Hanford site

Stored: Hanford site

Hanford site Type: Administrative and Support Agencies Parent organization: Department of Energy Top organization: Department of Energy Employees: 11000 Executive: Manager Budget: $3,013,000,000 (FY 2025) Address: 825 Jadwin Avenue, Richland, WA 99352, USA Website: https://www.hanford.gov Creation Legislation: Wikipedia: Hanford site

Hanford site [{"name":"Hanford site","title":"\u003Ca class=\"mw-selflink selflink\"\u003EHanford site\u003C\/a\u003E","lat":46.54817,"lon":-119.48861,"otherValues":{"HeadquartersAddress":"825 Jadwin Avenue, Richland, WA 99352, USA"}}] This map created from a Cargo query ()

Mission The Hanford Site’s environmental management mission is to safely clean up the radioactive and chemical contamination from decades of nuclear weapons production to protect human health and the environment. It aims to remediate the site’s legacy waste while enabling future land use and preserving the region’s ecological and cultural resources.

Services Radioactive waste treatment; environmental restoration; groundwater cleanup; facility deactivation

Regulations

Hanford Site is a 586-square-mile decommissioned nuclear production complex in southeastern Washington, managed by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management since 1989 to address the environmental legacy of plutonium production for the Manhattan Project and Cold War nuclear arsenal.

Known as the most contaminated site in the Western Hemisphere, Hanford’s cleanup involves treating 56 million gallons of radioactive waste in 177 underground tanks, remediating 2,000 contaminated soil sites, and managing 200 square miles of polluted groundwater, guided by the 1989 Tri-Party Agreement with the EPA and Washington State Department of Ecology.

Official Site

Mission

The Hanford Site’s environmental management mission focuses on mitigating risks from radioactive and chemical waste through safe cleanup, waste treatment, and environmental restoration, protecting the Columbia River and surrounding communities. It pursues this through vitrification of tank waste via the Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste Program, facility demolition, and groundwater treatment, aiming for completion by 2046 as outlined in the Hanford Lifecycle Scope Schedule.

Parent organization

The Hanford Site operates under the Department of Energy, specifically the Office of Environmental Management, which oversees cleanup efforts across DOE’s nuclear legacy sites nationwide.

Legislation

The Hanford Site’s cleanup was formalized by its 1989 designation as a Superfund site under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA), with operations governed by the Tri-Party Agreement signed by DOE, EPA, and Washington State.

Partners

The Hanford Site collaborates with:

• Environmental Protection Agency for regulatory oversight
• Washington State Department of Ecology for state compliance
• Hanford Mission Integration Solutions (HMIS) and other contractors for cleanup execution
• Hanford Advisory Board for community input

Number of employees

The Hanford Site employs approximately 11,000 workers, primarily through contractors like HMIS, CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Company, and Washington River Protection Solutions, managing diverse cleanup tasks.

Organization structure

The Hanford Site’s cleanup is organized by area:

• River Corridor Division manages 100 Area reactor cleanup.
• Central Plateau Division oversees 200 Area tank waste and facilities.
• Infrastructure Division supports site-wide operations and workforce development.

Leader

The Hanford Site is headed by a Manager, currently Brian Vance, overseeing DOE Richland Operations.

Divisions

The divisions include:

• 100 Area for reactor decommissioning and river corridor restoration.
• 200 Area for tank waste vitrification and plateau remediation.
• 300 Area for industrial site cleanup near Richland.

List of programs

The Hanford Site oversees:

• Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste Program - https://www.hanford.gov/page.cfm/WTP
• Groundwater Pump and Treat Operations
• K West Reactor Sludge Removal
• Environmental Restoration Disposal Facility (ERDF)

Last total enacted budget

The Hanford Site’s budget for FY 2025 is $3,013,000,000, the largest ever requested, funding tank waste treatment, demolition, and groundwater cleanup.

Staff

The Hanford Site’s 11,000-strong workforce includes engineers, scientists, and laborers employed by DOE contractors, with recent efforts like the STEPS program training future leaders to replace retiring staff.

Funding

Hanford’s cleanup is funded through DOE appropriations, with FY 2025 at $3.013 billion, supplemented by contractor resources, historically totaling over $113.6 billion per 2014 estimates.

Services provided

The Hanford Site manages radioactive waste vitrification, groundwater treatment via six pump-and-treat facilities, facility deactivation, and ecological monitoring to protect the Columbia River ecosystem.

Regulations overseen

OREM does not oversee regulations but adheres to CERCLA and the Tri-Party Agreement, ensuring compliance with EPA and Washington State standards.

Headquarters address

The headquarters address, as listed on Google Maps, is 825 Jadwin Avenue, Richland, WA 99352, USA, home to the DOE Richland Operations Office.

History

Created in 1943 as part of the Manhattan Project, the Hanford Site produced plutonium until 1987, leaving extensive contamination addressed since its 1989 Superfund listing under the Tri-Party Agreement. Recent milestones include K West Annex demolition (2024) and a record $3.013 billion budget request for FY 2025.

External links

• Official Website
• wikipedia:Hanford_Site
• DOE EM Hanford Overview