State removes portion of Hanford from hazardous list

Published 1:34 pm Thursday, September 10, 2015

RICHLAND— For the first time, the state of Washington has removed a portion of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation from its list of hazardous sites.

The Tri-City Herald reports that the portion is called Hanford 1100 Area and covers 1.2 square miles. The area was once used for vehicle maintenance and general support of Hanford.

Cleanup on the 1100 Area was among the earliest done and was completed under the federal Superfund program in 1996. The cleanup included battery acid, paints and antifreeze, plus underground tanks holding antifreeze, gasoline and oil.

Hanford for decades made plutonium for nuclear weapons and now is engaged in cleaning up the nation’s largest collection of nuclear waste.