Hanford Radioactive Waste Treated by 2047 Under Fed-State Settlement

A proposed consent decree between the Department of Energy and Washington State sets what the parties say is "a new and achievable schedule" for construction and startup of the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant and the retrieval of waste from 177 large underground single-shell storage tanks at Hanford.

The consent decree proposes extending the current schedule for completing retrieval of waste from single-shell tanks from 2018 to 2040, and completing treatment of all tank waste from 2028 to 2047.

The waste from the single-shell tanks will be removed and pumped to newer double-shell tanks, and ultimately transferred to the Waste Treatment Plant where it will be immobilized in glass through a process called vitrification.

From 1944-1988 the federal government used Hanford to produce plutonium for nuclear weapons. The processes used to produce plutonium created huge amounts of radioactive and chemically hazardous wastes now stored in the 177 underground storage tanks. Most of the tanks are beyond their design life and 67 are known or believed to have leaked.

Eight of the 177 radioactive waste holding tanks at the Hanford Nuclear Site. (Photo courtesy PNNL)

The consent decree will be filed in federal court and then will be subject to a public comment period. The new schedule requires changes to the 1989 Tri-Party Agreement among the Department of Energy, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the Washington State Department of Ecology. These modifications will also be subject to a public comment period before they are finalized.

Washington Governor Chris Gregoire announced the agreement August 11, saying, "Our agreement settles our lawsuit against the federal government, and obligates it to a new, enforceable and achievable schedule for tank waste cleanup at Hanford."

"And there is more. In tandem with the settlement agreement, Washington Ecology Director Jay Manning joined the United States Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency in signing another agreement that establishes new enforceable deadlines to accelerate the cleanup of contaminated underground water plumes at Hanford," said the governor.

Cleaning these plumes will protect the Columbia River, which flows through the site and forms much of the border between Washington and Oregon on its way to the Pacific Ocean.

Gregoire said, "We're committed to intercepting these plumes before they reach the river, which serves 42 cities and towns and one million people downstream in two states."

Although Oregon is affected by Hanford contamination of the Columbia River, the state was denied participation in the existing Tri_Party Agreement and has had no legal role in the cleanup of the Hanford site.

Now, the State of Oregon and the Department of Energy, DOE, have agreed to a separate consent decree that recognizes Oregon's strong interest in the cleanup effort and provides Oregon the right to receive copies of progress reports and legal notices, and the right to participate as observer in joint three-year reviews with DOE and Washington State.

"Finally," said Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski, after years of battling the previous administration, we have certainty for the timelines and schedules for this critical clean up to occur.”

"I believe this renewed commitment to an aggressive clean up schedule and oversight will finally deliver public health and environmental protection for the citizens on both sides of the Columbia River," Kulongoski said.

The Department of Energy has agreed to propose a moratorium on new radioactive waste shipments to Hanford before the Waste Treatment Plant is operational.

Governor Kulongoski called the moratorium "very significant" because "it keeps the focus at Hanford on cleanup and will protect hundreds of Northwest cities from the risks trucks carrying radioactive waste passing through their communities."

Oregon and Washington will enter into a separate agreement that will solidify the two states' cooperative efforts regarding Hanford.

In Olympia, Governor Gregoire said the federal government's economic stimulus package has restarted work at the Hanford site. "Accelerated cleanup of soil and water is already under way at Hanford because of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding of nearly $2 billion," she said. "More than 1,300 jobs have been created or saved at the site, thanks to these funds."

Copyright Environment News Service, ENS, 2009. All rights reserved.