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Washington suing U.S. over slow cleanup at Hanford – Breaking News From Oregon & Portland – Oregonlive.com

Washington suing U.S. over slow cleanup at Hanfordby Scott Learn, Oregon News  November 25, 2008, Washington state has decided to sue the federal government over its slow cleanup of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, arguing that the window is closing to safely remove Hanford’s 53 million gallons of radioactive waste from storage tanks before they leak.Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire announced today that the state would sue the Department of Energy, breaking an agreement between the state, the federal agency and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency signed in 1989.The waste stored in 177 tanks at the former weapons production site poses “dire consequences” for the Columbia River, the state’s lawsuit notice said, with at least 67 single-wall tanks already leaking……………………the cost has ballooned from $4.3 billion to $12.2 billion, and the startup date has been pushed from 2011 to 2019, with treatment of wastes due to be completed by 2047. But Washington state says it could take until 2079 to finish the job.

Removal of waste from 149 leak-prone single-wall tanks has also been delayed, the state says. Leaking tanks have already released at least 1 million gallons of waste, some of which has seeped into the river. And the spilled radioactive waste will persist in the environment for tens of thousands of years.

Washington suing U.S. over slow cleanup at Hanford – Breaking News From Oregon & Portland – Oregonlive.com

Tags: nuclear, antinuclear, radiation, uranium

November 26, 2008 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | wastes