Hanford Nuclear Reservation Site, USA

One of the most advanced countries in the world in terms of development of the nuclear industry is the United States. Thus, it is not surprising that most of the contaminated areas are situated there. One of the world leaders in terms of the background radiation is Hanford Nuclear Reservation Site. That’s one of the world's largest industrial complexes that was used for the production of nuclear bombs and weapons-grade plutonium. The atomic bomb, which the US later dropped on Nagasaki, was made here.

Officially, huge stocks of plutonium produced at the industrial site were disused, but according to unofficial data 2/3 of nuclear waste remained at Hanford and were buried in the ground. That caused high radiation levels. The complex completely stopped working in 1977. At the present time, the territory of the industrial complex has 177 repositories housing more than 200 000 cubic meters of radioactive waste.

These mortuaries were built immediately after the factory was closed. Their life is not more than 20 years. Since 20 years after closure of the plant have long gone, an uncontrolled leakage from waste storages has led to a serious environmental pollution. Construction of a plant for processing liquid radioactive waste has already begun Near the Hanford Site, but it’s planned to complete its construction no earlier than 2019. According to unofficial reports, dozens of industry employees were seriously affected, but officially this information has not been disclosed. Next - McClure Radioactive Site