# Affected Environment {#affected-environment .Style7}

####### **Introduction** {#introduction .unnumbered}

***A.L. Bunn***

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Hanford Site lies within the
semiarid Pasco Basin of the Columbia Plateau in south central Washington
State (Figure 4.0-1). The Hanford Site occupies an area of about
1517 km^2^ (about 586 mi^2^)^(^[^1]^)^ north of the confluence of the
Yakima River with the Columbia River. The Hanford Site is about 50 km
(30 mi) north to south and 40 km (24 mi) east to west. This land, with
restricted public access, provides a buffer for the smaller areas
currently used for storage of nuclear materials, waste treatment, and
waste storage and/or disposal. The Columbia River flows through the
northern part of the Hanford Site and, turning south, forms part of the
Site's eastern boundary. The Yakima River runs near the southern
boundary of the Hanford Site and joins the Columbia River at the city of
Richland, which bounds the Hanford Site on the southeast. Rattlesnake
Mountain, Yakima Ridge, and Umtanum Ridge form the southwestern and
western boundaries. Saddle Mountain forms the northern boundary of the
Hanford Site. Two small east-west ridges, Gable Butte and Gable
Mountain, rise above the plateau of the central part of the Hanford
Site. Adjoining lands to the west, north, and east are principally range
and agricultural land. The cities of Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland (the
Tri-Cities), and the city of West Richland constitute the nearest
population centers and are located south-southeast of the Hanford Site.

The Hanford Site was established in 1943 to produce plutonium for
nuclear weapons; it was the first nuclear production facility in the
world. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers selected the Hanford Site
because it was remote from major populated areas and had ample
electrical power from Grand Coulee Dam, a functional railroad, clean
water available from the Columbia River, and plenty of sand and gravel
available onsite for construction. The Hanford Site was divided into a
number of operational areas (e.g., 100, 200, 300, and 400 Areas) (DOE
1998a, b).

From the early 1940s to the present, most research and development
activities were carried out in the

300 Area located just north of Richland. The 300 Area was also the
location of nuclear fuel fabrication.

Nuclear fuel in the form of pipe-like cylinders (fuel slugs) was
fabricated from purified uranium shipped in from offsite production
facilities. The fabricated fuel slugs were shipped by rail from the 300
Area to the nuclear reactors in the100 Area, located at the northern
portion of the Site on the shore of the Columbia River, where up to nine
nuclear reactors were in operation. The first eight reactors were
constructed between 1944 and 1955. The ninth reactor, N Reactor, was
completed in 1963. The irradiated fuel produced in the 100 Area reactors
was transported by rail to the 200 Areas, where the plutonium was
recovered.

The 200 East and 200 West Areas are located on a plateau about 11 and
8 km (7 and 5 mi), respectively, south of the Columbia River. These
areas housed facilities called separations plants that received and
dissolved irradiated fuel and then separated out the plutonium. Wastes
were neutralized and stored in large underground tanks. Wastes
containing fission products, activation products, and nitrate

![](media/image1.png){width="6.49375in" height="8.403472222222222in"}

> **Figure 4.0-1**. U.S. Department of Energy\'s Hanford Site,
> Washington

were discharged to cribs. Low-level wastes and cooling water from the
plants were distributed by open ditch to surface ponds for evaporation
and percolation into the ground.

Other areas on the Hanford Site include the 400 and 600 Areas. The Fast
Flux Test Facility (FFTF) located in the 400 Area was a special nuclear
reactor designed to test various types of nuclear fuel, produce medical
and industrial isotopes, and conduct cooperative international research.
The facility operated for about ten years and has been shut down since
1993. The 600 Area includes all the land between the designated areas of
the Site.

