6 Tanks at Hanford Nuclear Site Leaking Radioactive Waste
February 23rd, 2013Via: Reuters:
Six underground storage tanks at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation along the Columbia River in Washington state were recently found to be leaking radioactive waste, but there is no immediate risk to human health, state and federal officials said on Friday.
The seeping waste adds to decades of soil contamination caused by leaking storage tanks at Hanford in the past and threatens to further taint groundwater below the site but poses no near-term danger of polluting the Columbia River, officials said.
The newly discovered leaks were revealed by Governor Jay Inslee a week after the U.S. Energy Department disclosed that radioactive waste was found to be escaping from one tank at Hanford.
Inslee said he was informed on Friday by outgoing U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu that a total of six of the aging, single-walled tanks were leaking radioactive waste.
Leakage isn’t the only nor greatest problem. Circulation to prevent particulates from accumulating on the bottoms of the tanks where they can cause a criticality event (and a resulting series of deadly bursts of radioactivity that may also explode into the atmosphere) are a problem that currently lacks engineering solutions. Some of those tanks and reactor components are too “hot” to go near.
Also, there’s no “hauling it away” as Hanford is still the nation’s nuke dump. That’s where the Navy sends obsolete reactors for permanent burial.
For the hot tank issue, see this and other articles:
http://enenews.com/whistleblower-msnbc-criticality-possible-hanford-could-explosion-like-fukushima-warns-larger-release-radioactive-material-video