A Sitewide Approach to Clean up the Groundwater at  the Hanford Nuclear Facility, Washington State

Goswami, Dibakar

A Sitewide Approach to Clean up the Groundwater at the Hanford Nuclear Facility, Washington State

Presented on Monday, March 16, 2015

Dibakar Goswami, Nuclear Waste Program, WA State Dept. of Ecology

The Hanford nuclear operations and chemical separations processes supported the generation of plutonium for the Cold War and left the world’s most complicated “problem areas” of contaminated soil and groundwater. At present, about 105 square kilometers (65 square miles) of groundwater beneath the Hanford Site are contaminated above the state and federal drinking standard.

In 1989, the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology), Environmental Protection Agency, and US Department of Energy (USDOE) formed an agreement to clean up the Hanford Site. In the early 1990s, the three parties developed a comprehensive site-wide groundwater remediation strategy with a vision to address various contaminated plumes of hazardous and radioactive waste to protect the Columbia River. Accordingly, the strategy addressed major plumes found in the reactor areas adjacent to the Columbia River to protect the river from major contaminants of chromium, strontium-90, and uranium. It also includes containment of major plumes found in the central plateau region that contain chlorinated solvents and radionuclides, so that these plumes never reach the Columbia River. To meet these goals, active groundwater remediation systems are placed using the state of the art pump and treat systems to capture all the mobile contaminants covering organic, inorganic, and radioactive constituents. Innovative technologies such as apatite sequestration barrier for the strontium-90, etc. are deployed to address complex groundwater problems. The entire Hanford Site groundwater, including the riparian zone and the adjacent Columbia River, are monitored to evaluate both the effectiveness of the remediation systems, the quality of the Hanford Site groundwater and the nearby areas of the Columbia River.

MP3 Presentation Slides

Dibakar Goswami

Nuclear Waste Program, WA State Dept. of Ecology

Dib Goswami received his Ph.D. in Geology from Iowa State University, Ames, in 1993. He is currently working as the program lead hydrogeologist, Nuclear Waste Program, Washington State Dept. of Ecology. For the last 20 years, he has provided the necessary direction for the cleanup of Hanford Site groundwater and vadose zone and is responsible in providing expert testimony before such bodies as the legislature, courts, on complex hydrogeologic and surface water issues. Prior to joining, Ecology, he worked in the oil industry for 10 years as a petroleum geologist and senior geophysicist in India and Houston.

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