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Site Description
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Stage of Clean-up: Construction Underway
Conditions at proposal (June 24, 1988): The Hanford 300-Area is adjacent to the Columbia River in the southern section of the 570-square-mile Hanford Site approximately 3 miles north of the City of Richland, Benton County, Washington. Since 1943, Hanford has been the scene of Federal nuclear activities, primarily production of nuclear materials for national defense. The U.S. Department of Energy (USDOE) fabricates nuclear reactor fuel in the 300-Area, which contains 14 disposal locations. The disposal locations and plumes of contaminated ground water cover approximately 5 square miles. An estimated 27 million cubic yards of solid and dilute liquid wastes comprised of radioactive, mixed, and hazardous constituents were disposed of in ponds, trenches, and landfills in the 300-Area. USDOE detected URANIUM+ in area springs, wells, and the Columbia River at levels significantly above background. Almost 70,000 people use ground water and surface water for drinking within 3 miles of the 300-Area. EPA, USDOE, and the Washington Department of Ecology (WDOE) are jointly developing an action plan that will include the work needed to address this area under the Superfund program, as well as other work needed to meet permitting, corrective action, and compliance requirements of Subtitle C of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. More...
Sources of Contamination:
- Discharge to sewer/surface water
- Lagoon disposal
- Landfill
- Storage - drums/containers of waste
- Underground injection
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