ENVIRONMENTAL CLEANUP - THE CHALLENGE AT THE HANFORD SITE, WASHINGTON, USA

Numerous challenges face those involved with developing a coordinated and consistent approach to cleaning up the US Department of Energy's ( DOE) Hanford Site in southeastern Washington. These challenges are muc h greater than those encountered when the site was selected and the wo rld's first nuclear complex was developed almost 50 years ago. This ar ticle reviews Hanford's history, operations, waste storage/disposal ac tivities, environmental monitoring,and today's approach to characteriz e and clean up Hanford under a Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order, signed by DOE, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Was hington Sate Department of Ecology. Although cleanup of defense-relate d waste at Hanford holds many positive benefits, negative features inc lude high costs to the US taxpayer, numerous uncertainties concerning the technologies to be employed and the risks involved, and the high p robability that special interest groups and activists at large will ne ver be completely satisfied. Issues concerning future use of the site, whether to protect and preserve its natural features or open it to pu blic exploitation, remain to be resolved.