KENNEWICK, Wash. (AP) — Crews at Hanford Nuclear Reservation are laying nearly 2 acres of asphalt over five underground tanks that are believed to have leaked radioactive and hazardous chemical waste.
The Tri-City Herald reports that the goal is to keep the contaminated soil around the tanks dry. Rainwater or snowmelt otherwise soaks into the soil and spreads the contamination.
The barrier is asphalt that’s been modified to be waterproof and crackproof, and it’s being paid for with federal stimulus money. It’s the second one built at the Hanford tank farms, where 53 million gallons of waste are stored in groups of underground tanks. The waste is left from the past production of plutonium for the nation’s nuclear weapons program.
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Information from: Tri-City Herald, http://www.tri-cityherald.com
