**HANFORD SITE INTEGRATION PROJECT APPROACH TO SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
THROUGH ROADMAPPING**

**AUTHORS:**

Dr. Michael J. Graham, Bechtel Hanford, Inc.

Mr. John G. Morse, Department of Energy, Richland Operations

Mr. Mark D. Freshley, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

**ABSTRACT**

The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Hanford Site was established
during World War II to produce plutonium for the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers' Manhattan Project. From 1944 through the end of the Cold War,
nine plutonium production reactors, along with nuclear fuel fabrication
and processing facilities, were built and operated at the Site. The
560-square-mile site is located in southeastern Washington state.

During Hanford\'s 45 years of plutonium production, huge amounts of
chemical and radioactive waste were produced. Much of this waste has
found its way into the soil, groundwater, and the adjacent Columbia
River. Nearly 54 million gallons of high-level radioactive and chemical
wastes remain in 177 aging underground storage tanks -- 67 of which have
leaked more than one million gallons of waste to the adjoining soil and
groundwater. In addition, more than 400 billion gallons of waste were
disposed directly to the soil and groundwater.

Hanford\'s focus is now on environmental cleanup. There are more than
1,500 waste sites at Hanford -- ranging from small areas of surface
contamination to the underground storage tanks.

In late 1997, the DOE, in conjunction with its Environmental Restoration
Contractor, Bechtel Hanford, Inc. (BHI), began development of a new,
coordinated cleanup project for Hanford -- the Groundwater/Vadose Zone
Integration Project. In addition to a strong commitment to science and
technology through a formal roadmap process, the Integration Project
applies rigorous independent technical reviews to its work, and engages
a diverse group of local and regional stakeholders.

**INTRODUCTION**

The Hanford Site was established during World War II to produce
plutonium for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Manhattan Project. From
1944 through the end of the Cold War, nine plutonium production
reactors, along with nuclear fuel fabrication and processing facilities,
were built and operated at the site. Hanford is now focused on
management and cleanup of the legacy wastes from those days. The
560-square-mile site is located in southeastern Washington state.
(Figure 1)

Figure 1. Hanford Site Map

![](media/image1.png){width="6.49375in" height="4.875in"}

The DOE established the Hanford Groundwater/Vadose Zone Integration
Project (Integration Project) in late 1997 to provide further assurance
that cleanup actions and decisions at Hanford are protective of the
Columbia River (DOE, 1999a). Dr. Ernest J. Moniz, Undersecretary of
Energy, directed the Integration Project to be science-based, including
strong participation from national laboratories, incorporate rigorous
technical reviews, and engaging diverse stakeholders in a meaningful
way. In this way the Integration Project provides the technical and
scientific basis required to inform and influence important Hanford Site
cleanup decisions. These decisions must be supported by the regulators
(the Washington State Department of Ecology, and the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Region 10), and will continue to require stakeholder
support and technical defensibility.

Important decisions that the Integration Project will inform and
influence include the following:

-   Waste retrieval from single- and double-shell tanks, as well as
    final closure of those tanks.

-   Remediation of 200 Area's (Hanford's Central Plateau) nearly 800
    waste sites.

-   Final Hanford closure and end-state plans and projections.

-   Interim actions to protect groundwater.

-   Operational practices to further protect water resources and the
    Columbia River.

**BACKGROUND**

At Hanford, as with most complex waste management and cleanup endeavors,
there are multiple projects and organizations responsible for various
aspects of the overall site mission. Projects whose primary scope
involves environmental characterization and monitoring, or risk and
performance assessments are termed **core projects**. Examples of
Hanford\'s core projects include:

-   Site-Wide Groundwater Monitoring and Modeling

-   Tank Farm Vadose Zone Characterization (Assessment of past leaks
    from single-shell tanks)

-   200 Area Soil Site Remediation (Assessment of past-practice soil
    sites)

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-   Immobilized Low-Activity Waste Performance Assessment (Performance
    assessment to support future disposal of low-activity glass from the
    planned vitrification of Hanford\'s tank wastes.)

The Integration Project, by teaming with these core projects, has
created a coordinated and cohesive approach to this scope of work. The
Integration Project also added elements that were either lacking or
under emphasized (e.g. Science & Technology). The result is an
integrated site-wide strategic approach that is effectively focused on
Hanford\'s most pressing near- and long-term cleanup priorities. These
priorities are as follows:

1.  **Site-wide integration** of vadose zone characterization,
    assessments, modeling, and monitoring.

-   Duplication of effort and overlaps between Hanford's multiple
    projects and contractors have been eliminated.

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-   Critical data gaps have been identified and prioritized for
    additional characterization work.

-   Procedures and methods are in place to formally track and address
    technical issues.

