Editing Columbia River (section)

=== Pollution ===

In southeastern Washington, a {{convert|50|mi|km|adj=on}} stretch of the river passes through the [[Hanford Site]], established in 1943 as part of the [[Manhattan Project]]. The site served as a [[plutonium]] production complex, with nine [[nuclear reactor]]s and related facilities along the banks of the river. From 1944 to 1971, pump systems drew cooling water from the river and, after treating this water for use by the reactors, returned it to the river. Before being released back into the river, the used water was held in large tanks known as retention basins for up to six hours. Longer-lived [[isotope]]s were not affected by this retention, and several [[becquerel|terabecquerels]] entered the river every day. By 1957, the eight plutonium production reactors at Hanford dumped a daily average of 50,000&nbsp;[[Curie (unit)|curie]]s of radioactive material into the Columbia.<ref>{{cite web |last = Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility |title = Hanford History |year = 2007 |url = http://www.psr.org/chapters/washington/hanford/hanford-history.html |access-date = April 4, 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170619003042/http://www.psr.org/chapters/washington/hanford/hanford-history.html |archive-date = June 19, 2017 |url-status = dead |df = mdy-all }}</ref> These releases were kept secret by the federal government until the release of declassified documents in the late 1980s.<ref name="HHIN">{{cite web |author = Hanford Health Information Network |year = 2000 |title = An Overview of Hanford and Radiation Health Effects |url = http://www.doh.wa.gov/hanford/publications/overview/overview.html |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100823040735/http://www.doh.wa.gov/hanford/publications/overview/overview.html |archive-date = August 23, 2010 }}</ref> Radiation was measured downstream as far west as the Washington and Oregon coasts.<ref>{{cite news |title = Radiation Flowed 200 Miles to Sea, Study Finds |work = The New York Times |url = https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE0D8173FF934A25754C0A964958260 |date = July 17, 1992 |access-date = January 29, 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080610175545/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE0D8173FF934A25754C0A964958260 |archive-date = June 10, 2008 |url-status = live }}</ref>

[[File:Hanford N Reactor adjusted.jpg|thumb|left|alt=A cluster of industrial structures lie on a flat plain by a big river. The structures include a few low rectangular buildings, many smaller buildings, cylindrical tanks of varied sizes, and a tall smokestack. Several roads connect the cluster to other parts of the plain. Smoke or steam rises from two places further upriver.|Nuclear reactors at the [[Hanford Site]] along the river]]

The nuclear reactors were decommissioned at the end of the [[Cold War]], and the Hanford site is the focus of one of the world's largest [[environmental remediation|environmental cleanup]], managed by the [[United States Department of Energy|Department of Energy]] under the oversight of the [[Washington Department of Ecology]] and the [[United States Environmental Protection Agency|Environmental Protection Agency]].<ref>{{cite web |last = U.S. Department of Energy |author-link = United States Department of Energy |title = Hanford Site |year = 2015 |url = http://energy.gov/em/hanford-site |access-date = September 30, 2015 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151001090714/http://energy.gov/em/hanford-site |archive-date = October 1, 2015 |url-status = live }}</ref> Nearby aquifers contain an estimated 270&nbsp;billion&nbsp;US&nbsp;gallons (1&nbsp;billion&nbsp;m<sup>3</sup>) of groundwater contaminated by [[high-level]] [[nuclear waste]] that has leaked out of Hanford's underground storage tanks.<ref name="fissiontrip">{{cite news |last = Wolman |first = David |title = Fission Trip |work = Wired Magazine |date = April 2007 |page = 78 }}</ref> {{As of|2008}}, 1&nbsp;million&nbsp;US&nbsp;gallons (3,785&nbsp;m<sup>3</sup>) of highly radioactive waste is traveling through groundwater toward the Columbia River. This waste is expected to reach the river in 12 to 50&nbsp;years if cleanup does not proceed on schedule.<ref>{{cite web |last = Washington Department of Ecology |author-link = Washington Department of Ecology |title = Hanford Quick Facts |url = http://www.ecy.wa.gov/features/hanford/hanfordfacts.html |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070812061411/http://www.ecy.wa.gov/features/hanford/hanfordfacts.html |archive-date = August 12, 2007 }}</ref>

In addition to concerns about nuclear waste, numerous other pollutants are found in the river. These include chemical pesticides, bacteria, arsenic, [[Polychlorinated dibenzodioxins|dioxins]], and [[polychlorinated biphenyl]]s (PCB).<ref name="swainswim">{{cite news |title = Activist Plans an Epic Swim |first = Ben |last = Jacklet |work = The Portland Tribune |date = July 24, 2001 |url = http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/story.php?story_id=5243 |access-date = September 16, 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110608041803/http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/story.php?story_id=5243 |archive-date = June 8, 2011 |url-status = dead }}</ref>

Studies have also found significant levels of toxins in fish and the waters they inhabit within the basin. Accumulation of toxins in fish threatens the survival of fish species, and human consumption of these fish can lead to health problems. Water quality is also an important factor in the survival of other wildlife and plants that grow in the Columbia River drainage basin. The states, indigenous tribes, and federal government are all engaged in efforts to restore and improve the water, land, and air quality of the Columbia River drainage basin and have committed to work together to accomplish critical ecosystem restoration efforts. Several cleanup efforts are underway, including [[Superfund]] projects at Portland Harbor, Hanford, and Lake Roosevelt.<ref>{{cite web |last = U.S. Environmental Protection Agency |title = Columbia River Basin: A National Priority |year = 2008 |url = http://yosemite.epa.gov/r10/ecocomm.nsf/Columbia/Columbia |access-date = April 4, 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061028070047/http://yosemite.epa.gov/r10/ecocomm.nsf/Columbia/Columbia |archive-date = October 28, 2006 |url-status = dead }}</ref>

