GAO: Grouting Hanford tank waste could cost $1.1B

[Marlin]

https://www.ans.org/news/2026-06-01/article-8083/gao-grouting-hanford-tank-waste-could-cost-11b/

[News Wire]

The Government Accountability Office estimates that grouting 24 million gallons of low-activity tank waste at the Hanford Site will cost between $480 million and $1.1 billion. The Department of Energy plans to award contracts later this year to immobilize this waste in a concrete-like mixture for off-site disposal by 2040.

This approach offers a significant cost reduction compared to the $1,400 per gallon required for vitrification. However, the Department of Energy faces regulatory challenges because current policy classifies this material as high-level radioactive waste. The agency requires legislative clarification to proceed with alternative disposal methods for the remaining 55 million gallons of legacy tank waste.

Workers move a container of treated tank waste as part of Hanford's Test Bed Initiative to grout around 2,000 gallons of LAW for off-site disposal. (Photo: DOE)

Grouting Hanford's low-level radioactive liquid tank waste could cost between $480 million and $1.1 billion, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office, which has repeatedly found that grouting (immobilizing waste in a concrete-like mixture) can accelerate cleanup at the Hanford Site and save billions of dollars when compared to mixing the waste with molten glass through the vitrification process.

Read the full article at ans.org:
https://www.ans.org/news/2026-06-01/article-8083/gao-grouting-hanford-tank-waste-could-cost-11b/