Hanford Sites 300 Area Accelerated Closure Plan

For nearly 50 years, the 300 Area just 1.5 miles north of Richland, Washington, and along the west bank of the Columbia River, was the center of Hanford's radiological research and fuel fabrication. That activity resulted in highly contaminated facilities, a large inventory of radioactive materials, and contaminated soil waste sites. One of the highest Hanford cleanup priorities is to safely deactivate contaminated buildings, and ship radioactive and hazardous waste out of the 300 Area to approved storage--away from Richland and the Columbia River. Major progress has been made and significant quantities of radioactive material have been moved out of the 300 Area. However, much remains to be done and the 300 Area Accelerated Closure Project Plan (300 Area ACP) provides a faster, more cost effective way to accomplish the cleanup.