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U.S. Department of Energy


The Environmental Restoration Disposal Facility (ERDF) is the primary repository for contaminated soils, debris and other hazardous and radioactive waste from cleanup operations across the site and along the Columbia River corridor of the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site (Hanford) in eastern Washington State.  Construction of the landfill’s first two cells began in May 1995 and the first shipment of waste was received on July 1, 1996.  Currently, the ERDF receives about 10,000 tons of material per day and Weaver Boos has been selected to provide design services for two of the ERDF’s four expansions.

In 2007, Weaver Boos was selected to provide the design and construction drawings and specifications for Cells 7 through 10 as part of an expansion effort.  The design had to meet stringent requirements for hazardous and radioactive waste landfills and had to be completed in six months.  Construction of Cells 7 and 8 was completed in April of 2009 and they were ready for use the following month after construction quality documents were accepted and approved.  Each pair of cells is 500 feet wide at the bottom, 70 feet deep, and over 1,000 feet wide at the surface.  The liner system is composed of multiple barriers, forming a primary and secondary protection system.  The system is designed to contain and collect moisture to prevent migration of potential contaminants to the soil and groundwater.

After the completion of Cells 7 & 8, a decision was made by the DOE in 2009 to modify the design of Cells 9 and 10.  The result was a “super cell” twice the size of each previous cells to save construction and operating costs.  Weaver Boos was selected for this design work as well, which included, but was not limited to:

  • Modifying the cell grading so that the entire super-cell drained to a single sump;
  • Replacing the gravel secondary drainage layer with a geocomposite;
  • Revising the primary leachate collection system design;
  • Revising the bentonite ad-mix design;
  • Revising the lysimeter design;
  • Designing a new leachate holding tank;
  • Expanding the size of the crest pad buildings;
  • Reducing site infrastructure in order to save operations and maintenance costs;
  • Designing an additional leachate transmission pipeline and leachate storage to serve the new cells; and
  • Revising the construction drawings, technical calculations, specifications, and Construction Quality Assurance Plan to reflect industry changes in the “super cell” design.

Refer to the following link for the Hanford press release:
http://www.washingtonclosure.com/News/docs/releases/2009/WCH_News_Release_-_ERDF_9&10.pdf