nuclear-news

Costly cleanup at notorious Hanford Nuclear Site, Washington

the notorious distinction of being one of the most contaminated nuclear sites in the Western Hemisphere……………

Federal funds aim to clean up nuclear wasteland By Patrick Oppmann, CNN January 29, 2010

— The federal government has set aside nearly $2 billion in stimulus funds to clean up Washington state’s decommissioned Hanford nuclear site, once the center of the country’s Cold War plutonium production.

That is more stimulus funding than some entire states have received, which has triggered a debate as to whether the money is being properly spent.

The facility sprawls across approximately 600 square miles of south-central Washington, an area roughly half the size of Rhode Island. It was built in the 1940s as part of the “Manhattan Project” to develop the first atomic weapon during World War II……………..

During the Cold War, Hanford became a main source of plutonium production for the nation’s nuclear weapons program.

Decades of improper radioactive waste disposal earned Hanford the notorious distinction of being one of the most contaminated nuclear sites in the Western Hemisphere……………

There are still millions of gallons of untreated contaminated groundwater, hundreds of buildings used for plutonium enrichment that need to be torn down and underground tanks that are full of radioactive sludge……………..

Hanford won’t be decontaminated quickly. The workers have to suit up three to four times a day in protective gear. They break down contaminated equipment through a “glove box,” allowing them to disassemble the equipment a room away through lead-lined gloves. Each time a worker removes the gloves, a colleague must check for radiation exposure.

Federal funds aim to clean up nuclear wasteland – CNN.com

January 30, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive