Hanford Challenge

Mission

To help create a future for the Hanford nuclear site that secures human health and safety, advances accountability, and promotes a sustainable environmental legacy.

Description

Hanford Challenge exists to transform the Hanford Site's toxic nuclear legacy into a model of safe and effective cleanup.  Hanford produced plutonium for nuclear weapons for over 40 years and is now considered the most contaminated nuclear site in the western hemisphere. The site contains over 56 million gallons of high-level radioactive waste in leaky underground storage tanks, trenches of buried waste, contaminated groundwater plumes, nine reactors, and hundreds of plutonium processing facilities. Hanford's radioactive and toxic chemical contamination is a major concern as the site sits along a 50-mile stretch of the Columbia River, which is a significant source of water for drinking, recreation, agriculture, and various ecosystems in the Pacific Northwest. Hanford Challenge monitors the cleanup progress, advocates for workers and whistleblowers, and demands a cleanup that is protective of the environment and future generations.