RICHLAND, Wash. - More than 330 visitors from across the country checked a Hanford Site visit off their summer bucket lists this year. The tours are part of EM’s outreach program to educate the public about cleanup at the site.
“Folks come out here because they want to know what is going on at Hanford," said Rich Buel, who oversees the tour program for the EM Richland Operations Office (RL). “These tours are our chance to show cleanup progress and educate an audience that’s eager to learn."
The 20 tours offered this year provided visitors the opportunity to look firsthand at environmental cleanup efforts, projects, and facility operations. The tour route included stops at the Cold Test Facility, a scaled version of one of Hanford's 177 underground nuclear waste storage tanks, and the 200 West Pump and Treat facility, one of the largest groundwater treatment facilities in the DOE complex.
Tour participants also received briefings on the sludge removal project and rode the tour bus through the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant construction site.
The tours are facilitated by RL contractor Mission Support Alliance, and online registration for next year’s tour season will begin in the spring.
-Contributor: Kelly Rae
Source: U.S. Dept. of Energy, Office of Environmental Management
