Inslee: Hanford waste tanks could leak 1,000 gallons per year
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - Radioactive waste tanks may be leaking some 1,000 gallons per year at Hanford Nuclear Reservation, and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said Wednesday officials are still evaluating how to effectively remove the remaining material from the problematic tanks.
The 1,000-gallon figure is a rough estimate based on the early assessment of six identified leakers. Inslee said the leakage numbers are still being evaluated to determine exactly how much has been lost and how fast the waste is leaving the tanks.
Inslee said there's no available technology to plug the leaks, so federal and state officials are working to find the best available solution to remove the sludge. Inslee said that solution could come in weeks or months.
"We want to find the most expeditious way to get this job done," Inslee said.
Hanford has 177 aging tanks that store millions of gallons of radioactive sludge. Inslee said faulty data analysis meant officials did not properly catch signs of leaking before now, and Inslee expressed concern about the other tanks at the reservation.
Federal officials say there is no immediate threat to public safety and that they have not detected any discernible change in contamination levels in monitoring wells.
The federal government built the Hanford facility in south-central Washington at the height of World War II as part of the Manhattan Project to build the atomic bomb. Now the tanks at Hanford hold some 53 million gallons of highly radioactive waste.
Leakage has been a problem in the past, with an estimated 1 million gallons of radioactive liquid having already leaked, but the tanks were believed to have been stabilized in 2005.
The 1,000-gallon figure is a rough estimate based on the early assessment of six identified leakers. Inslee said the leakage numbers are still being evaluated to determine exactly how much has been lost and how fast the waste is leaving the tanks.
Inslee said there's no available technology to plug the leaks, so federal and state officials are working to find the best available solution to remove the sludge. Inslee said that solution could come in weeks or months.
"We want to find the most expeditious way to get this job done," Inslee said.
Hanford has 177 aging tanks that store millions of gallons of radioactive sludge. Inslee said faulty data analysis meant officials did not properly catch signs of leaking before now, and Inslee expressed concern about the other tanks at the reservation.
Federal officials say there is no immediate threat to public safety and that they have not detected any discernible change in contamination levels in monitoring wells.
The federal government built the Hanford facility in south-central Washington at the height of World War II as part of the Manhattan Project to build the atomic bomb. Now the tanks at Hanford hold some 53 million gallons of highly radioactive waste.
Leakage has been a problem in the past, with an estimated 1 million gallons of radioactive liquid having already leaked, but the tanks were believed to have been stabilized in 2005.
We should can the sludge and label it HNR Pudding and ship it to DC and see how much urgency the folks in our nations capital would place on fixing the problem/
It's Roosevelts fault. Dang environmental loving democrats
It may be all about somebody pockets the money and never does the work..Protect Portland water from fluoride http://www.cleanwaterportland.org/.
I wonder if the gov't can ask for a refund for the faulty data analysis?
If you look at some of these monitoring web sites like hanford watch, and the columbia river group, and read the timeline for this clean up project, it's pretty apparent that they never intended to clean it up in the first place. It's just another example of government job creation that produces nothing but that giant sucking sound of your tax dollars going down the toilet. Hope you all like to glow, it's not going to get any better.
Well, Obama made it part of his campaign (Sept. 2008) to shut down Yucca Mountain, and of course Harry Reid let all the union labor blow all that $100,000,000,000 of tax money before defunding it for environmental and political reasons, so, suck it up America. This IS the change you voted for. Now you've got to spend billions MORE dollars that could be going to Obamacare, mental health care, schools, bridges, streets, bike lanes.. and, who knows. Maybe they'll defund THAT one when it's done, too.
@Playanekes --- most of us will end up contaminated zombies. I doubt Obamacare will cover that.
@The Resistance @Playanekes Reason #4160 to have guns.