Hanford Site

 Home
 BEMR Contents
 U.S. Map

The Hanford Site occupies approximately 1,450 square kilometers (560 square miles) of shrub-steppe ecosystem in the southeastern part of the State of Washington. The sparsely populated site is the location of archeological sites dating back more than 18,000 years. The Columbia River, which forms the Hanford Site's eastern boundary, sustains numerous fish and wildlife species, and is the source of irrigation and drinking water to Pacific Northwest communities. The river is also significant in the culture of the Tribal people. The City of Richland is located at the southeast border of the site and the cities of Kennewick and Pasco are located within 24 kilometers (15 miles) southeast of the site. Approximately 100,000 people occupy these three cities.

Nuclear Material and Facility Stabilization Section

Environmental Restoration Section

Waste Management Section

Landlord Section

FACILITY MISSION

In January 1943, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers selected the Columbia Basin as the location for the nation's first full-sized plutonium production operation. Selection criteria developed in 1942 called for a large, remote tract of land with room for a manufacturing area at least 19 by 26 kilometers (12 by 16 miles), space for laboratory facilities at least 13 kilometers (8 miles) from the nearest reactor or processing plant, and abundant water and electricity. The Hanford Site met these criteria. The Manhattan Project soon developed plans to build production reactors along the Columbia River (100 Area); processing plants and associated facilities on a plateau near the center of the site (200 Areas); and the fuel fabrication buildings, laboratories, and other support facilities near the site's southern boundary (300 Area). In 1967, the Atomic Energy Commission designated part of the Hanford Site an arid lands ecology reserve.

The current and future mission of the Hanford Site is to manage the facilities and inventories of special materials, remedy the environmental contamination caused by decades of activities related to the production of plutonium, and support national research efforts in the areas of environmental and other sciences. The site has been under the direction of Office of Environmental Management since 1989, and its efforts are now specifically focused on minimizing, processing, and storing the backlog radioactive and hazardous waste generated from 1943 through 1993; managing spent nuclear fuels and special nuclear material; decontaminating and decommissioning facilities no longer required; and developing technologies to clean up Hanford and other environmentally contaminated sites. Efforts also include remediating the site, to the extent practical, to its former state, and managing the site as a national resource. The natural and cultural resources of the site will be managed in a manner consistent with Tribal rights. All existing facilities will be sold for salvage, decommissioned, or converted for commercial use.

The U.S. Government established the Hanford Engineering Works in 1943 to support the nation's war-time effort to produce plutonium for the world's first nuclear weapons. In 30 months, the Manhattan Project built three reactors, three chemical processing plants to recover plutonium from irradiated fuel, and 64 underground storage tanks. It also built a production reactor fuel fabrication facility and other support facilities.

The production of plutonium at Hanford involved three steps: 1) fuel fabrication, in which uranium was fabricated into fuel elements in the 300 Area of the site; 2) fuel irradiation, in which fuel elements were irradiated in nuclear reactors in the 100 Area, converting small amounts of the uranium fuel to plutonium; and 3) chemical processing, in which the irradiated fuel elements or "slugs" were chemically processed to extract the plutonium in the 200 Area facilities.

The uranium fuel fabrication processes took place in the 313 Metal Fabrication Building and the 314 Press Building. The 313 Building was used to machine uranium rods to desired dimensions for use in Hanford's reactors, jacket ("can") the sized fuel elements, and test the jackets for proper bonding and sealing. The 314 Building contained equipment to extrude raw uranium billets into rods and perform final tests on the jacketed elements.

During the 1940s and 1950s, eight reactors were built in the 100 Area. The fuel for these reactors was fabricated in the 300 Area. The spent fuel discharged from the reactors was chemically processed to recover uranium and plutonium. N Reactor, which became operational in 1963, was used for both plutonium production and steam generation. In addition to the production reactors, there were two test reactors. The Plutonium Research Test Reactor is located in the 300 Area, and the much larger Fast Flux Test Facility reactor is in the 400 Area. These test reactors were used in fuel materials, isotope production, and power research.

After the fabricated fuel had been irradiated in the production reactors, the fuel slugs were chemically separated in the 200 Area where the plutonium was extracted. The processing buildings included the Plutonium-Uranium Extraction Plant, where spent fuel was processed to extract plutonium and unused uranium; the Uranium Oxide Plant, where uranium nitrate was converted to uranium oxide powder for recycling; and the Plutonium Finishing Plant, where plutonium metal was fashioned. In addition, Hanford used the B Plant for bismuth phosphate processing and separation and purification of cesium and strontium for encapsulation; C Plant (Hot or Strontium Semiworks) for separation and process development; S Plant (Reduction-Oxidation Plant), for separation through solvent extraction; T Plant for bismuth phosphate process separation and subsequent use as a decontamination and repair facility; and U Plant for chemical separation and processing.

Beginning in 1964, the Department sharply curtailed plutonium production in response to the nation's changing defense needs. By 1971, eight of the nine production reactors had been shut down and by 1972, all related fuel separation facilities, including the Plutonium-Uranium Extraction Plant, had ceased operations. In the early 1980s, the Department briefly restarted the Plutonium-Uranium Extraction Plant and the Uranium Oxide Plant; however, these plants are now permanently shut down.

As a result of the reduction of plutonium production activities, the resources and capabilities of the Hanford Site were refocused toward developing nonmilitary applications of nuclear energy. In the 1970s, the Energy Research and Development Administration, a predecessor to the Department of Energy, emphasized energy research programs, including solar, geothermal, and advanced systems; fossil energy; national security; conservation; energy policy analysis; and resource assessment. During this period, the full-size advanced test reactor, and the Fast Flux Test Facility were used for large-scale nuclear fuels testing in support of nuclear energy research.

