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Hanford - Washington
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Located in southeastern Washington State, Hanford is a 586-square-mile site created in 1943 as part of the Manhattan Project (America’s effort to develop the atomic bomb).
Operation of the plutonium-producing facilities continued beyond World War II through the Cold War, and a total of nine nuclear reactors were eventually constructed along the Columbia River.
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In 1989, production stopped and work shifted to cleanup of portions of the site contaminated with hazardous substances, including both radionuclides and chemical waste.
The operations at Hanford created one of the largest and most complex cleanup projects in the U.S. Weapons production resulted in more than 43 million cubic yards of radioactive waste, and over 130 million cubic yards of contaminated soil and debris. Approximately 475 billion gallons of contaminated water was discharged to the soil. Some of the contaminants have made it to groundwater under the site. Over 80 square miles of groundwater is contaminated to levels above groundwater protection standards.
News
Cleanup Areas
Additional cleanup sites (Click on the triangle  to expand or collapse a heading and see more information)
 Environmental Restoration Disposal Facility
400 Area
600 Area
White Paper Summary (Click on the triangle to expand or collapse)
Tri-Party Agreement
The Hanford Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order (also known as the Tri-Party Agreement) was signed by USDOE, EPA, and Ecology in 1989 with the purpose of coordinating the CERCLA and RCRA cleanup authorities at Hanford. The Tri-Party Agreement also outlines the process for changing, removing, or adding milestones, the conditions under which penalties may be issued, and the requirements for public involvement relating to Hanford cleanup actions. Major changes to the Tri-Party Agreement require approval of all three agencies and are only made after a public participation process has been followed.
Tri-Party Agreement
Related Sites
Five-Year Reviews
Fact Sheets and Documents
[ Main Cleanup | Brownfields ]
[ Superfund | FOIA | Records Center ]
Point of contact: David Einan
E-Mail: einan.david@epamail.epa.gov
Phone Number: (509) 376-3883
Last Updated: 01/27/2010
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