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The DOE Hanford site in southeastern Washington state has 149 Single-Shell Tanks (SSTs) that store high-level radioactive waste derived from plutonium production. A recent agreement between the US Department of Energy (DOE) and the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) requires DOE to conduct a technology search to identify and evaluate in-tank and external tank leak detection technology and methods. This includes currently available technologies and technologies under development.

These SSTs are large underground domed cylindrical concrete structures with a steel liner. They store high-level radioactive waste from processing irradiated uranium reactor fuel to recover plutonium. The tanks are well past their design lifetime, and many are known to have leaked in the past. Efforts are underway to remove and treat the waste, but this will require some time and thus the tanks will continue to store waste for the near future. Reliable means for leak detection and monitoring are an essential component of future storage and retrieval operations.