Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic this spring, Hanford Site groundwater treatment continued uninterrupted and remains on track.
Office of Environmental Management
June 30, 2020
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RICHLAND, Wash. – Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic this spring, Hanford Site groundwater treatment continued largely uninterrupted and remains on track to meet EM’s goal of treating at least 2.2 billion gallons of contaminated groundwater in fiscal 2020.
Hanford’s advanced pump-and-treat systems allow operations managers with EM Richland Operations Office (RL) contractor CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Company (CHPRC) to safely monitor the facilities remotely from home — meeting social distancing requirements while ensuring the plants continue to operate efficiently during the site’s essential mission-critical operations posture.
“The efficiency and reliability of Hanford’s treatment systems have been instrumental to our ability to maintain this key component of our cleanup mission that’s so critical to the protection of the Columbia River,” said Mike Cline, RL project director for cleanup of soil and groundwater at Hanford.
Hanford’s six operating pump-and-treat facilities have collectively treated more than 1.6 billion gallons of groundwater in fiscal 2020, which began Oct. 1. In the first quarter of fiscal 2020, the 200 West Pump and Treat Facility alone treated more than 300 million gallons of contaminated groundwater on Hanford’s Central Plateau, a record volume for any quarter since the site’s largest treatment plant began operating in 2012.
“I’m proud of our team’s efforts to stay focused and ensure our facilities operate safely as we continue striving to meet our cleanup goals,” said Bill Barrett, vice president of CHPRC’s soil and groundwater remediation project. “The ability to maintain safe operations during these unique times has truly been a team effort and the result of excellent communication and collaboration between our workers, labor, DOE, and the regulators.”
Through the life of the cleanup mission, Hanford has treated more than 23 billion gallons of groundwater and removed more than 500 tons of contaminants, including the majority of the chromium along the River Corridor and hundreds of tons of nitrates on the Central Plateau, as well as other contaminants of concern such as carbon tetrachloride, uranium, and technetium-99.