KENNEWICK — The public is invited to ask questions and learn about the Hanford Site cleanup during an in-person meeting at the ballroom of the Red Lion Hotel Kennewick Columbia Center on Tuesday, Dec. 5, from 6-8 p.m., according to a Department of Ecology announcement Monday.

Doors open for the Hanford Dialogue at 5:30 p.m. according to the announcement. The Tri-Party Agreement agencies involved in cleanup — the U.S. Department of Energy (ED), the Washington DOE and the Environmental Protection Agency — will host this conversation to inform and take questions from the public about ongoing work at the site, said the statement. 

During the meeting, TPA leadership will provide a brief welcome, followed by breakout sessions with agency staff to discuss and answer questions about the latest Hanford cleanup projects. 

The Hanford Site, located at the North end of Benton County, produced more than 70 tons of plutonium from World War II through the Cold War, according to the announcement. When plutonium production ceased in 1989, the site’s mission shifted to the environmental cleanup of significant chemical and radioactive waste left behind. 

The Department of Energy is the federal agency responsible for Hanford and its cleanup, while the DOE and EPA regulate the cleanup. The announcement said participants can ask agency experts about the Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste approach for tank waste treatment, current remedial cleanup work and look ahead at the Hanford cleanup mission.

The venue is located at 1101 N. Columbia Center Blvd B. For more information on the agenda and Hanford Site, visit www.hanford.gov.