1. Fabien Elie and Will Wicks

2. 1943 : Established as a plutonium production site. Before the Manhattan project, farm land. 1987 : Deactivation as a nuclear facility. 1987 onwards : Cleaning up.

3. Radioactive waste can make its way to humans through various routes. Along the way the ecology of an area is seriously affected. The problem of processing or clearing radioactive waste is a very costly business. Any previous nuclear activity makes an area extremely unattractive.

4. Contaminated water discharged directly into the Columbia river. Water is used to cool the reactors. Wastes generated from the production of plutonium and uranium for use as nuclear fuels and weapons. Chemicals and metals are used to separate the uranium and plutonium from wastes. This process makes wastes more chemically complex. This waste takes many forms from vapours through liquids and slurries.

6. Three general principles are employed in the management of radioactive wastes: – Concentrate-and-contain – Dilute-and-disperse – Delay-and-decay. Two ways of concentrating and then containing waste are: – Ion Exchange – Vitrification The contaminated cooling water was diluted and dispersed into the Columbia river. Nuclear waste gets less active and therefore less dangerous over time

8. Cylindrical reinforced concrete with inner carbon steel liners 149 constructed between 1943 and 1964 Design life : 10 to 20 years 67 of 149 : leaks detected Cylindrical reinforced concrete with two carbon steel inner liners separated by a space 28 constructed between 1968 and 1986 Design life : 25 to 50 years No leaks !

11. 1 : High-level waste pumped 2 : Rotating tube inside a heated furnace. 3 : Melting pot : dried powder + glass making material at a ratio of 25 % waste to 75 % glass. 4 : The molten mixture is poured into a stainless steel canisterstainless steel canister 7 – 8 : Shielded flask and take into the cavernous but brightly- lit Vitrified Product Store. 6 : Decontamination area : high-pressure water jets scrubbed off loose surface contamination. 5 : The lid is closed

12. Cost : $12 billion Construction began in 2001 Scheduled to be operational in 2019, with vitrification completed in 2047 Betchel hired to construct the vitrification plant

13. Nuclear waste was not thought very much Pollution has been shown to eminate from the Hanford site. Issues : Environmental Health Economic Geotechnical But not sure about the extent – does it really affect people? -> legal action still in progress Anyway -> a lot of investment for : development of the site decommissioning