor Roof Repair and Replacement

Today, this reactor is registered as a National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service and dozens of tours each year are given through the reactor to the general public and special groups. The long-term goal for this facility is to have it transformed into a museum to educate future generations the significance and lessons learned from Hanford and the Manhattan Project.

Bechtel - 105D Reactor Safe Storage Enclosure

FE&C performed the disassembly, demolition and safe storage enclosure of the Hanford D Reactor, one of nine surplus plutonium production reactors located on the Hanford Site. Safe Storage Enclosure (SSE) is a process to protect remaining reactor components after decommissioning and decontamination and keep the facility safe from leaking radiation for a 75-year period, giving the government time to decide how to dispose of the highly radioactive reactor core. This process is referred to as “cocooning” the reactor. When a reactor is cocooned, about 80% of the buildings and auxiliary structures which were needed to support the reactor during its operating days are demolished and removed. The remaining 20% of the reactor complex, including the core of the reactor itself, is enclosed in a cement and steel, airtight and watertight structure.

Bechtel - 105D Reactor Safe Storage Enclosure

D Reactor was a meapons materials production nuclear reactor and was permanently shut down in 1967. In that time, D reactor has been in a condition of minimum surveillance and maintenance. Several areas of the facility were in an advanced state of deterioration, particularly the roof structures.

Bechtel - 105D Reactor Safe Storage Enclosure

FE&C was responsible for removing contaminated equipment, steel and concrete from the reactor building and managing more than 15,000 tons of waste. Contaminates were remediated, including low-level radioactive materials, asbestos, lead, PCBs, and other heavy materials. The upper structure was demolished to make way for the new cocoon.

Bechtel - 105D Reactor Safe Storage Enclosure

Specific reactor equipment needed to be removed before the safe storage enclosure was constructed.

Bechtel - 105D Reactor Safe Storage Enclosure

FE&C both designed and constructed a new 75 year safe storage enclosure over the reactor including constructing a curtain wall over the external lead-plate shield wall. Electrical and control monitoring systems and ventilation equipment were installed as part of this process. FE&C sealed the reactor building openings by means of concrete pourbacks and steel plate covers to seal the doors and tunnel-size openings.

Bechtel - 105D Reactor Safe Storage Enclosure

200-ton cranes and other equipment were used to rig and hoist large internal components. Significant amounts of this work were performed high above ground, complicating project risk management. Other project challenges included an aggressive schedule and high-to-moderate radioactive concerns.

Bechtel - 105D Reactor Safe Storage Enclosure

Construction management of the enclosure project included procurements, transportation, testing and acceptance inspection support services. Nuclear and hazardous management were an integral part of all aspects of job performance which was completed on schedule with no lost time or radiological incidents.

Washington River Protection Solutions - 242-A Evaporator Exhaust System Replacement

Because the space in the Hanford tank farms' double shell underground storage tanks are limited, the 242-A Evaporator was built to take that waste and boil as much of the liquids off as possible to reduce volume. This Category 2 Nuclear Facility receives radioactive liquid wastes which are pumped through underground pipes from the tanks, boil off the liquids, send the remaining waste back to the storage tanks, and send the water products to other facilities for treatment and safe disposal. Since the Evaporator began operations in 1977, it has completed over sixty campaigns.Upgrades are performed to extend the life of the Evaporator, which was originally built for only a ten year mission.

FE&C's mission was to perform site preparation for and install exhauster equipment. The project included design, fabrication, and installation of a supported inlet plenum.

Washington River Protection Solutions - 242-A Evaporator Exhaust System Replacement

Phase one is to provide the site preparation prior to arrival and placement of the exhauster system by constructing four concrete pads and installing underground electrical utilities near the northwest corner of the evaporator.

Phase two involves installation of a 50 foot tall, two section stack assemply, two fan assemblies, three filter assemblies, switching plenum, five duct supports, an assortment of valves, dampers, operators and expansion joints and hardware, 38 foot tall exhauster stack stair structure and platform, stack sampling cabinet, inlet plenum and a duct section to be installed upstream of the filter assemblies.

Washington River Protection Solutions - 242-A Evaporator Exhaust System Replacement

Phase three is installation of exhauster equipment components. This includes hook-up of the exhaust fan system's power and control circuits, installation and performance testing of the exhaust fans and stack sampling system while maintaining the original operability of the existing exhauster equipment. FE&C is to perform functional and cold operational acceptance tests prior to the connection of the exhauster duct work to the facility.

Phase four will be demolition of the original control, instrumentation and power, demolition of existing duct work, installation and testing duct components that tie in the new filters to the old duct/filter transition, and final acceptance and operational testing of the completed system.