The 700 and 1100 Areas, near north Richland, provided Hanford Site
support services. The 700 Area was the original location for
administrative activities for the Hanford Site, and was located where
the Federal Building is located today (DOE 1997a). The 1100 Area was the
location of general stores and transportation maintenance facilities for
the Hanford Site. Operations at the transportation maintenance facility
resulted in ground contamination from several chemicals, oils, and
greases. The 1100 Area was located about 1.8 km (1.1 mi) west of the
Columbia River and contiguous to the 600 Area. In September 1996, the
1100 Area was declared remediated and the Environmental Protection
Agency issued a delisting from the National Priorities List (DOE 1998a).
No radioactive waste was discharged to the ground in the 1100 Area. Most
of the 1100 Area has been incorporated into the city of Richland and is
no longer a part of the Hanford Site (DOE 2002a).

At the Hanford Site several areas, totaling 665 km^2^ (257 mi^2^), have
been set aside for special uses. The Fitzner-Eberhardt Arid Lands
Ecology Reserve Unit, used for ecological research, was established in
1967 on land between the southern boundary of the Hanford Site and State
Route 240. On the north end of the site is the Saddle Mountain National
Wildlife Refuge Unit. Operations and activities on the Hanford Site, not
under the auspices of DOE include a commercial power production reactor
by Energy Northwest (near the 400 Area); a scientific observatory for
measuring gravity waves at extremely tiny levels, called the Laser
Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) project (near the
400 Area); and a commercial low-level radioactive waste burial ground at
a site leased and licensed by the State of Washington and operated by
U.S. Ecology (near the 200 Areas). Offsite, but near the southern
boundary of the Hanford Site in North Richland, Framatome ANP (an AREVA
and Siemens company) operates a commercial nuclear fuel fabrication
facility and Pacific EcoSolutions LLC operates a low-level radioactive
waste decontamination, super-compaction, and packaging disposal
facility.

The Hanford Site encompasses more than 2700 waste management units and
groundwater contamination plumes. These waste sites have been grouped
into 74 operable units. Each operable unit has complementary
characteristics such as geography, waste content, type of facility, and
relationship of contaminant plumes. The grouping into operable units
allows for economies of scale to reduce the cost and number of
characterization investigations and remedial actions required to
complete environmental cleanup (WHC 1989). The 74 operable units are
located in four areas: 17 in the 100 Area, 51 in the 200 Areas, two in
the 300 Area, and four in the former 1100 Area (DOE 2002a). Those
persons contemplating National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)-related
activities on the Hanford Site should be aware of the existence and
location of the operable units. Detailed information concerning the
operable units and current maps showing the locations of the operable
units can be obtained from *Hanford Site Waste Management Units Report*
(DOE 2002a).

A portion of the Hanford Site was designated the Hanford Reach National
Monument (65 FR 37253) during 2000. As established, the Monument totals
792.6 km^2^ (306 mi^2^) and includes Fitzner-Eberhardt Arid Lands
Ecology Reserve Unit, Saddle Mountain Wildlife Refuge Unit, McGee
Ranch/Riverlands Unit, and land 0.40 km (0.25 mi) inland from the mean
high-water mark on the south and west shores of the 82 km (51 mi) long
Hanford Reach of the Columbia River. It also includes the federally
owned islands in the Hanford Reach and the sand dune area northwest of
the Energy Northwest Site. This designation establishes the protection
and management of the lands within the region of the monument. Also, a
letter from President Clinton to the Secretary of Energy directs the
Secretary of Energy to consult with the Secretary of the Interior
regarding the incorporation of additional Hanford Site lands into the
Monument as the land is remediated. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(USFWS) is the lead agency in producing a Comprehensive Conservation
Plan (CCP) Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for management of the
Hanford Reach National Monument.

[^1]: (?) This figure is based on the newest geographical information
    system (GIS) interpolation of the Hanford Site legal boundary.
    Historically, the Site area was reported as 1450 km^2^ (560 mi^2^),
    calculated by the addition of sections and subunits based on surveys
    from the 1800s. Included in the Site is 36.42 km^2^ (14.1 mi^2^) of
    Columbia River surface water and 2.6 km^2^ (1 mi^2^) of Washington
    State land (DOE 1999a).