The existing 28 double-shell tanks (DSTS) at Hanford are currently planned to continue operation through the year 2028 when disposal schedules show removal of waste. This schedule will place the DSTs in a service life window of 4O to 60 years depending on tank construction date and actual retirement date. This paper examines corrosion- related life-limiting conditions of DSTs and reports the results of remaining useful life models developed for estimating remaining tank life. Three models based on controllable parameters such as temperature, chemistry, and relative humidity are presented for estimates to the year in which a particular DST may receive a breach in the primary tank due to pitting in the liquid or vapor region. Pitting is believed to be the life-limiting condition for DSTs, however, the region of the most aggressive pitting (vapor space or liquid) requires further investigation. The results of the models presented suggest none of the existing DSTs should fail by through-wall pitting until well beyond scheduled retrieval in 2028. The estimates of tank breach years (the year in which a tank may be expected to breach the primary tank wall) range from 2056 for pitting corrosion in the liquid region of tank 104-AW to beyond the next millennium for several tanks in the vapor region.

During routine visual inspections of Hanford double-shell waste tank 241-AY-102 (AY-102), anomalies were identified on the annulus floor which resulted in further evaluations. Following a formal leak assessment in October 2012, Washington River Protection Solutions, LLC (WRPS) determined that the primary tank of AY-102 was leaking. A formal leak assessment, documented in RPP-ASMT-53793, Tank 241-AY-102 Leak Assessment Report, identified first-of-a-kind construction difficulties and trial-and-error repairs as major contributing factors to tank failure. 1 To determine if improvements in double-shell tank (DST) construction occurred after construction of tank AY-102, a detailed review and evaluation of historical construction records was performed for Hanford's remaining twenty-seven DSTs. Review involved research of 241 boxes of historical project documentation to better understand the condition of the Hanford DST farms, noting similarities in construction difficulties/issues to tank AY-102. Information gathered provides valuable insight regarding construction difficulties, future tank operations decisions, and guidance of the current tank inspection program. Should new waste storage tanks be constructed in the future, these reviews also provide valuable lessons-learned.

The Hanford Site (also known as the Hanford Reservation) occupies approximately 1,450 km2 (560 square miles) along the Columbia River in south-central Washington, north of the city of Richland. The site was established by the federal government in 1943 to produce plutonium for nuclear weapons. Currently, the mission of the site, under the responsibility of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), is management of wastes generated by the weapons program and remediation of the environment contaminated by that waste. As part of that mission, DOE and the State of Washington Department of Ecology prepared the Hanford Site Tank Waste Remediation System Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). The Hanford Tanks is a general review of the DEIS. Its findings and recommendations are the subject of this report. Selection of a disposition plan for these wastes is a decision of national importance, involving potential environmental and health risks, technical challenges, and costs of tens to hundreds of billions of dollars. The last comprehensive analysis of these issues was completed 10 years ago, and several major changes in plans have occurred since. Therefore, the current reevaluation is timely and prudent. This report endorses the decision to prepare this new environmental impact statement, and in particular the decision to evaluate a wide range of alternatives not restricted to those encouraged by current regulatory policies.