Also known as the Radiochemical Processing Laboratory (RPL), the 325 Building is located in Hanford’s 300 Area. It was originally designed to provide space for radiochemical research to support Hanford projects and programs. Today the RPL remains a fully operational facility of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), where scientists and engineers conduct research related to national missions in environmental management, nuclear energy, nuclear nonproliferation, homeland security, and science.
The RPL mission is to create and implement innovative processes in support of these national mission areas. Some of the work taking place at the RPL involves advancements in the cleanup of radiological and chemical wastes, the processing and disposal of nuclear fuels, detection and forensics of nuclear material, and the production and delivery of medical isotopes.
This facility, along with PNNL’s Applied Process Engineering Laboratory and the William Wiley Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, is critical to the PNNL mission of research, development and deployment of solutions to environmental and health problems.