HANFORD REGULATORY EXPERIENCE REGULATION AT HANFORD A CASE STUDY
Hanford has played a pivotal role in the United States' defense for more than 60 years, beginning with the Manhattan Project in the 1940s. During its history, the Hanford Site has had nine reactors producing plutonium for the United States' nuclear weapons program. All the reactors were located next to the Columbia River and all had associated low-level radioactive and hazardous waste releases. Site cleanup, which formally began in 1989 with the signing of the Hanford Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order, also known as the Tri-Party Agreement, involves more than 1,600 waste sites and burial grounds, and the demolition of more than 1,500buildings and structures, Cleanup is scheduled to be complete by 2035. Regulatory oversight of the cleanup is being performed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Washington State Department of Ecology(Ecology) under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and the Revised Code of Washington, 'Hazardous Waste Management.' Cleanup of the waste sites and demolition of the many buildings and structures generates large volumes of contaminated soil, equipment, demolition debris, and other wastes that must be disposed of in a secure manner to prevent further environmental degradation. From a risk perspective, it is essential the cleanup waste be moved to a disposal facility located well away from the Columbia River. The solution was to construct very large engineered landfill that meets all technical regulatory requirements, on the Hanford Site Central Plateau approximately 10kilometers from the river and 100metersabovegroundwater. This landfill, called the Environmental Restoration Disposal Facility or ERDF is a series of cells, each 150x 300 meters wide at the bottom and 20 meters deep. This paper looks at the substantive environmental regulations applied to ERDF, and how the facility is designed to protect the environment and meet regulatory requirements. The paper describes how the U.S. Department of Energy(DOE),EPA, and Ecology interact in its regulation. In addition, the response to a recent $1 million regulatory fine is described to show actual interactions and options in this aspect of the regulatory process. The author acknowledges the significant contributions by Messrs. Clifford Clark and Owen Robertson. Ms. Nancy Williams provided graphics support and Ms. Laurie Kraemer edited the report.
- Research Organization:
- Hanford Site (HNF), Richland, WA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE - Office of Environmental Management (EM)
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC06-96RL13200
- OSTI ID:
- 915496
- Report Number(s):
- DOE-0333-FP/VA REV 0; TRN: US200817%%543
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: CHALLENGES IN RADIATION PROTECTION AND NUCLEAR SAFETY REGULATION OF THE NUCLEAR LEGACY SPONSORED BY THE NATO PROGRAM - SECURITY THROUGH SCIENCE 09/24/2007 THRU 09/27/2007 AVENIGOROD (MOSCOW) RUSSIA
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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