The Hanford Site is now immobilizing radioactive waste in glass: a process known as vitrification. PNNL contributed 60 years of materials science expertise—and is providing operational support—to help the nation meet this cleanup milestone.

PNNL researchers have found yet another way to turn trash into treasure: using algal biochar, a waste production from hydrothermal liquefaction, as a supplementary material for cement.

PNNL researchers continue to deliver high-quality, high-impact research on radioactive waste and nuclear materials management, earning “Papers of Note” and “Superior Paper” awards.

PNNL researchers showcased subsurface sampling and remediation expertise at the 2025 Federal Remediation Technologies Roundtable.

Jeff Burghardt is the chair of the technical program for the 59th US Rock Mechanics/Geomechanics Symposium of the American Rock Mechanics Association.

RemPlex and IAEA convene international leaders to tackle recruitment and retention in complex environmental cleanup efforts.

Led by interns from multiple DOE programs, a newly expanded dataset allows researchers to use easy-to-obtain measurements to determine the elemental composition of a promising carbon storage mineral.

New methodology can evaluate the potential for carbon storage and critical mineral recovery in undercharacterized geological settings.

A new database allows researchers to connect lattice parameters and composition in olivine.

PNNL researchers earned five Papers of Note, 17 Superior Papers, and one poster award for their environmental remediation, radioactive waste, and nuclear energy-related presentations.

Data from SOSAT web tool informs site selection and management for the subsurface injection of captured carbon dioxide.

PNNL undergraduate intern Madeline Bartels leads research to verify and quantify carbon mineralization at an unprecedented small scale.

To improve our ability to “see” into the subsurface, scientists need to understand how different mineral surfaces respond to electrical signals at the molecular scale.

Frederick Day-Lewis, Lab Fellow and chief geophysicist at PNNL, was named the 2024 recipient of the Geological Society of America Public Service Award.

A PNNL Deep Vadose Zone Program publication that shows ferrihydrite helps protect groundwater is featured on the cover of ACS Earth and Space Chemistry.

Data scientist at PNNL receives the Environmental and Engineering Geophysical Society and Geonics Limited Early Career Award for work with geophysical modeling and subsurface inversion codes.

The SHASTA program is doing a deep dive on subsurface hydrogen storage in underground caverns, helping to lay the foundation for a robust hydrogen economy.

The Deep Vadose Zone program leads a treatability study for subsurface remediation of the Hanford Site’s Central Plateau.

PNNL’s Jeff Burghardt, joins Sanford Underground Research Facility’s User Association Executive Committee.

Researchers are developing and deploying solutions to reduce risk and increase efficiency while keeping people and the environment safe.