Years ago, B Cell's radioactivity was so great that a person would receive a fatal dose in seconds, not minutes. It's relatively safe for now because of heavy shielding. But B Cell's proximity to Richland has pushed it high up on Hanford's list of cleanup projects. The legal deadline to remove all the junk, dirt and equipment from inside of B Cell is November. Because no one can go inside B Cell, all the work is done with old cranes and old remote-control manipulator arms.
Work is slow and awkward.
On the plus side, the radiation within the cell is less than originally thought. Studies in 1999 trimmed original estimate of 2 million curies to about 500,000 curies, Riddelle said. And about half of that total is now packed in containers inside the cell. Entering 1999, B Cell's' operators had already cut and packed 10 of the 12 huge metal racks -and the equipment stored on them. Last year, operators sliced and cut the largest, toughest and most radioactive rack, which was mostly made of titanium.