PNNL

Abstract

The Columbia River at the Hanford Site is a regionally important refugium for overwintering birds. Some of the river shoreline has been designated by the U.S. Department of Energy for environmental clean-up following past production of materials for nuclear weapons. We evaluated the effects of soil remediation on winter birds at six inactive nuclear reactor areas. Remediation activities consisted of daily removal of approximately 1,035 t of contaminated soil from previously herbicided and denuded areas located between 30 m and 400 m and in partial line-of-sight of the river shoreline. Remediation activities had no apparent effect on numbers of riverine or terrestrial birds using adjacent undisturbed shoreline and riparian habitat.