Hanford

New Energy Secretary: Nuclear Waste Cleanup Among Top Priorities

Anna King — Tue, 21 May 2013 23:42:12 +0000

The Obama administration’s new secretary of energy says his top priorities are responding to climate change, safely managing the nation’s nuclear stockpile and fostering scientific research. Ernest Moniz made the comments at his swearing-in ceremony Tuesday.

He also mentioned the need to clean up the nation’s Cold War legacy waste.

Japanese Officials Visit Hanford For Nuclear Cleanup Strategies

Anna King — Tue, 21 May 2013 13:26:04 +0000

The people overseeing the cleanup of the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster are learning some valuable lessons from the long-running cleanup at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. A Japanese government delegation recently toured some of the southeast Washington site.

In Japan, workers in gloves and masks are grinding down sidewalks and roads, wiping down rooftops and bagging contaminated soil.

Some Hanford Water Cleanup Exceeds Expectations

Anna King — Tue, 14 May 2013 00:04:40 +0000

Cleanup of a hazardous chemical called hexavalent chromium in the groundwater at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in southeast Washington is going faster than expected.

Hexavalent chromium is the nasty stuff that made Erin Brockovich famous down in California. The chemical was used to inhibit rust in coolant water in Hanford’s reactors.

Wyden To Question Energy Nominee Moniz On Hanford

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 13:49:29 +0000

President Obama’s pick for energy secretary can expect a lot of questions about the Hanford Nuclear Reservation at a confirmation hearing Tuesday in Washington, D.C. Oregon Senator Ron Wyden chairs the committee considering physicist Ernest Moniz to head the sprawling federal agency.

As the new energy secretary, Ernest Moniz would be saddled with a lot at Hanford, never mind the rest of the nation.

Hanford Waste Plan Under Debate In New Mexico

Elaine Baumgartel — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 00:30:38 +0000

CARLSBAD, N.M. - Last month, the U.S. Department of Energy announced a plan to send some nuclear waste from leaky storage tanks at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation to southern New Mexico. The proposed new storage site is near Carlsbad and it's called the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. WIPP, as it’s known, has been prohibited from receiving Hanford tank waste for nearly a decade.

Time Capsule From The 50s Found At Hanford

Anna King — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 01:37:27 +0000

Hanford Nuclear Reservation managers are trying to figure out who left a time capsule in the wall of a building there nearly 60 years ago. Demolition workers found a coffee can recently while they were tearing down a building near a reactor at the southeast Washington site.

What Makes Hanford’s 'TRU' Tank Waste Different From The Rest?

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 01:12:32 +0000

RICHLAND, Wash. - The U.S. Department of Energy says its wants to send 3 million gallons of radioactive tank waste at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation to a storage site in New Mexico.

Song About Hanford Furloughs Picks Up Viewers On YouTube

Anna King — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 23:11:00 +0000

RICHLAND, Wash. -- Jason Strickling and his wife Lana of Pasco, Wash. are planning some extra time with the kids this summer. That’s because she works for a Hanford Nuclear Reservation contractor in southeast Washington and her employer is requiring her to take about five weeks of unpaid leave before September.

The federal budget cuts known as the sequester are forcing a total of 2,500 workers at Hanford to take unpaid time off.

Hanford Watchdogs: Sending Tank Waste To New Mexico Won't Work

Anna King — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 14:27:39 +0000

Hanford Cleanup Slows While Tanks Leak, Treatment Plant Stalls

Anna King — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 00:01:01 +0000

At the Hanford Nuclear Reservation more than 200 employees received layoff notices this month. There could be 2,500 furloughs, all because of the federal budget cuts known as the sequester. That would further slow cleanup at the southeast Washington site. Meanwhile, radioactive waste at Hanford continues to leak from underground tanks.