In early 2022, thousands of protestors demonstrated a demand for heightened cleanup efforts within the Hanford Nuclear Site. In June 2022, nearly 200 protestors attended the Hanford Journey Event, an educational tour which allowed those concerned about the Hanford Nuclear Site to learn about proposed cleanup efforts.The Hanford Journey Event was co-sponsored by the Yakama Nation. Davis Washines, a representative from the Yakama Nation Department of Natural Resources, alluded to "[the Hanford cleanup] has a lot of meaning to us, to our people. And not just for us, our personal safety, but to this ground, to the water, because they were here before we were".<ref>{{Cite web |last=PETTINGILL |first=REBECCA |date=2022-06-29 |title=Hope for Hanford |url=https://columbiabasinherald.com/news/2022/jun/29/hope-hanford/ |access-date=2024-05-02 |website=Columbia Basin Herald |language=en}}</ref> Congress responded in 2022 by increasing the budget for the Hanford clean-up efforts, after thousands of comments were sent to federal authorities to prevent high-level waste storage at Hanford.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Serres |first=Dan |date=February 13, 2023 |title=Standing Up For Clean Up At Hanford |url=https://www.columbiariverkeeper.org/news/2023/2/standing-cleanup-hanford |access-date=2024-05-02 |website=www.columbiariverkeeper.org}}</ref>

Starting between April and June 2025, the Hanford Nuclear Site is expected to melt radioactive wastes combined with glass flakes at a rate of 21 metric tons per day.  The melters being utilized have a lifespan of five years, which requires their replacement in 2030. As of 2023, the Hanford site cleanup project is sixteen years behind schedule. One of the harmful chemicals located in the Hanford site, strontium-90, reached over 2,000 times the standard concentration for drinking water in August 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stang |first=John |date=December 5, 2023 |title=At long last, Hanford poised to clean up nuclear waste with glass {{!}} Cascade PBS News |url=https://crosscut.com/briefs/2023/12/long-last-hanford-poised-clean-nuclear-waste-glass |access-date=2024-05-02 |website=crosscut.com |language=en}}</ref>

Timber industry activity further contaminates river water, for example in the increased sediment runoff that results from [[clearcutting|clearcuts]]. The [[Northwest Forest Plan]], a piece of federal legislation from 1994, mandated that timber companies consider the environmental impacts of their practices on rivers like the Columbia.<ref>{{cite news |title = Bush Change to NW Forest Plan Would Ease Logging |first = J.R. |last = Pegg |date = November 26, 2007 |work = Environment News Service |url = http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/nov2002/2002-11-26-10.asp |access-date = April 1, 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080517002243/http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/nov2002/2002-11-26-10.asp |archive-date = May 17, 2008 |url-status = live }}</ref>

On July 1, 2003, Christopher Swain became the first person to swim the Columbia River's entire length, to raise public awareness about the river's environmental health.<ref name="swainswim" /><ref name="wwswain">{{cite news |title = Swimming to Astoria |first = Patty |last = Wentz |date = May 29, 2002 |work = Willamette Week |url = http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-1048-swimming_to_astoria.html |access-date = November 22, 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160303222821/http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-1048-swimming_to_astoria.html |archive-date = March 3, 2016 |url-status = dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title = Challenge Sets Off Global Ripples |first = Jennifer |last = Anderson |url = http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/story.php?story_id=25157 |work = The Portland Tribune |date = July 9, 2004 |access-date = June 7, 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110608041835/http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/story.php?story_id=25157 |archive-date = June 8, 2011 |url-status = dead }}</ref>

Throughout 2019, a series of wildfires were ongoing in Oregon on indigenous land belonging to the Umpqua Tribe. The Umpqua Tribe lost possession to their former territory in 1853, which is now known as Elliott State Forest. Elliott State Forest has been the subject of many deforestation initiatives over past years. In December 2018, the Umpqua tribe settled in Oregon after purchasing land from the Bureau of Land Management. Michael Rondeau, a descendent of the Umpqua tribe, expressed his contradictory emotions on the acquisition, stating that he felt "sadness that my grandparents and great aunts and uncles and beyond that did not have a day of recognition". On July 14, 2019, in the Milepost 97 wildfires, 25% of the Umpqua's forest territory burned down.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Anna V. |title=A tale of restored tribal lands turns bittersweet in the wake of an Oregon wildfire {{!}} Cascade PBS News |url=https://crosscut.com/environment/2019/08/tale-restored-tribal-lands-turns-bittersweet-wake-oregon-wildfire |access-date=2024-05-02 |website=crosscut.com |language=en}}</ref>

On March 7, 2022, Columbia Riverkeeper, a climate advocacy group, sued Weyerhaeuser, a timber and forest products company, for possible contamination of the Columbia River. Columbia Riverkeeper accused Weyerhaeuser of releasing harmful levels of runoff through their Longview Mill into the Columbia River. Furthermore, Columbia Riverkeeper stated that runoff could result in harmful bacteria growth. As of May 6, 2022, Weyerhaeuser reached a settlement with Columbia Riverkeeper. Weyerhaeuser was determined to contribute US$600,000 for river restoration and proposed potential fines of up to US$5,000 for each subsequent act of pollution between 2023 and 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Brynelson |first=Troy |date=May 10, 2022 |title=Environmental group, timber firm Weyerhaeuser to settle over pollution claims at Longview timber mill |url=https://www.opb.org/article/2022/05/10/weyerhaeuser-timber-producers-longview-washington-columbia-riverkeeper-environmental-group/ |access-date=2024-05-02 |website=opb |language=en}}</ref>