-   A framework is being developed and tested to provide consistency and
    completeness in conceptual models.

2.  Develop the **capability to assess** the cumulative long-term impact
    of Hanford-derived contaminants on the Columbia River and the
    Pacific Northwest.

-   The System Assessment Capability (SAC) has been developed to provide
    integrated site-wide assessments (BHI, 2000). The assessments of
    individual cleanup actions are still required and may indicate that
    the individual risks or impacts are acceptable, but the cumulative
    impact of the entire waste management disposal system needs to be
    evaluated.

-   The SAC is analyzing the current Hanford Site cleanup plan.
    Predictions for the state of key chemicals and radionuclides and
    their potential impacts through the year 3050 (1000 years after the
    end of the current cleanup mission) are slated for the summer of
    2001.

3.  Apply **science and technology** (S&T) to critical Hanford vadose
    zone, groundwater, and Columbia River needs.

-   A Hanford site-wide S&T roadmap has been implemented to fill
    critical gaps in the technical baseline. Roadmap tasks are focused
    on understanding and quantifying the inventory of contaminants
    discharged to the vadose zone from past waste management practices,
    subsurface flow and transport processes - with emphasis on the
    interfaces (e.g., vadose zone/groundwater/river), and biological
    uptake and elimination in aquatic organisms in the Columbia River.

-   The S&T roadmap also focuses tasks to develop and test advanced
    vadose zone characterization and monitoring tools, and to develop
    and utilize advanced computational methodologies.

4.  From its inception, the Integration Project has striven to provide
    meaningful **public involvement.** The project's success hinged on
    providing key regional stakeholders, Tribal Nations, regulators, and
    the state of Oregon with an understanding of the project and their
    ability to provide input into the decision-making process.

-   Bi-monthly open project update meetings are held for all interested
    parties.

-   A semi-annual report on the project is prepared to provide members
    of Congress and other stakeholders with an in-depth look at the
    Integration Project.

-   Focus sessions with individual stakeholder groups and Tribal Nations
    are conducted routinely by project managers and technical experts.

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-   An Integration Project web site *(http://www.bhi-erc.com/vadose)*
    provides an overview of the project and its current activities.

-   All peer review meetings and workshops are open with scheduled times
    for input from regulators, stakeholders, and Tribal Nations

5.  Establish multi-tiered management and **technical reviews** for all
    Hanford vadose zone, groundwater, and Columbia River work.

-   The Integration Project Expert Panel (IPEP) was established in 1998
    to provide independent management and technical review. The
    continuing 8-member IPEP has expertise in environmental management,
    geophysics, ecological health, radiochemistry, and hydrology. The
    tenth full-panel meeting is scheduled for April 2001.

-   DOE Headquarters (DOE-HQ) requested a review of the S&T activities
    and their relevance to Hanford Site decisions by a 15-member
    National Academy of Sciences (NAS) committee. The NAS initiated
    their review during fiscal year (FY) 2000, and will complete their
    review in the spring of 2001.

**S&T ROADMAP DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION**

The first comprehensive S&T roadmap produced for a major DOE site-wide
project was developed in support of the Integration Project. Both the
Hanford DOE/contractor team and Undersecretary Moniz determined that a
project-level roadmap was integral to development of an effective
management and planning strategy for the Integration Project.

The Integration Project's S&T roadmap was developed during FY98-99, with
review and evaluation by DOE and key Hanford regulators and
stakeholders. It was then released in December 1998 for an extended
comment period, and ultimately published as Rev. 0 in June 1999 (DOE,
1999). It has since helped guide decisions for the Integration Project,
as well as new investments in S&T. The S&T roadmap describes the
products on a schedule documenting linkages to Hanford Site projects
receiving S&T input (Figure 2). In Figure 2, "up" triangles depict a S&T
product that provides input to a core project; "down" triangles show a
S&T product that feeds into the SAC. The roadmap documents S&T
activities within each technical element (inventory, vadose zone,
groundwater, Columbia River, and risk assessment). It also provides a
brief definition of each product, including project linkages and
interactions, identification of the customer for the S&T product, and
both startup and delivery dates. The document also includes a summary of
budgets estimated for planning and executing the S&T activities.

Figure 2. Science & Technology Roadmap

The Integration Project uses the S&T roadmap as input to developing
detailed work plans each fiscal year. Rev. 0 of the roadmap provided the
basis for defining the FY 00 scope of work for the Integration Project
S&T, and was used to influence a call for proposals by the DOE
Environmental Management Science Program (EMSP).

