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, prompting calls for an investigation from a key senator.
New York Times:
'--- Political leaders in Washington State and Oregon were already on high alert about Hanford as new worries about the site’s pollutants combined with concerns about federal budgets, especially if automatic spending cuts — the sequestration threat hanging over Congress — kick in, affecting the cleanup budget.
The Department of Energy, which oversees the site, said last week that one of the 177 tanks at the site was leaking radioactive waste liquids at a rate of 150 to 300 gallons per year. The department said then that the tank, which holds approximately 447,000 gallons of sludge, was the first one documented to be losing liquids since interim stabilization of Hanford’s tanks was completed in 2005.
Mr. Inslee, who took office last month, said after the first leak was announced that he was “alarmed and deeply concerned.” ---'
