Drilling and sampling highly radioactive contaminated soil at the 200-BP-1 Operable Unit, Hanford Site, Richland, Washington

The Hanford Site, Richland, Washington, contains over 1,500 identified waste sites and four groundwater plumes that will be characterized and remediated over the next 30 years. In support of the Hanford Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order, the US Department of Energy has initiated a remedial investigation/feasibility study at the 200-DP-1 Operable Unit. The 200-BP-1 remedial investigation is the first Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 investigation on the Hanford Site that involves drilling into highly radioactive and chemically contaminated soils. The initial phase of the site characterization is oriented toward determining the nature and extent of any contamination present in the vicinity of the 200-BP-1 Operable Unit. The major focus of the Phase I remedial investigation is the drilling and sampling of 10 inactive waste disposal units that received low level radioactive liquid waste.