Reduce Infiltration of Existing Waste Sites
An action to limit the infiltration of water through waste sites, burial grounds, and tank farm waste
management has been the use of berms. These berms reduce the potential for water to pond on top of
these facilities and flush contaminants from the soil column into the groundwater or for water to become
contaminated by a surface contamination area and runoff from the waste site and contaminate adjacent land.
Water can often pond on a waste site as a result of an intense rainstorm or as a result of rapidly melting
snow. Although precipitation at Hanford is low on an annual basis, much of the total infiltration is a
result of these types of events.
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Wells that do not meet regulatory standards for construction will be eliminated to
reduce the potential for them to act as a pathway for contaminated water to reach the
groundwater.
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Actions to be taken to reduce infiltration at existing waste sites will be similar to the actions
being completed in and around the tank farms. Berms will be constructed to prevent surface water from
flowing onto waste sites, and areas around waste sites will be graded to allow snowmelt and other
precipitation to run off the sites, rather than infiltrate. This action can be completed by the end
of 2004.
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