Hanford Nuclear Facility Coping With Leak


B. McPherson
Some disquieting information about Hanford's activities. Ask was it an earthquake or a small nuclear explosion.
Hanford Nuclear Facility located in eastern Washington State has a leak in one of its large storage tanks(75 ft diameter). The double walled tanks are sunk into the ground. The inner shell of the tank has leaked radioactive sludge into the space between the shells.

It has been reported that the leak was detected a year ago but authorities of the US Department of Energy(DOE) were prepared to wait until the problem worsened as they deemed the breach of the liner no danger to the public.

This has prompted the State of Washington to remind them that they are required to take action within 24 hours of discovering that the tank was not sound. It contains liquid material as well as the sludge.

Currently the DOE does not have the equipment or a plan to remedy the problem and estimates that it will be two years before any material is removed from the defective tank. It is not a simple problem of pump out the liquid and scoop up the gunk. The liquid helps cool the radioactive sludge and removing the liquid will allow the residue to heat, speeding corrosion.

Space in the double-shell tanks is nearing capacity as work continues to build the vitrification plant to start treating the waste for disposal. One single-shell tank is known to be leaking waste into the ground and 67 are suspected of leaking waste in the past before much of the liquid waste they held was removed. Tri City Herald
                                                  
Hanford is home to 28 of the double walled tanks. They were built in the late 1960s and early 80s to replace 149 dangerous single walled storage tanks. There are still single walled tanks buried at the former weapons grade production plant and some of them are believed to be leaking into the ground.

This comes at a time when the US Federal Government is looking to cut $100 million from the ongoing cleanup budget of the former wartime facility. In 1943 residents of the town of Hanford were removed and a facility to produce weapon grade plutonium was built. At the time, little attention was paid to safety and little education was provided to the workers. This has resulted in a badly contaminated site that is leaking radioactive materials into the Columbia River, contaminating ground water and structures. Spontaneous small nuclear explosions have occurred in the past when much radioactive material escaped the plant and accumulated in ditches.

Physicians for Social Responsibility mince no words in describing the conditions there.

Hanford is the most contaminated nuclear site in the western world. Hanford's radioactive and toxic wastes pose serious health and environmental threats.

In some ways Washington State is still fighting WWII.
Also read KOMO News
Location: Hanford, WA 99343, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Abandoned Oil Pipelines What Lurks Below?

Image
These photos were taken July 2012 in the historic Turner Valley, Alberta B. McPherson Controversy over new oil pipelines is reaching boiling point in many circles. Heated debate is taking place over the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway and Keystone Pipeline proposals. Safety, disruption to landowners  and more are being weighed against the money to be made transporting and selling petroleum products. It got me thinking about the old pipelines. What happens to a pipeline when it is too old to use or not needed? It’s a bit of an Alice in Wonderland scene. The US laws and regulations are different from ours in Canada. The Pipeline and Gas Journal is a source of information about abandoned pipelines in Texas. Apparently a pipeline in Texas may be abandoned by a company, but it still retains ownership and may choose to reactivate the line at a later date. In the meantime, the right of way or easement is no longer maintained, but the through which the pipe extends is not ...
Read more

Prince Rupert Says No to Enbridge Pipeline

Image
B. McPherson Prince Rupert city council joined a growing list of BC coastal communities that are saying “No” to the Enbridge proposal to build a twinned pipeline from Edmonton to the coast. The decision of the Prince Rupert city politicians was unanimous. Already the village of Kitimaat, Terrace and the Skeena Queen Charlottes Regional District have voiced their opposition to the project. There are ongoing hearings by a federal court appointed Joint Review Panel which are gathering input from interested parties about the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline which would bring crude petroleum from the oil sands of Alberta to the coast of British Columbia. The proposal would see a twinned pipeline run over the Rocky Mountains and through wilderness to the treacherous west coast. The proposed terminus at Kitimat would require tankers to wend their way through the maze of islands and reefs to load up at the head of Douglas Channel. While the hearings and the finding...
Read more

Scientists Beginning to Sound Warnings About Atmospheric Nitrogen Compounds

Image
B. McPherson                                                 This short film explains very well the greenhouse effect on Earth. While the world is focussing on the production and release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, other gasses are quietly adding to the catastrophe. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas and nitrous oxide is 300 times more efficient at keeping the Earth warmed. While much of the Earth’s atmosphere is made up of the element nitrogen, it is the nitrogen in reactive compounds that is starting to worry atmospheric scientists. The Green Revolution was made possible by the industrial production of chemical fertilizers. It, combined with antibiotics has allowed the Earth’s population of humans to swell from 1.6 billion at the beginning of the 20 th century to seven billion this year. Nitrogen is a key nutrient in plant growth. Unfor...
Read more