The Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP), also known as 'Z Plant', was part of the Hanford Site nuclear research complex in the state of Washington, USA.[1][2][3][4][5]
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It began in 1949 with the purpose of helping Hanford make plutonium metal in a form suitable for weapons on-site.[1][2] It also participated in programs to recycle plutonium. One of the projects in this program was the use of mixed plutonium-oxide uranium-oxide (MOX) fuel in the Fast Flux Test Facility. One of the PFP's jobs was to quality assure the fuel pins that had been constructed for the FFTF by outside vendors, such as Kerr-McGee, NUMEC, and Babcock and Wilcox[1][5]
The PFP Closure Project intends to have the entire facility cleaned and destroyed down to a concrete slab by 2016, with all contaminated materials moved to other sites.[1]
Plutonium Conversion Facility
Plutonium Reclamation Facility
Waste Treatment Facility
Incinerator
Other