15 Of 31 Savannah River Waste Tanks Have Cracked, Leaked Or Rusted

[hatrack]

COLUMBIA, South Carolina — Fifteen tanks holding deadly atomic waste at a nuclear weapons complex along the Savannah River have cracked, rusted, or leaked, according to federal inspection reports.

Some of the cracks date to the 1950s, when the steel tanks first went into use at the Savannah River site. But inspection reports say some leaks have been found in the past three years.

In 2001, 92 gallons of radioactive waste leaked through a 40-year-old tank into a containment area. Six leak sites were found on the 750,000-gallon, 24-foot high steel tank. Secondary containment systems have kept radioactive poisons from getting into groundwater. But a containment system failed in 1960, and the waste leaked into the ground, the reports said.

EDIT

"They obviously are getting older and will not last forever," said Charles Hansen, an assistant waste disposition manager with the U.S. Department of Energy. "This is highly radioactive, and there is a concern to get that waste out as soon as possible. There's always some potential for inadvertent leakage into the environment."

EDIT

http://www.enn.com/news/2004-07-13/s_25774.asp

[RubyDuby in GA]

1. Great

Now the river will be green all the time, not just on St. Patrick's Day.

[amazona]

2. sheesh, I heard about this in the 1980s from Greenpeace

Can't believe they still haven't done anything to clean up this mess.