The EMSP is administered through the DOE Office of Science and
Technology, and invests in basic and applied science. During FY 99, the
EMSP awarded 31 new grants (worth \$25M in work scope over three years)
that were directed at vadose zone problems. The principal investigators
participating in these projects are from across the DOE complex, as well
as universities and private industry. During November 1999, the
Integration Project held an orientation workshop for the successful EMSP
investigators to link their efforts with research efforts at the Hanford
Site. The Integration Project continues to interact with the EMSP
principal investigators to incorporate their research results into
scientific investigations supporting remediation actions at the Hanford
Site. A second EMSP principal investigator workshop was held in November
2000, with over 100 participants from EMSP projects, Integration Project
staff, and contractors for other Hanford projects. Workshop papers are
posted on the Integration Project website
*(http://www.bhi-erc.com/vadose).*

During FY 00, the S&T roadmap was revised (Rev. 1) to include the risk
technical element and incorporate the FY 99 EMSP awards (DOE, 2000). The
activities and outcomes were revised to match changes in Hanford Site
project strategies and schedules. The FY 01 work scope includes the
following activities:

-   Develop mass-balanced soil waste inventories for the SAC, and
    reconcile the inventory estimates with field characterization data.

-   Complete scientific studies of samples from beneath several of the
    high-level waste tank farms that are suspected of having
    contaminated groundwater, and provide S&T input to final
    characterization reports.

-   Perform vadose zone transport field experiment with high salt tracer
    and analyze the results, including evaluation of advanced
    characterization technologies suitable for the Hanford vadose zone.

-   Complete analyses of groundwater/river interactions at key locations
    along the Columbia River to develop dilution models for the SAC.

-   Initiate laboratory studies of biological uptake and elimination in
    aquatic organisms exposed to key Hanford contaminants in the
    Columbia River.

For the Integration Project S&T activity to have an impact, it must
deliver correct scientific and technical information in a timely manner
that allows the information to be used by other Integration Project
tasks and the core projects. The linkages are based on S&T needs
identified in the process of developing the roadmap, and through ongoing
teamwork.

**BENEFITS OF THE S&T ROADMAP PROCESS**

The Integration Project's S&T roadmap has provided a number of
significant benefits to the project as noted below:

-   Organization of project S&T needs and strategies into a coherent and
    systems-oriented process that can be effectively understood,
    defended and managed.

-   Justification for and understanding of the timing of actions and the
    need for sequencing of S&T actions.

-   Enabling an understanding of the benefits of starting long-term
    science activities, with the ability to prioritize long-term vs.
    short-term activities.

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-   Identifying and justifying budget priorities and rankings of
    proposed S&T tasks.

-   Identifying redundancies, overlaps and gaps relative to scientific
    knowledge and needed technologies.

-   Allowing the Hanford Site to develop improved ties between the
    Integration Project and similar projects at other DOE sites, thus
    achieving multiple-site benefits from Integration Project S&T
    activities.

-   Allowing the Integration Project to be more outcome-oriented
    relative to S&T activities (e.g. S&T activities could be focused on
    resolving issues identified in the roadmap).

-   Promoting better collaboration between project team members and
    scientists, and enhancing their ability to work together and develop
    an integrated approach to S&T in support of the Integration Project.

-   Promoting up-front and positive engagement of scientists. As a
    result, scientists can better understand how to focus their studies
    to produce a product (scientific knowledge or new technology) that
    would actually be utilized by a project.

## EARLY S&T ROADMAP SUCCESSES

The S&T roadmap, as a planning and management tool, provides benefits
only if it is implemented. As stated by the IPEP in November 1998:
\"planning is not progress, it is only the prelude to progress.\"

FY00 marked the beginning of implementation of the S&T roadmap defined
for the inventory, vadose zone, groundwater, and Columbia River
technical elements. New tasks were created to 1) develop soil waste site
inventory estimates; 2) conduct scientific investigations at
representative soil waste sites; 3) perform vadose zone transport field
experiments; 4) develop and apply advanced multiphase reactive transport
numerical models; and 5) investigate and improve conceptual and
numerical models of the groundwater/river interface. Specifically, the
following early successes and impacts have been realized from the S&T
roadmap.

-   The S&T roadmap was the basis for the FY99 new EMSP call for
    research proposals. Researchers were able to access the roadmap via
    the Internet and focus their efforts on the technical issues and
    data gaps identified. The proposal evaluators were more readily able
    to evaluate the relevance of the proposals to the true problems in
    the field. EMSP Principle Investigators were convened in a workshop
    after awarding the research grants. Using the S&T roadmap, they were
    able to see how they fit into the solution, as well as the
    relationships between and among the research efforts.

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-   The S&T roadmap was used to capture and integrate the Site
    Technology Coordination Group Science and Technology needs for the
    project. Having the S&T roadmap in place not only simplified the
    process of developing the S&T needs, but also provided assurance
    that these needs would be directly related to the identified
    problems and data gaps.

