Hanford pilot project maps underground leaks

Hanford pilot project maps underground leaks

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Story Published: Feb 21, 2007 at 6:38 PM PDT

Story Updated: Feb 21, 2007 at 6:38 PM PDT

By Associated Press

RICHLAND, Wash. (AP) - Hanford nuclear reservation workers are using car battery electricity to map the path of radioactive and chemicals that leaked from underground waste tanks.

In a demonstration project, C-H-2M Hill Hanford Group is using a process called high-resolution resistivity to map contamination at the federal nuclear reservation's tank farms.

Electrodes in the soil use the conductivity of contaminated soil to see where radioactive and chemical wastes leaked from underground steel tanks that reached the water table.

Historical documents tell Hanford officials what wastes may be in the soil and where they are.

But the new technology gives more information that is used to come up with clean up plans.

C-H-2M Hill officials say sending electrical current through the ground provides a map of contamination without excavation or drilling holes that can expose workers to hazardous chemicals or radiation.

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