Technical Review
The Groundwater Remediation Project uses peer review activities to augment
its programs. The Project forms peer review panels on an ad hoc
basis to address specific issues. The Department of Energy and Hanford Site
contractors, with input from regulators and stakeholders, form
peer review panels to disseminate information, answer questions
pertaining to operations, identify new technologies, and evaluate practices
and technologies. One or more steering committees will be formed to help
determine the scopes for the peer review panels. Input from various contractors,
agencies, and stakeholders will be sought. Topics and issues will be selected
which support more expeditious and effective closure of the site.
Current Technical Review Needs
The current needs for the continuation of these peer activities include the necessity of
dissemination of technical information to the broader scientific community and other interested
parties, the answers to specific questions pertaining to current or future activities, the
identification of technological innovations that would be appropriate, and the evaluation of
the effectiveness of these technological innovations. The people who are working on these
problems at Hanford frequently present papers at professional meetings to their peers for
comment and evaluation. They also become involved in working groups and panels in the areas
of their activities at Hanford. They also exchange ideas with peers in other countries, as
well as this country, through collaborations and consultations.
Past Technical Review Activities
The work at the Hanford Site has had a long history of technical review activities, from the early
activities by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and its staff's presentations at various
scientific forums to the current activities by the various site contractors to evaluate critical
elements of the clean-up effort. Many of these activities included internal review committees
and collaborations among experts working on the site. External reviews included presentations
at professional conferences, involvement in national and international working groups on various
topics, and collaborations with other experts not directly associated with the Hanford Site.
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