2012 Hanford Public Involvement Survey results available online

By Dieter Bohrmann, Communications Manager, Nuclear Waste Program


>> See the
survey results online or PDF format
Annually, the Tri-Party Agreement agencies (Washington State Department of Ecology, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and U.S. Department of Energy) evaluate the effectiveness of our public involvement activities.

This year, 94 people responded to our survey. We appreciate your

Learn about tank leaks at Hanford

By Erika Holmes, Community Outreach & Environmental Education, Nuclear Waste Program


The Department of Ecology knows the public and the news media want and
deserve answers about the leaking tanks at Hanford, so we created Frequently Asked Questions: Leaking underground tanks at Hanford to answer some of the most common questions:


How many tanks are leaking and when did they start?
What is

College students crunch Hanford groundwater contaminant numbers

By Erika Holmes, Community Outreach & Environmental Education, Nuclear Waste Program





Over the last three months, Ecology's Nuclear Waste Program teamed up with statistics teacher Linda Rogers and her two classes at Columbia Basin College to analyze Hanford groundwater data. At Hanford, about 72 square miles of groundwater are contaminated above drinking water standards. One of Ecology’s

Governor Inslee's statement on leaking tanks at Hanford

Hanford's B Tank Farm under construction during World War II. Two of the tanks reported to be leaking today are in this farm.
Gov. Inslee released the following statement:



U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu told Washington Gov. Jay Inslee today that the U.S. Department of Energy has determined there are six, single-shell tanks leaking radioactive waste at Hanford. Last week, the governor

Leaking Hanford tank complicates cleanup plans

By Dieter Bohrmann, communications manager, Nuclear Waste Program

On October 22, the U.S. Department of Energy (USDOE) announced that video inspections confirmed a leak from the inner shell of a double-shell tank at Hanford. This was the first confirmed leak from one of Hanford’s 28 double-shell tanks, and the discovery threatens to further complicate plans for treating 56 million gallons of

Enviro ed journal features Ecology’s Hanford outreach efforts

By Erika Holmes, Community Outreach & Environmental Education, Nuclear Waste Program



Late last year, the environmental education journal Clearing put out a call for articles for their annual compendium issue. With the majority of readers in, and content focused on, the Pacific Northwest, I figured it would be a great opportunity to share ways teachers can bring Hanford into their lessons.

Ecology Ponders Hanford Tank Farm Closure

By Jeff Lyon, Nuclear Waste Program
I have some questions as Ecology’s Tank Systems, Operations, and Closure Project Manager:

How long should we wait to close the 149 single-shell tanks (SSTs) at Hanford?
What are the risks to humans and the environment if we wait?
If we wait for more money or better cleanup technologies (we may never get either), what should we do about the current soil

Washington, Oregon hook up on Hanford presentations at Oregon State

By Dieter Bohrmann, Communications Consultant, Nuclear Waste Program John Price and I ventured down to Oregon State University (OSU) on February 23 to talk about Hanford with students and faculty, as well as other Corvallis residents. We were joined on the visit by Ken Niles from the Oregon Department of Energy, and Max Power, chair of the Oregon Hanford Cleanup Board. Our first presentation was

The House that Fermi Built

by Tim Hill, Office of the Columbia RiverHistory and place have always been a passion of mine. I’ve spent a good part of life trudging through brush and fields to find where Peo-peo-mox-mox was brutally killed or where Ranald MacDonald settled down after being freed from a Japanese prison.I search out these places to feel what I call an “historical moment.” It’s hard to describe what that is

WSU students create a buzz about Hanford among Tri-City youth

By Erika Holmes, Community Outreach & Environmental Education Specialist, Nuclear Waste ProgramWorking with Jeff Holmes (my husband), an English instructor at the Tri-Cities branch of Washington State University (WSU), we tasked his 48 technical communication students with the goal of reaching high school and college students about the Hanford nuclear site cleanup. Usually when students are given

Brazilian nuclear experts get well-rounded education in Richland

By Dieter Bohrmann, Communications Consultant, Nuclear Waste ProgramA group of five nuclear experts from Brazil had a lot of serious questions when they visited Ecology’s Nuclear Waste Program in Richland last month. One less serious – but no less important – question was: “How is the quality of your wine?”A team of high-ranking officials in the Brazilian government’s nuclear energy sector

Ready, set… RODEO!

By Erika Holmes, Community Outreach & Environmental Education Specialist, Nuclear Waste Program

We’re prepped and psyched to hit the Benton Franklin Fair & Rodeo with some new activities for passersby. Come one, come all: kids; Hanford workers, neophytes, and haters alike; visitors from out of town. We want to talk to everyone.

This year, our booth really is “more than an 8-second ride”!

Old Hanford misconceptions come home to roost again

By Suzanne Dahl, Tank Waste Treatment manager, Nuclear Waste ProgramNothing is as frustrating as watching history repeat itself negatively.A July 10th Tri-City Herald article highlighted the findings from a recent federal advisory board’s report on tank waste treatment. The report recommends delaying a decision about additional low-activity waste treatment for another 3 to 5 years. Hanford’s

Nuke waste program experiment may improve state soil sampling standards

By Erika Holmes, Community Outreach & Environmental Education Specialist, Nuclear Waste ProgramLast week, we completed an exciting service-learning project with statistics students at Columbia Basin College. They helped Ecology’s Nuclear Waste Program do statistical analysis on soil contamination data from Hanford’s 200 Area. Our goal was to see if new multi-increment soil sampling produces

CBC stats students shed light on new soil sampling method

By Erika Holmes, Community Outreach & Environmental Education Specialist, Nuclear Waste ProgramEarly in 2011, I emailed just about every college instructor in the Tri-Cities area who taught a class that might be remotely related to Hanford. One of the replies came from Linda Rogers, a statistics teacher at Columbia Basin College in Pasco. She had two statistics classes in the spring and very much

Hanford drill tests emergency preparedness teams

By Dieter Bohrmann, Communications Consultant, Nuclear Waste Program Environmental cleanup at the Hanford nuclear site is complex and potentially hazardous. The U.S. Department of Energy as well as numerous state and local agencies have a stake in ensuring the work is done safely and protectively. A large accident at Hanford could threaten the health of not only workers, but potentially local and

Planets In the Playground

By Nancy Uziemblo, Geologist, Nuclear Waste ProgramWe talk about Hanford cleanup and actively promote care of the Earth… Why not extend it to the solar system? When asked to share a geology lesson, sometimes I get carried away and think big. So when Sangetta Goswami (wife of Dib Goswami, Hydrogeologist with the Nuclear Waste Program) requested my annual geology lesson for the 3rd graders at