Washington River Protection Solutions - AP Level Rise Construction at Hanford Tank Farms

At the Hanford Tank Farms, multi-purpose probes in the 241-AP Tank Farm needed to be raised to accommodate future increases in the maximum operating liquid level. FE&C supplied all labor, materials, equipment, supplies, and consumables to complete the scope of work.

The project included: removal of PVC riser liners including and the lifting, removal and reinstallation of existing ENRAF components on each riser from six waste tanks; material procurement, fabrication and installation of two new riser extension on two waste tanks; removal of existing riser extensions and installation of new riser extensions in two waste tanks, including uninstalling and reinstalling the existing Multi-Purpose Probes (MPP).

The work environment was in High Resolution Areas (HRA) and High Contamination Areas (HCA) and specific radiological protection requirements and controls were required. Additionally, vapor hazards were associated with open tank risers and sampling and monitoring by FE&C-provided Industrial Hygiene Technicians (IHTs) were required during the work processes.

Washington River Protection Solutions - Cold Test Facility Tool Construction

FE&C's client had implemented an internal effort to acquire adaptable/modifiable technologies that can be capable of assisting the retrieval of hard heel residual waste from the Hanford Single Shell Tanks (SSTs). Washington River Protection Solutions had acquired two new tools at the Cold Test Facility (CTF), a facility that provides a model tank environment to develop and test systems and operations supporting the process of moving legacy nuclear waste from the SSTs to double shell tanks with less hazard of leaking.

FE&C assembled, installed and supported final testing of the Foldtrack vehicle and the Enhanced Reach Sluicer System (ERSS) at the CTF. Additionally, FE&C was on an on-call basis to support operator training at the CTF as needed.

Washington River Protection Solutions - Cold Test Facility Tool Construction

The Foldtrack is an improved in-tank vehicle that includes a high-pressure scarifier and a hydraulically driven blade capable of mobilizing tank residuals to an in-tank extraction pump. The system includes the vehicle, an integrated umbilical, a riser umbilical surface, a control console, a hydraulic power unit, and a high pressure water skid.

The ERSS is an articulating sluicer with a fixed mast and telescoping boom. The ERSS includes the sluicer nozzle, a control manifold and an electronically-operated hydraulic power unit.

Bechtel - Construction of Nuclear Waste Treatment Plant Simulator Training Facility

This contract called for the engineering design and construction of the Waste Treatment Plant (WTP) Simulator Training Facility. The facility is located near the HAMMER training facility and facilitates the training for operations personnel at the WTP site.

Bechtel - Construction of Nuclear Waste Treatment Plant Simulator Training Facility

The project conststs of a 16,000 square foot pre-engineered metal building with offices, training facilities, kitchen and restrooms. The project was turnkey and involved site preparation, permits, civil/structural, mechanical, electrical, HVAC, fire protection systems, and parking/landscaping aspects typical of most office buildings.

Bechtel - Construction of Nuclear Waste Treatment Plant Simulator Training Facility

Project challenges included the management of numerous subcontractors and suppliers. Good planning and communication by FE&C’s management team was integral to the project’s success.

CH2M Hill (teaming agreement with Washington Closure Hanford) - Construction Services for Hanford Tank Farms

During the heyday of Hanford nuclear operations, irradiated fuel rods were exposed to a series of chemical processes designed to dissolve away the fuel rod itself, allowing workers to retrieve the plutonium. The chemicals needed to dissolve away the metal were powerful to begin with, and then became radioactive, caustic and extremely hazardous to humans and the environment through these chemical reactions.

CH2M Hill (teaming agreement with Washington Closure Hanford) - Construction Services for Hanford Tank Farms

Early Hanford Scientists built a series of massive underground tanks to hold the waste until a permanent solution would be identified. Today there are more than 200 of these tanks, each ranging in capacity from 55,000 gallons to 1,000,000 gallons.

CH2M Hill (teaming agreement with Washington Closure Hanford) - Construction Services for Hanford Tank Farms

FE&C performed work in potentially contaminated areas using a soil vacuum truck. FE&C built run-on control berms around the tank farms to divert rainwater away from the area. Additionally, concrete swales built to drain rainwater were excavated then installed.

CH2M Hill (teaming agreement with Washington Closure Hanford) - Construction Services for Hanford Tank Farms

FE&C also installed and overlayed asphalt road surfaces complete with concrete curbing and gutters in the tank farm area. Culverts - drains under the roadway - were constructed under the waste transfer system piping.

