Hanford Cleanup Still Has a Long Way To Go
by Larry West

This article was originally published on About.com

The Hanford Nuclear Reservation on the windswept plains of southeast Washington state is the most polluted place in the Western Hemisphere. After decades of weapons-grade plutonium production at Hanford, the soil and groundwater at the site are heavily polluted with massive amounts of toxic chemicals and radioactive materials. If contaminated groundwater seeps into the nearby Columbia River, the resulting downstream pollution would threaten the health of untold numbers of plants, fish and people.

Although some progress is being made, particularly groundwater cleanup in certain areas, some regulators and activists fear that the government is making the Hanford cleanup a low priority and spending too little money to get the job done.