Hazardous Waste
Hazardous Waste
At hazardous waste sites around the state, we monitor and conduct research on the sources, transport, extent and fate of contaminants in groundwater, surface water, and soils to better inform site, state, tribal and federal managers of risks and potential remediation strategies. For example, WAWSC hydrologists, chemists, geologist, engineers, and modelers utilize numerous tools and approaches, like ground-penetrating radar, tracer and age dating analyses, and geochemical modeling, to assess the status, extent and future conditions in groundwater at a number of Superfund sites and military facilities within the state. Staff scientists have invented new methods for characterizing the amount of contaminated suspended sediment in a river that may re-contaminate a downstream Superfund site as well as specialized samplers to characterize water chemistry at the groundwater/surface water interface downstream of a contaminated site. All of these efforts are designed to help managers evaluate the effectiveness of proposed and on-going clean-up activities.
Filter Total Items: 14
Hanford
Located on 586 square miles in southeastern Washington, the U.S. Department of Energy's (USDOE) Hanford Site was established during World War II as part of the Manhattan Project to produce plutonium for nuclear weapons. As a result of plutonium processing and operation of nine nuclear reactors, large volumes of liquid wastes have been generated and discharged to the ground. The USDOE operates a...
Navy Investigations and Technical Oversight
The U.S. Navy is conducting environmental work at various sites on Navy installations in Washington, Alaska, and other northwestern states under mandates of the CERCLA and RCRA environmental regulations. This work is generally performed by private firms under contract to the Navy, commonly focusing on small areas near specific waste-disposal or spill sites. To assist the Navy with the...
River Loads into Puget Sound
The Issue: Puget Sound, WA, is the second largest estuary in the United States and its unique geology, climate, and nutrient-rich waters sustain biologically-productive terrestrial, coastal, and marine habitats. Development and associated human activities have significantly degraded the Sound, causing declines in fish and wildlife populations, water-quality issues, and losses of critical habitats...
Coal Transport
The Issue: Federal and state natural resource managers and Tribes are concerned with the environmental impacts from unintentional release of coal dust from train cars during transport through the Northwest. Proposed new coal export terminals in Washington and Oregon would substantially increase rail traffic through the Northwest and the release of coal dust to the environment. How USGS will help...
NAS Whidbey Transport Model
The Issue: The carcinogenic compound 1,4-dioxane was recently (2003) found in groundwater in the vicinity of the former landfill at Area 6, Operable Unit 1, Naval Air Station (NAS) Whidbey Island, Island County, Washington. The current extent and potential for further migration of 1,4-dioxane in the vicinity of Area 6 are not well known. Also at area 6, the Navy is exploring options to remove...
Sources of Mercury in Sinclair Inlet Project
The sediments in Sinclair Inlet within Puget Sound, Washington have elevated concentrations of a number of organic compounds and elements including mercury. Following remediation actions under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), it was determined that there is insufficient information to determine whether remedial action taken at OU B Marine with...
Lake Roosevelt-Upper Columbia River
Lake Roosevelt was formed on the Columbia River by the construction of the Grand Coulee Dam, and extends a total of 217 km to within 24 km of Canada The lake is heavily contaminated with trace elements that were discharged as slag material from a smelter in Canada; approximately 360 metric tons were discharged per day from 1900 to 1998. A study by the USGS reported that Lake Roosevelt bed...
Fort Lewis
Fort Lewis is a 135-square-mile U.S. Army post in Pierce County, Washington, located just south of Tacoma. The Environmental and Natural Resources Division of Fort Lewis wishes to evaluate the effectiveness of the current and potential remediation activities at the Logistics Center, a regional maintenance facility at Fort Lewis where pump-and-treat systems are being used to remediate chlorinated...
Urban Pesticide
Salmon and other aquatic life in the Puget Sound Basin need a healthy habitat to survive and to recover from historical declines, both in urban and agricultural settings. Yet, USGS studies in 1997 and 1998 found that more pesticides were found in urban streams than in agricultural streams, and that 9 out of 10 samples from urban streams had concentrations of insecticides exceeding levels deemed...
Puget Parks
Snow and ice are major sources of water for plants and animals in the parks and forests of the Puget Sound Basin, including Olympic, North Cascades, and Mt. Rainier National Parks, and Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie and Olympic National Forests. In the North Cascades National Park alone, there are more than 300 small glaciers that feed 245 mountain lakes and a myriad of streams, wetlands, and aquifers. The...
Columbia Basin GWMA
More than 80 percent of drinking water in the mid-Columbia Basin comes from ground water. In Adams, Franklin, and Grant Counties, nitrate concentrations in water from about 20 percent of all drinking-water wells exceed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency maximum contaminant level for nitrate. The three counties jointly formed the Columbia Basin Ground Water Management Area (GWMA) in February...
Lake Whatcom
Lake Whatcom, a large, natural lake in Whatcom County, is a source of drinking water for about 86,000 in the Bellingham area and a place for recreation. Elevated levels of mercury have been found in fish and sediment sampled from the lake. Possible sources of the mercury include atmospheric deposition, tributary discharges, landfills, dumpsites, and local mining operations. To serve the need in...