The $1.7 billion U.S. Department of Energy Hanford Site Spent Nuclear Fuel Project entails moving, repackaging, transporting, drying, and storing over 2,200 metric tons of spent fuel. The material was originally stored in aging, wet storage basins near the Columbia River in the state of Washington. DMJM engineers developed the conceptual design for the cold vacuum drying (CVD) process and a related facility. The CVD process removes and dries 5-ton batches of the spent fuel rods and water, which are then packaged in multi-canister overpacks. This process makes the spent fuel safe for long-term storage.

The CVD facility began operations in 2001, and since that time, DMJM has been contracted to develop and implement improvements in the CVD process. To date, DMJM’s involvement has reduced processing time nearly 50 percent, saving the U.S. Department of Energy millions of dollars.