Prioritization and accelerated remediation of groundwater contamination in the 200 Areas of the Hanford Site, Washington

Conference · Thu Apr 01 04:00:00 EST 1993

OSTI ID:10194935

Wittreich, C D; Ford, B H

The Hanford Site, operated by the US Department of Energy (DOE), occupies about 1,450 km{sup 2} (560 mi{sup 2}) of the southeastern part of Washington State north of the confluence of the Yakima and Columbia Rivers. The Hanford Site is organized into numerically designated operational areas. The 200 Areas, located near the center of the Hanford Site, encompasses the 200 West, East and North Areas and cover an area of over 40 km{sup 2}. The Hanford Site was originally designed, built, and operated to produce plutonium for nuclear weapons using production reactors and chemical reprocessing plants. Operations in the 200 Areas were mainly related to separation of special nuclear materials from spent nuclear fuel and contain related chemical and fuel processing and waste management facilities. Large quantities of chemical and radioactive waste associated with these processes were often disposed to the environment via infiltration structures such as cribs, ponds, ditches. This has resulted in over 25 chemical and radionuclide groundwater plumes, some of which have reached the Columbia River. An Aggregate Area Management Study program was implemented under the Hanford Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order to assess source and groundwater contamination and develop a prioritized approach for managing groundwater remediation in the 200 Areas. This included a comprehensive evaluation of existing waste disposal and environmental monitoring data and the conduct of limited field investigations (DOE-RL 1992, 1993). This paper summarizes the results of groundwater portion of AAMS program focusing on high priority contaminant plume distributions and the groundwater plume prioritization process. The objectives of the study were to identify groundwater contaminants of concern, develop a conceptual model, refine groundwater contaminant plume maps, and develop a strategy to expedite the remediation of high priority contaminants through the implementation of interim actions.

• Research Organization: Westinghouse Hanford Co., Richland, WA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC06-87RL10930
• OSTI ID: 10194935
• Report Number(s): WHC-SA--1908; CONF-9304117--4; ON: DE94003094
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540230
540250
CHEMICAL EFFLUENTS
COLUMBIA RIVER
CONTAMINATION
GROUND WATER
HANFORD PRODUCTION REACTORS
HANFORD RESERVATION
MAPS
PLUMES
PLUTONIUM
RADIOACTIVE EFFLUENTS
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS MONITORING AND TRANSPORT
RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT
REMEDIAL ACTION
SITE RESOURCE AND USE STUDIES