A Short History of Hanford

Technical Report · Fri Nov 01 04:00:00 EST 2002

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/897390· OSTI ID:897390

Gephart, Roy E

Nine nuclear reactors and four reprocessing plants at Hanford produced nearly two-thirds of the plutonium used in the United States for government purposes . These site operations also created large volumes of radioactive and chemical waste. Some contaminants were released into the environment, exposing people who lived downwind and downstream. Other contaminants were stored. The last reactor was shut down in 1987, and the last reprocessing plant closed in 1990. Most of the human-made radioactivity and about half of the chemicals remaining onsite are kept in underground tanks and surface facilities. The rest exists in the soil, groundwater, and burial grounds. Hanford contains about 40% of all the radioactivity that exists across the nuclear weapons complex. Today, environmental restoration activities are under way.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (US)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 897390
• Report Number(s): PNNL-13605 Rev. 3; KP1301010
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEFENSE
CHEMICAL WASTES
HANFORD PRODUCTION REACTORS
Hanford
waste
radiation
plutonium
NUCLEAR WEAPONS
PLUTONIUM
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
RADIOACTIVITY
REACTORS
REPROCESSING
TANKS