Antinuclear

Columbia River endangered for thousands of years, by nuclear radioactive wastes

(USA) Despite billions spent on cleanup, Hanford won’t be clean for thousands of years By Scott Learn, The Oregonian February 09, 2010, Some radioactive contaminants at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation will threaten the Columbia River for thousands of years, a new analysis projects, despite the multibillion-dollar cleanup efforts by the federal government.

The U.S. Department of Energy projections come from a new analysis of how best to clean up leaking storage tanks and manage waste at Hanford, a former nuclear weapons production site on 586 square miles next to the Columbia in southeastern Washington. Oregon officials say the results, including contamination projections for the next 10,000 years, indicate the federal government needs to clean up more of the waste that has already leaked and spilled at Hanford instead of capping and leaving it, a less-expensive alternative.
“We think it should force a re-look at the long-term cleanup plan at Hanford,” said Ken Niles, assistant director of the Oregon Department of Energy. “We don’t want that level of contamination reaching the Columbia River.”

The analysis also shows that the U.S. energy department’s plan to import low-level and midlevel radioactive waste from other sites to Hanford after 2022 poses “completely unacceptable” risks, Niles said. Washington is also raising concerns about importing more waste.

Despite billions spent on cleanup, Hanford won’t be clean for thousands of years | Oregon Local News – OregonLive.com

February 12, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | 1 | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear wastes, nuclear weapons, renewable