Deal reached on 2 leaking nuke waste tanks

SPOKANE — A deal to address two nuclear waste storage tanks that are leaking radioactive materials into the soil in Washington was reached Thursday between the state and the U.S. Department of Energy.

The waste is left over from the production of plutonium for nuclear weapons on the Hanford Nuclear Reservation near Richland.

From World War II through the Cold War, Hanford produced more than 70 tons of plutonium. When production ceased in 1989, the site’s mission shifted to cleaning the chemical and radioactive waste left behind.

The Department of Energy announced in April 2021 that Tank B-109 was leaking waste into the surrounding soil. Tank T-111 was discovered to be leaking in 2013.

“It’s been a priority for the state of Washington to address leaking tanks in a way that protects nearby communities and the Columbia River,” said Ecology Department Director Laura Watson.”

But state Rep. Gerry Pollet, D-Seattle, a Hanford critic, noted the deal could allow the tanks to leak for years.

“Letting a high-level nuclear waste tank continue to leak for years or decades is a dereliction of our state’s duty to protect our Columbia River, protect our groundwater, to enforce our most fundamental hazardous waste laws and adds to the history of violating Treaty rights at Hanford,” said Pollet.