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Seasonal thermal energy storage (STES) involves storing thermal energy, such as winter chill, surrmer heat, and industrial waste heat, for future use in heating and cooling buildings or for industrial processes. Widespread development and implementation of STES would significantly reduce the need to generate primary energy in the U.S. In fact, 1980 data indicate that STES is suitable for providing 5 to 10% of the nation's energy with major contributions in the commercial, industrial, and residential sectors. Aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES) is predicted to be the most cost-effective technology for seasonal storage of low-grade thermal energy. Approximately 60% of the U.S. is underlain with aquifers potentially suitable for underground energy storage. Under sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Energy, Pacific Northwest Laboratory (operated by Battelle Memorial Institute) has managed numerical modeling, laboratory studies, evaluation of environmental and institutional issues, and field testing of ATES at several sites. This report describes the Underground Energy Storage Program 1 s efforts to characterize physicochemical processes at DOE 1 s ATES Field Test Facility (FTF) located on the University of Minnesota campus at St. Paul , Minnesota. Experimental efforts include: field ,tests at the St. Paul FTF to characterize fluid injectability and to evaluate the effectiveness of fluid-conditioning equipment, geochemical studies to investigate chemical reactions resulting from alterations to the aquifer 1 S thermal regime, and laboratory tests on sandstone core from the site. Each experimental area is discussed and results obtained thus far are reported.

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Nuclear and nonnuclear industrial and research activities have been conducted on the Hanford reservation since 1943. Materials originating from these activities may enter the surrounding environment through releases of airborne and liquid effluents and solid wastes. Concern about the environmental effects of these releases has evolved over the past four decades into a comprehensive onsite and offsite monitoring program. Today, environmental monitoring to assess potential impacts of released materials includes field sampling and chemical and physical analyses of air, ground and surface water, fish and wildlife, soil, vegetation, and foodstuffs. This paper reviews the history of Hanford operations and summarizes the current environmental monitoring program and its major findings. Mathematical models based on monitoring data show that radiation doses to people living near the Hanford site are well below existing regulatory standards. Only trace amounts of radionuclides from Hanford have been detected in the offsite environment.