History of Hanford Damage Assessment Remediation and Restoration Program

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A Brief History of Hanford



The Hanford Site is a historic abandoned nuclear weapons production facility operated by the U.S Department of Energy (DOE) on the Columbia River just outside of the city of Richland, Washington. This particular location was once used to manufacture hydrogen bombs which were then sent down the Columbia River to their designated destination - Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. It was during this time that many Americans died, although just a fraction of these bombs are currently present in the Hanford site.




Hanford is also one of the largest employers in Washington State, as well as in all Oregon. Although it wasn't originally constructed for industrial purposes, today the site produces a wide range of industrial services and products. A few of the products manufactured at Hanford include nuclear fuel, nuclear waste, radioactive waste, and nuclear medicine. The primary function of the website, however, is to decompose the nuclear waste produced from such products.


1940s to Present


Through time, the nuclear waste generated at the Hanford site has collected. Previously, the accumulated radioactive waste produced by the production of hydrogen bombs, nuclear weapons, and the testing of nuclear weapons contained large amounts of nuclear material. Because this substance is highly toxic, lots of the inhabitants of the surrounding areas became sick or even died from exposure to the radioactive materials. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was responsible for the cleanup process, but there are still concerns over how safe the site is.



Many environmental groups claim that Hanford poses a risk to our health because of the large amounts of harmful and toxic wastes present. These hazardous wastes include nuclear wastes from the development of nuclear weapons, in addition to hazardous wastes from the production of nuclear power and other nuclear sectors. Some experts assert that the Hanford site is the biggest single source of these harmful wastes in the whole country. These wastes were produced prior to the implementation of a Safe Drinking Water Act and thus posed a real danger to the public's health.



In order to make sure the Hanford site does not pose any dangers to the general public, it is important to address the problem of the disposal of the hazardous wastes. The EPA has not been able to think of a whole plan for the safe and efficient disposal of the site's hazardous wastes. Some states are more successful in addressing the problem than others, while others have failed to take a leadership role in the subject. Additionally, Hanford's wastes contain radioactive material which might be extremely harmful if they're improperly disposed of.



Before, Hanford has had been used to generate highly-dangerous and highly-radioactive drugs such as VX, Sarin, and Cs-137, which can be a deadly carcinogen. Currently, this site continues to produce thousands of pounds of waste each year, including nuclear waste that is dangerous for people and the environment.



NOAA and our partners are in the first assessment period. Central California have identified a number of cultural, economical, and scientific studies that can help identify and quantify injuries at Hanford. Once we know the harms we are going to have the ability to ascertain the type and amount of restoration required to cancel those injuries.