New Leak at Hanford Nuclear Waste Site is 'Catastrophic,' Worker Warns

[JEB]

'This is probably the biggest event ever to happen in tank farm history.'
by
Nadia Prupis, staff writer

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/04/19/new-leak-hanford-nuclear-waste-site-catastrophic-worker-warns

A leak at the Hanford nuclear site in Washington state has prompted warnings of "catastrophic" consequences, as workers attempt to clean up more than eight inches of toxic waste from one of 28 underground tanks holding radioactive materials leftover from plutonium production.

Alarms on the site began sounding on Sunday, leading workers to discover 8.4 inches of toxic waste in between the inner and outer walls of tank AY-102, which has been slowly leaking since 2011 but has never accumulated that amount of waste before.

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Environmental groups also issued words of caution. Columbia Riverkeepers, an Oregon-based advocacy organization, said in a statement that the leak is "another reminder of the cost of nuclear waste, and the unexpected outcomes of handling radioactive material."

The AY-102 tank "holds some of the most dangerous nuclear waste on Earth," said the group's executive director Brett VandenHeuvel. "These tanks were not designed to hold waste for decades. It's past time to get the waste out of the unsafe tanks."

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The long lived toxic waste from nuclear industry is the big problem that does not go away. Give this short article a very thoughtful read.

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/04/19/new-leak-hanford-nuclear-waste-site-catastrophic-worker-warns