Background

The 890-square-mile Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (USDOE) site is located in southeastern Idaho, near Idaho Falls. The Atomic Energy Commission set up the National Reactor Testing Station on the grounds in 1949 to build, test and operate various nuclear reactors, fuel processing plants and support facilities. Prior to that, parts of the site were used by the Department of Defense (DoD). The Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INL) consists of a number of major facilities that contribute contaminants to and draw water from the Snake River Plain Aquifer. Site activities also included the discharge of liquid wastes to several unlined ponds ...
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