Syncrude Canada - Ft. McMurray, Alberta Demolition and Salvage

The Athabasca oil sands are large deposits of bitumen, or extremely heavy crude oil, located in northeastern Alberta, Canada – roughly centered around the boomtown of Fort McMurray. These oil sands are being mined for an alternative to liquid petroleum.

Syncrude Canada - Ft. McMurray, Alberta Demolition and Salvage

The sands consist of a mixture of crude bitumen, silica sand, clay minerals, and water. They are the largest reservoir of crude bitumen in the world. Together, these oil sand deposits contain about 1.7 trillion barrels of bitumen-in-place, comparable to the world’s total proven reserves of conventional petroleum.

Syncrude Canada - Ft. McMurray, Alberta Demolition and Salvage

Syncrude Canada contracted with FE&C for demolition services. FE&C completed demolition of Inbit Tower 24 and Aurora Bitman Tower, performing loadout and processing of 2,000 tons of steel and 1,500 tons of concrete, and size-reduced large tanks. Materials were then sorted and readied for salvage use.

Fortune Minerals - Golden Giant Mine Decommissioning and Demolition

The Golden Giant Mine was a gold mine in the Hemlo mining camp in Ontario, Canada. Three prospectors discovered gold there in the early 1980s, starting a gold rush not seen in Canada since the Klondike gold rush of the late 19th century. With its first pour in April of 1985, Golden Giant was the first mine in the camp to ship. During its 21-year life, the mine produced over 6 million ounces of gold. The mine ceased operation in 2005 and closed permanently in 2006.

Fortune Minerals - Golden Giant Mine Decommissioning and Demolition

FE&C completed the Golden Giant Mine dismantlement and demolition project, dismantling 1.9 million square feet of facilities including removal of 250 ton crushers, ball mills, chutes, 110’ high conveyors, and 500 hp motors.

Fortune Minerals - Golden Giant Mine Decommissioning and Demolition

Dismantling and demolition of the mine site facilities was undertaken to reclaim valuable equipment for re-use at other sites by the current owner and includes certain buildings, grinding mills, the crushing plant, flotation cells, compressors, boilers, generators, conveyors, pumps, motors, overhead cranes, transformers, assay laboratory, electrical switch gear and other equipment. 

Fortune Minerals - Golden Giant Mine Decommissioning and Demolition

Work included demolishing 83 structures via shear and large excavator. Furthermore, FE&C performed loadout and size reducing 17,000 tons of steel and 14,000 tons of concrete including large monolithic blocks.

Fortune Minerals - Golden Giant Mine Decommissioning and Demolition

Explosive demolition was utilized for two parts of the project: to demolish the head frame, a 176 foot tall structure, and the 90 foot tall, two million gallon fine or bin.

CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Company - K West Annex (Category 2 Nuclear Facility)

In the 1980s, when the decision was made to stop producing plutonium at Hanford, there were more than 10,000 radioactive uranium fuel rods and rod fragments from the reactors that would not be processed any further and needed to be stored until a longer-term storage solution could be devised. It was determined these fuel rods would be temporarily placed in two water filled storage areas adjacent to the K-East and K-West Reactors. Called the K-Basins, these massive underground vessels were originally built in the 1950’s as holding tanks for uranium fuel rods during Hanford’s production days. At the time, they were built for a 20 year mission, but out of necessity, their life had to be extended for this new use.

CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Company - K West Annex (Category 2 Nuclear Facility)

By the 1990’s, it was discovered the K-East basin was starting to leak contamination into the ground. Because they were located about 400 yards from the Columbia River, cleanup of the K-Basins became a high priority. The irradiated fuel rods were removed and transported to Hanford’s Container Storage Building. However, because the fuel rods had started to deteriorate, a material called “sludge” – a radioactive mixture of tiny fuel corrosion particles, fuel rod fragments, metal fragments and other materials – had formed in the water that remained in the basins. The K East sludge was transferred to the K West Basin and stored underwater with the K West Basin sludge, while the K East basin was then remediated and demolished.

CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Company - K West Annex (Category 2 Nuclear Facility)

The KW Annex being constructed by FE&C is the main facility for the high-profile Sludge Treatment Project, will serve as a load out facility for the sludge stored in steel containers sitting underwater on the floor of the K-West Basin. The sludge will be suspended in water and pumped to the KW Annex and will be settled into tanks sitting on trailers ready to take them to the T-Plant for treatment and processing of the sludge waste and eventually readied for eventual long-term disposal at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico.

CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Company - K West Annex (Category 2 Nuclear Facility)

The KW Annex is a Category 2 Nuclear Facility. A Category 2 Nuclear Facility is a facility that is defined as “having the potential for nuclear criticality events or with sufficient quantities of hazardous material and energy, which would require on-site emergency planning activities.” This requires utilizing an NQA-1 program, a specialized quality and safety protocol that deals specifically in nuclear facilities. FE&C is one of only a handful of construction companies having an existing and fully implemented 2008 NQA-1 program.

CH2M Hill - KR-4 Pump and Treat Facility

FE&C constructed three insulated, pre-engineered metal buildings, including the handling of concrete site work for both the foundations and floors. The buildings will house pumping and treatment equipment to remedy groundwater contamination near the K Basin. We completed the project on time and on budget despite very inclement weather, with temperatures ranging from 5 to 15 degrees Fahrenheit.

CH2M Hill - KR-4 Pump and Treat Facility

The buildings are part of the Groundwater Remediation Project, a venture whose primary goals are to: aggressively clean up groundwater contaminants Avoid future groundwater contamination Prevent groundwater contaminants from migrating to the Columbia River

URS/CH2M Hill Oak Ridge (UCOR) - Roof Resurfacing, Molten Salt Reactor Experiment

FE&C Eastern Operations is working on behalf of UCOR to cost-effectively repair and stabilize multiple roof surfaces at the Molten Salt Reactor Experiment (MSRE), a Category 2 nuclear facility, and two other Category 2 facilities at ORNL. Eleven total roof structures will be resurfaced, roughly 25,000 square feet. The buildings are operable and occupied during the project.

The project team combines the extensive experience base, excellent safety records and successful teaming partnership of FE&C and Dodge Foam. The FE&C project team, lead by Andrew Powers, PE, is working to safely remove the existing layers of roofing materials, including gravel and debris. The team will safely install a waterproof membrane roof coating system (silicon) to the manufacturer's 10 year warranty installation specifications.

Three Rivers Real Estate - Three Rivers Office Facility

This turnkey project included design, engineering, procurement and construction of a three level office building located in North Richland on 1.5 acres along the Columbia River. The state-of-the-art office building is a 20,607 square feet metal, glass and stone building with executive offices, conference rooms, restrooms, storage areas, kitchen facilities, multi-purpose rooms, IT and telephone communications and other enhanced user-friendly features. Included in the project scope were site preparation, permitting, civil-structural, electrical, mechanical, HVAC, parking, lighting and landscaping.

Pacific Northwest - Vitrification Pretreatment Engineering Platform

The US Department of Energy and Bechtel are designing, building and will soon be operating the world’s first chemical waste processing facility capable of both separating radioactive liquid waste and turning it into a stable glass form suitable for permanent, safe disposal. The waste will first enter the massive Pretreatment Facility, the largest of the complex, which will separate the tank waste into low-activity and high-level wastes so each can be processed correctly at later stages.

Pacific Northwest - Vitrification Pretreatment Engineering Platform

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory was tasked with designing and running a ¼ scale Pretreatment facility, called the Pretreatment Engineering Platform for testing the systems that will eventually run at the full-scale Pretreatment facility at the Waste Treatment Plant. FE&C was subcontracted to provide turnkey construction services for the assembly of this Pretreatment Engineering Platform.

Pacific Northwest - Vitrification Pretreatment Engineering Platform

Prior to installation, FE&C prepared the facility which required the existing building to be prepared for the large skids of equipment that would be placed inside it.

Pacific Northwest - Vitrification Pretreatment Engineering Platform

FE&C then installed a 20 ton chiller system in support of the pretreatment system. FE&C installed the equipment, assembled the skids and equipment, prepared as-built drawings and provided acceptance testing for the completed system.

Pacific Northwest - Vitrification Pretreatment Engineering Platform

FE&C removed research equipment being utilized by the Energy Science and Technology Directorate and carefully moved it to the new facility.

Pacific Northwest - Vitrification Pretreatment Engineering Platform

The ¼ scale pretreatment system consisted of 16 skid mounted modules containing tanks, valves, piping and control systems.

Thompson Mechanical - Waste Transfer System Backfill and Stabilization

As part of the W314 Waste Transfer in the 200 Area of the Hanford Site, FE&C completed transportation and placement of specific engineered backfill and stabilization into locations that could not be accessed with conventional equipment.

Thompson Mechanical - Waste Transfer System Backfill and Stabilization

FE&C met the challenge by locating and utilizing a conveyeredaggregate delivery system, including stone slingers and a telebelt.  Work crews backfilled and stabilized 3700 lineal feet of trench – elevations as high as 100 feet above surrounding grade – at the same amount of time normally taken to backfill a conventional water line to grade.