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Suggested Citation:"1 Introduction." National Research Council. 1996. The Hanford Tanks: Environmental Impacts and Policy Choices. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5403.
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1

INTRODUCTION

At the request of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Waste Management (letter of request, Appendix A), the Committee on Remediation of Buried and Tank Wastes (hereafter, the “committee”) conducted a general review and evaluation of the Hanford Site Tank Waste Remediation System (TWRS) Draft Environmental Impact Statement (hereafter, the “DEIS”; U.S. Department of Energy and Washington State Department of Ecology, 1996).

The study focused on the decisions facing the nation concerning management of the Hanford Site tank wastes rather than on details of the document. Consistent with the DOE request, the study did not review the extensive data presented in the DEIS, nor did it examine whether the data were properly incorporated into models. The committee assessed the overall approaches of the DEIS, including the means used to identify alternative remediation strategies and evaluate the risks, costs, and technical feasibility of the alternatives. This report addresses the adequacy of the definition of these alternatives; the characterization of the alternatives in terms of risk, environmental impact, and cost; and the path recommended in the DEIS for choosing and implementing a preferred alternative.

The report also provides a broader analysis of the overall approach taken by DOE and the Washington State Department of Ecology in the DEIS, consistent with the statement of task of the committee when it was established in 1992. The committee is charged to provide scientific and technical review and evaluation of the DOE program of remediation of the environment contaminated by buried and tank-contained defense high-level, transuranic, and mixed radioactive wastes, and to address critical generic and specific issues on a broad national (and global) perspective.

The report first gives some brief background information on the DEIS, followed by a discussion of the committee's findings which emphasizes the major concern over uncertainties. The recommendations chapter of this report stresses the phased decision strategy. The last chapter provides some suggestions for the final version of the TWRS Environmental Impact Statement.

Suggested Citation:"1 Introduction." National Research Council. 1996. The Hanford Tanks: Environmental Impacts and Policy Choices. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5403.
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The Hanford Site (also known as the Hanford Reservation) occupies approximately 1,450 km2 (560 square miles) along the Columbia River in south-central Washington, north of the city of Richland. The site was established by the federal government in 1943 to produce plutonium for nuclear weapons. Currently, the mission of the site, under the responsibility of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), is management of wastes generated by the weapons program and remediation of the environment contaminated by that waste. As part of that mission, DOE and the State of Washington Department of Ecology prepared the Hanford Site Tank Waste Remediation System Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS).

The Hanford Tanks is a general review of the DEIS. Its findings and recommendations are the subject of this report. Selection of a disposition plan for these wastes is a decision of national importance, involving potential environmental and health risks, technical challenges, and costs of tens to hundreds of billions of dollars. The last comprehensive analysis of these issues was completed 10 years ago, and several major changes in plans have occurred since. Therefore, the current reevaluation is timely and prudent. This report endorses the decision to prepare this new environmental impact statement, and in particular the decision to evaluate a wide range of alternatives not restricted to those encouraged by current regulatory policies.

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