[SIZE=2]The Hanford Site building used to hold more than a thousand tons of nuclear fuel and radioactive sludge.

With 240 workers on site, CH2M Hill is working to demolish the K-East Basin. Removal of the basin is a high priority because it's just 400 yards from the Columbia River.

This isn't your typical building demolition like you'd see in a city. The concrete walls were made with asbestos siding, and it was built to last forever.

"Eventually what you'll see is the reactor will go into an Interim Safe Storage. We will continue demolition of the building and still have to go 40 feet down and deal with the contamination below the ground," said Mike Swartz, Project Mgr CH2M Hill.

Underground contamination cleanup is extremely important, just 400 yards away is the Columbia River.

"Chemical or radiological contaminants if they were to seep through the ground and end up in the river, can certainly affect aquatic life and I guess ultimately, if it was bad enough, the water intakes for the City of Richland," said Richard Campbell, Environmental Protection Agency.

In the next ten years 81 other buildings will be torn down and 128 waste sites will get cleaned up.[/SIZE]