ETP Tank Project an ARRA-Funded Success Story
July 7, 2011
Savannah River Remediation workers oversee safe flight of ETP Tank into concrete dike.
Aiken, SC – Another significant Savannah River Remediation project supported by American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding has been successfully completed. The Effluent Treatment Plant Waste Concentrate Hold Tank (WCHT) will provide much needed additional tank space for specific waste materials pending final disposition.
Dick Whitehurst, SRR Project Manager, said "The new tank will create additional holding capacity, and once the waste concentrate material is accumulated, the low-level material in the hold tank will be transferred to the Saltstone processing facility for safe disposal."
Beginning spring 2010, Recovery Act construction workers made headway in the WCHT project beginning with the placement of the tank foundation and dike structure and most recently in completing fabrication of the hold tank.
The dike structure, which extends 24-feet high and 16-inches thick serves as protective containment and shielding for the stainless-steel tank.
In fall 2010, boilermakers skilled in welding and steel fabrication arrived on-site to fabricate the 30,000-gallon stainless steel tank. The workers created three separate rings that were ultimately welded together to construct the large, 22-foot high tank.
Then from inside the dike, Industrial Hygiene and Safety personnel sand-blasted the walls and floor of the containment cell to protect interior walls and the floor base.
In January 2011, the fully fabricated tank was transferred from a nearby Laydown Yard to its permanent location within the ETP complex via a flat-bed, lowboy trailer.
Project Manager Whitehurst described the project and accomplishment of its complex stages as a valued example of good planning and safe, successful execution. The project was supported by $7.8 million in Recovery Act funding.
"This exemplifies the value of teamwork and how various work disciplines are vital in getting the job done in a safe, timely and efficient manner," said Whitehurst.
Randy Wilkerson, Area Project Construction Manager, credited collaborative efforts of the many construction workers who combined to do a job well done. "Every single crafts person was important to our cause. We could not have accomplished our mission without the commitment and skill of the talented Recovery Act workers," said Wilkerson.
Savannah River Site is owned by Department of Energy. The Savannah River Site Liquid Waste contract is managed by Savannah River Remediation, a team of companies led by URS Corp. with partners Bechtel National, CH2M Hill and Babcock & Wilcox. Critical subcontractors for the contract are AREVA, Energy Solutions and URS Safety Management Solutions.
News Media Contact: Timothy Cox. (803) 208-6073 Timothy.Cox@srs.gov