Gov: 6 underground Hanford nuclear tanks leaking

[KoKo]

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/gov-6-underground-hanford-nu

Gov: 6 underground Hanford nuclear tanks leaking
By SHANNON DININNY | Associated Press – 12 hrs ago

YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) — Six underground tanks that hold a brew of radioactive and toxic waste at the nation's most contaminated nuclear site are leaking, federal and state officials said Friday.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said the leaking material poses no immediate risk to public safety or the environment because it would take a while — perhaps years — to reach groundwater.

But the leaking tanks raise new concerns about delays for emptying them and strike another blow to federal efforts to clean up south-central Washington's Hanford nuclear reservation, where successes often are overshadowed by delays, budget overruns and technological challenges.

Department of Energy spokeswoman Lindsey Geisler said there was no immediate health risk and said federal officials would work with Washington state to address the matter.

State officials just last week announced that one of Hanford's 177 underground tanks was leaking 150 to 300 gallons a year, posing a risk to groundwater and rivers. So far, nearby monitoring wells haven't detected higher radioactivity levels.

http://news.yahoo.com/gov-6-underground-hanford-nuclear-tanks-leaking-224021112.html

Read more: Link to source

[Pachamama]

1. Great.....just great....

I remember them all selling us on the idea that this was all perfectly safe....It may be in Washington, but this effects so many, especially Oregonians.....not to mention the reservation with Native Americans right there, the drinking water, etc....

[Ezlivin]

4. You are NOT supposed to remember

They say whatever the hell they think will get the project done. Once it's done, they move on with no looking back.

All. The. Fucking. Time.

[snagglepuss]

2. k & r

[glinda]

3. K & R n/t

[ancianita]

5. It's right in the middle of this wildlife refuge and a major tributary of the Hood River! wtf

[Pachamama]

6. You are correct.....

Follow that River west and you end up in Hood River, Downtown Portland and the Pacific Ocean...



But its supposed to be perfectly safe.....

[ancianita]

7. Welp, I know some straight up bullshit when I see it, and my esteem for Chu just dropped.

Fuck that milquetoast sellout. This is more "disaster training" from neolibs. Fuck this feel-good reporting.

[indie9197]

12. Who is Chu?

Please explain what you are talking about

[ancianita]

13. So sorry for the delay. Steven Chu made an official statement about it that

"it's not clear what's leaking or where it's leaking from." His statement is precise, technical and from a public information standpoint, totally stupid. This guy is supposed to be on top of improving our renewables implementation, as well as keeping on top of our energy waste storage, and this is the lame crap he comes up with. Anyway, here's more about him.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Secretary_of_Energy

[DeSwiss]

8. K&R

[center]

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[love_katz]

9. Kicking.

Between Fukushima and leaking Hanford tanks....

[Scruffy Rumbler]

10. FUCKERS!!!!!

Everyone of these assholes that promoted this and forced this project through should be forcible relocated there and they and their descendent's can spend their existence in cleaning it up....but of course it cannot be cleaned up! Where would they put it!?

[indie9197]

11. Am pretty sure they are all dead now...

That was 70 or so years ago. You are correct about the virtual impossibility of cleaning it up- the Tank Farms, that is. I was there (Hanford, not Tank Farms) for two years starting in 2009 when the stimulus money funded a lot of cleanup projects on Hanford. That money is gone now and they are back to minimum staffing for cleanup work.

Tank farm cleanup has progressed at a snail's pace because the Vitrification Plant is still 6+ years away from being operational and until it is operational there is no place to put the waste that is in the tanks. No guarantee that the Vit Plant technology will even work. They would like to stop the leaks but the logistics are formidable. Hopefully now that they are getting some unwanted publicity their budgets will increase enough to invest in some new technologies or whatever is needed to keep the situation from getting worse.