CH2M HILL Technology for Waste Disposal
The Integrated Disposal Facility, also known as IDF, is a landfill constructed near the center of the 586-square-mile Hanford Site. It is the first landfill on the Hanford Site with a final Resource, Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Permit. This means it is a state-of-the-art landfill that ensures the maximum level of environmental and groundwater protection.
The IDF consists of two cells and is expandable. One cell will contain mixed low-level waste as permitted by the Washington State Department of Ecology. This includes vitrified low activity waste from the Waste Treatment Plant and 50 large containers from the Bulk Vitrification Pilot Plant. The second cell is planned to accept low level waste from Hanford Site cleanup activities.
The IDF is 1500 feet wide, 765 feet long and 42 feet deep. Each cell has a seven-foot-thick liner system to protect the groundwater and the environment. It consists of a three foot clay liner, topped by two separate high density poly ethylene liners, a geosynthetic clay liner, and a foot of drain gravel, all covered with a three foot earthen layer to protect the liners from heavy equipment during placement of the waste during operations. The liner provides a leachate collection and removal system as well as a leak detection system to capture liquid that might percolate through the waste. Leachate will then be transported by tanker truck to an approved treatment facility.
The IDF was completed in April 2006, four months ahead of schedule, at a cost of $25 million, more than $9 million below the original budget.