Inventive Employees Build Replica, Tools to Improve Groundwater Cleanup

RICHLAND, Wash. – More than 2 billion gallons of groundwater are treated at the Hanford Site each year to remove contaminants and protect the nearby Columbia River. Treating a large volume of groundwater requires workers with EM Richland Operations Office contractor CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Company to maintain and improve the function of equipment at five pump-and-treat facilities. This video explains how workers used their ingenuity to build a replica, or “mockup,” of a treatment vessel and fabricate the tools needed to make adjustments in a tight space. The adjustments allow for more groundwater to be treated, more contaminants — like hexavalent chromium — to be removed from the groundwater, and more protection for the river.