Actual cleanup of Hanford's second-worst environmental prob-lem is scheduled to begin today.

On Wednesday, the Department of Energy told Fluor Hanford to move the first spent nuclear fuel from the K Basins today.

Fluor didn't get a full-fledged driver's license. It's more like a radioactive learner's permit.

DOE observers will watch closely as workers move the fuel for at least a couple of months. That's because the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board and DOE believe project operators showed some shortcomings in final evaluations.

Consequently, DOE supervision will be tight. Fuel movement will be deliberately slow to work out the kinks. And only solid spent fuel -- no broken pieces -- will be removed.

But today is a major benchmark. One of Hanford's biggest projects is moving from planning to operations. Cleanup will actually occur.

The basins are two huge indoor, water-filled pools 400 yards from the Columbia River that hold 2,300 tons of spent nuclear fuel, much of it corroding into flaky chips and chunks.

Only Hanford's leaky underground radioactive waste tanks are worse.

Hanford's master plan is to move the fuel under water into special transportation-and-storage containers. Then, the containers will be removed from the basins and taken to the Cold Vacuum Drying Facility, which will suck all moisture from them and pump helium inside to prevent radioactive combustion problems. Then, the containers will go into storage in a huge underground vault in central Hanford.

The Hanford cleanup timetable calls for the first fuel to leave the K West Basin a week ago. All 2,300 tons of fuel are to be moved by July 31, 2004.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency -- which regulates K Basins cleanup -- is not worried about the week's delay. Instead, it is concerned about having the system operating smoothly for the next 312 years.

Fluor employees have worked long hours and weekends for the past few months to start moving fuel today. DOE completed its final evaluation earlier this week.

Some problems still remain, stated a Tuesday letter from the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board to DOE. The highly influential adviser on DOE environmental cleanup said operators made procedural mistakes in handling the containers at the Cold Vacuum Drying Facility in the last review. Consequently, the board requested "continuous oversight" until a follow-up DOE evaluation shows problems are corrected.

DOE agreed with the findings, said Phil Loscoe, DOE K Basins project director. The problems need to be corrected but are not serious enough to stop fuel movement from starting today, he said, but DOE will provide the closer-than-normal supervision.

Also Fluor will fill and move only one or two containers in the next couple of months, he said. Only intact nuclear fuel pieces will be moved at first to decrease the risk of something going wrong until operators have more practice.

Each container holds six "baskets" of intact fuel canisters. And six baskets are filled, awaiting loading today.

Loscoe expects an evaluation in two or three months will determine if DOE will end the extra supervision.

Dave Van Leuven, Fluor executive vice president, said it has addressed the immediate concerns.

Another required correction will be to replace incorrect dampers that control air flow direction in the underground vault's ventilation system. The dampers keep radioactive particles from escaping outdoors.

Fluor expects to get the correct dampers later this month. Washington's Department of Health, which regulates air emissions at Hanford, agreed to allow Fluor to proceed but also set special conditions, which were unavailable Wednesday.