In 1989, the defense-related plutonium production mission at Hanford was replaced by the environmental management mission. By that time, production practices had resulted in the discharge of contaminated liquids into the soil, ground water, and Columbia River; the disposal of solid waste throughout the area; and the accumulation of two-thirds of the nation's stored weapons-related radioactive waste.

Also in 1989, the Hanford Site was placed on the National Priorities List under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (also known as Superfund). Since that time, the Department has been committed to remediation and waste management to decrease potential risks to the site's work force, the public, and the environment.

The Department stores contaminated material, scrap, and liquid byproducts in 1,391 locations, including high-level and low-level liquid waste in storage tanks in the 200 Area. Environmental contamination is found in surface and subsurface soils. In addition, liquids (principally liquid low-level waste effluents) have been discharged into the soils and have contaminated about 520 square kilometers (200 square miles) of ground water. While much of this contamination is below drinking water standards, 11 contaminants (tritium, carbon tetrachloride, chromium, nitrates, cobalt, strontium, cesium, technetium, iodine, plutonium, and uranium) exist at levels that exceed these standards at various locations across the site.

Prior to 1970, solid waste contaminated with hazardous chemicals, plutonium, or low-level waste was disposed in burial trenches. The burial trenches continued to be used for waste with hazardous chemicals from 1970 to 1986. After 1970, most of the plutonium-contaminated waste was placed into partially lined underground vaults or surface trenches designed for easier retrieval. Hanford also has sites in which packaged, low-level radioactive and hazardous waste is buried. These packages include drums, boxes, and bags.

The chemical processing of irradiated fuels generated the largest volume of Hanford's waste. The process wastewaters were divided into high-level radioactive alkaline slurries containing heavy metals, organic and inorganic salts, uranium, plutonium, and mixed fission products stored in underground waste tanks, and low-level waste streams, such as cooling water, condensates, and other similar waste discharged to the ground.

Contaminated facilities located in the 100, 200, 300, 400, and 600 Areas consist of shutdown production and test reactors, chemical separation and processing plants, waste-handling facilities, and various support structures. These facilities are contaminated with radioactive and hazardous materials as a result of the various processes associated with fuel fabrication, fuel irradiation, and chemical processing, as described previously.

The Nuclear Material and Facility Stabilization program will need to stabilize and deactivate approximately 360 facilities before they are transferred to the Environmental Restoration program for decommissioning. Approximately 175 facilities have already been assigned to one of five transition projects; the remaining 185 facilities have yet to be assigned.

FUTURE USE

The Department of Energy has initiated the development of a Comprehensive Land Use Plan for the Hanford Site to identify existing and planned land uses and accompanying restrictions. The Department will develop this plan in concert with its Hanford stakeholders. The process of selecting specific uses will not be complete for several years. Therefore, the programs and cost estimates described in this report reflect current assumptions about future uses for the major areas of the Hanford Site and the current strategy for remediating each area to an end state compatible with that assumed use.

This report assumes the Columbia River corridor up to the high-water mark and the North Slope sections are classified as Recreational. The surface, subsurface, and ground water associated with the North Slope have already been remediated to a condition that does not preclude any land use.

This report assumes the Fitzner-Eberhardt Arid Lands Ecology Reserve is classified as Open Space with Restricted Access. The surface and subsurface of the Ecology Reserve, including Rattlesnake Mountain, have been remediated to a condition that does not preclude any land use. This report assumes use of the ground water is restricted, and the Department will maintain control of it because its use could affect the behavior of ground water in other parts of Hanford.

This report assumes the 100 Area to be Open Space with Restricted Access. It assumes the area along the southern shoreline of the Columbia River will be restored to a condition compatible with uses such as recreation, wildlife preserves, and historical/cultural preservation. The Environmental Management program will remove contamination in surface and subsurface soils, as well as contamination that threatens the Columbia River. This report assumes the use of the ground water will be restricted, and control will be maintained by the Department.

This report also assumes internal areas are Open Space with Restricted Access and the land will be restored to a condition compatible with wildlife habitat and occasional Recreational use. Access may be restricted in buffer zones around nuclear facilities to ensure human health and safety, and use of the ground water is assumed to be restricted, and control will be maintained by the Department.

The land encompassing the current 300, 400, 1100, and 3000 Areas is assumed to be held for Industrial use, as are the sites already reserved for commercial power generation plants, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, and the Hazardous Materials Management and Emergency Response Training Center. Remediation of the 1100 Area has been completed. This report assumes that the 300 and 400 areas will be remediated to standards compatible with Industrial use. In most instances, contamination will be removed from the surface and subsurface soils and ground-water use will be restricted, and control will be maintained by the Department.

While the report assumes the land use for the Central Plateau (200 Area) will be designated as Controlled Access, it also assumes portions of this area will be held exclusively for the disposal, containment, and management of waste, and other compatible uses. It is assumed the Department will use this land for these purposes and will maintain this area in a stable, safe condition for the foreseeable future. Surface and subsurface contaminants will be contained in place, waste disposal areas will be contained and controlled, and major facilities will be entombed in place. Therefore, the waste management areas within the Central Plateau are designated Controlled Access. This report assumes use of the ground water under this area will be restricted indefinitely and control will be maintained by the Department.

Nuclear Material and Facility Stabilization Section