Post by Bechtel Corporation

❄️ 30 Bechtel colleagues jumped into the Columbia River last month — the same river they show up every day to protect. Last month, our team from the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) took the plunge in the Washington Tri-Cities Special Olympics Polar Plunge, raising more than $25,000 to support athletes across the state. 🤝 The Columbia River is a big part of what makes this work so important. Selected by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), our Bechtel team has been designing and building WTP at the Hanford Site for more than 30 years — the world's largest and most advanced radioactive waste treatment facility. Using first-of-a-kind vitrification technology, our team is safely converting decades-old radioactive waste left over from the Manhattan Project and the Cold War into stable glass, so it never reaches the soil, groundwater, or the Columbia River that communities here depend on. And just last October, we reached a historic milestone — vitrification began. For the first time in U.S. history, nuclear waste at Hanford is being permanently stabilized. As Dena Volovar, president of Bechtel's Nuclear, Security & Environmental business, said at the time: "This milestone represents the realization of a vision shared by many. It reflects decades of teamwork, innovation, and partnership with our customer to solve one of the nation’s most complex environmental challenges — safely and permanently." Moments like the Polar Plunge are a reminder that showing up goes beyond the work we do on site — it means investing in the people and places we call home. Way to go, WTP team! 👏 Learn more about our work at Hanford: 🔗 http://spr.ly/6040B6ga04