Ultimately, the wood from the trees could be harvested and sold, he said. The lab successes sent the scientist looking for test sites in the real world. And central Hanford's 200 West Area apparently fits the bill. Between 660 to 990 tons of the chemical were dumped in the 200 West Area from 1955 and 1973. Subterranean gases are being removed by vapor extraction systems.
Trees are low maintenance.
With the ground water more than 200 feet deep, the trees' roots cannot reach far enough to suck up the contaminated water. The researchers want to pump the contaminated water into a drip irrigation system. However, Strand and Thompson said some problems need to be addressed before this idea can proceed. Both noted the best spot to plant the trees is in sensitive shrub-steppe habitat. With Hanford one of the few remaining places where the native plants haven't been cleared for farms and towns, eliminating a couple of hundred acres would provoke protests, they noted.