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-   The Soil Inventory Task completed development of a computer model to
    derive waste inventories and uncertainties for contaminated soil
    sites on Hanford\'s Central Plateau. Estimates for nine waste
    streams were completed (four were planned to be developed). These
    estimates reconstruct inventories of radionuclides and chemicals
    discharged to soil waste sites. They also capture the associated
    uncertainty, based on process knowledge, to estimate the volume,
    amount, and location of chemical and radionuclide inventories in the
    soil sites.

-   The soil inventory team was diverted during August/September 2000 to
    fill critical gaps in tank leak inventory estimates for tank farm
    vadose zone core project and for SAC. Utilizing the approach and
    models developed for soil sites, inventory estimates for past leaks
    from single shell-tanks were calculated.

-   The Field Investigations at Representative Sites Task performed
    laboratory studies on core materials collected as part of field
    investigations at single-shell tank leak sites. The scope of this
    task includes: 1) determining mineralogical association and sorption
    reversibility of technetium and cesium; 2) determining whether new
    mineral phases have resulted from the high temperatures associated
    with leaks from these boiling waste tanks; 3) investigating high
    aluminum, caustic waste/sediment interaction; and 4) establishing
    the impact of high salinity/caustic waste solutions on soil
    hydraulic properties. This scientific information is being utilized
    in an ongoing risk analysis and evaluation of corrective actions.

-   The Vadose Zone Transport Field Study Task completed the first field
    experiment in the 200-East Area involving injection of 40,000 liters
    of uncontaminated water with a sodium bromide tracer. Nine different
    characterization methods were deployed in the field experiment.
    Reports are posted on the project web site at:
    h*ttp://etd.pnl.gov:2080/vadose/contrepts.htm.*

-   The Groundwater/River Interface Task completed conceptual and
    numerical model development of the groundwater/river interface at
    Hanford\'s 100H Area. Animations have been developed based on
    simulations of the groundwater/river interface.

**CHALLENGES**

The premise of a roadmap is that it represents a process in which
problem holders come together with problem solvers to define problems
and establish a path to resolution. At Hanford, problem holders are
represented by the DOE, Tribal Nations, regulators, stakeholders, and
remediation contractors. The problem solvers are the scientists and
engineers from the national laboratories and universities. All of these
groups participated in workshops to define the roadmap. The difficulty,
however, comes with defining the specific work activities during
planning for each fiscal year, and getting the users of the S&T results
to agree that the results would be useful. The S&T effort has met with
varying degrees of acceptance by the problem holders.

The S&T roadmap identified more work scope than the project had funding
for, so prioritization of S&T investments was required. The Integration
Project prioritized S&T work activities through a structured process
involving project scientists and engineers, representatives of other
Hanford Site projects linked with the Integration Project, and
representatives of the DOE. Balancing long-term efforts (such as S&T)
with near-term compliance-driven actions is inherently difficult. Some
of the S&T plans could not be initiated given funding constraints. The
prioritization of continuing the existing S&T tasks as planned, versus
initiation of new S&T tasks, is an ongoing challenge. Insights from the
NAS review and the oversight of the IPEP will be used in revising future
S&T priorities.

**CONCLUSIONS**

Science and Technology is an integral part of Hanford\'s Integration
Project. The roadmap facilitates the definition and management of S&T as
a **project**. There is consensus on the focus; the outcomes and timing
are understood by both the developers and the users. As a result, a
broad range of scientific knowledge and expertise is being applied to
solve problems at the Hanford Site through partnerships with DOE
national laboratories and private industry.

**REFERENCES**

DOE, 1999a, U.S. Department of Energy. *Groundwater/Vadose Zone
Integration Project Summary Description*. DOE/RL-98-48, Vol. I, Rev. 0,
U.S. Department of Energy, Richland Operations, Richland, Washington.

DOE, 1999b, U.S. Department of Energy. *Groundwater/Vadose Zone
Integration Project Science and Technology Summary Description*.
DOE/RL-98-48, Vol. III, Rev. 0, U.S. Department of Energy, Richland
Operations, Richland, Washington.

DOE, 2000, U.S. Department of Energy. *Groundwater/Vadose Zone
Integration Project Science and Technology Summary Description*.
DOE/RL-98-48, Vol. III, Rev. 1, U.S. Department of Energy, Richland
Operations, Richland, Washington.

BHI, 2000, Bechtel Hanford, Inc. *Groundwater/Vadose Zone Integration
Project System Assessment Capability (Revision 0) Assessment
Description, Requirements, Software Design, and Test Plan.* BHI-01365,
Draft A, Bechtel Hanford, Inc, Richland, Washington.