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KING-TV reports that "a tunnel full of highly contaminated materials collapsed" in a reprocessing facility at the Hanford nuclear site. An official said "The facility does have radiological contamination right now but there is no indication of a radiological release." The U.S. Department of Energy released statements (archived copy) saying that employees were "told to shelter in place" and that non-essential employees were sent home.
additional coverage:
- Susannah Frame of KING-TV via Twitter (photo)
- Tri-City Herald (video)
- Western Journalism
- Yakima Herald-Republic
- Washington Post
- Seattle Times
- Popular Mechanics
- USA Today
- Fox News
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Tunnel Collapses at Hanford Nuclear Reservation
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The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
An honest tale speeds best being plainly told.
-- William Shakespeare, "Henry VI"
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 11 2017, @02:09AM (11 children)
The Columbia River runs close to Hanford. The aquifer associated serves many people as well as agriculture.
Hanford has had leaks before and the reporting about those leaks was less than accurate. The truth may
be concealed due to a deliberate effort or the truth could be concealed due to less than complete knowledge
on the part of those reporting on the situation.
I would not expect those in charge to be honest if it serves their interests to be dishonest.
Anyone who uses the nearby aquifer might want to start doing his or her own monitoring.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 11 2017, @02:25AM (3 children)
If some H1Bs were to be exposed to nuclear waste, would they evolve into a mutant race of super genius code monkeys?
(Score: 0, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 11 2017, @03:17AM (2 children)
No, but the dung piles they crap on the sidewalks will be yuuuuge!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 11 2017, @08:04AM (1 child)
Is that a phenom that is actually common in the USA?
I thought only gypsies had that asocial habit.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 11 2017, @10:08AM
Same origin, just a (1500 years) older "H1B" wave. [livescience.com]
(Score: 2) by butthurt on Thursday May 11 2017, @04:49AM (5 children)
> The Columbia River runs close to Hanford.
On the Department of Energy page linked from the summary, if you scroll down to where it says "1:20" there is a map and they've written that the damaged PUREX facility is 6.8 miles from the river.
http://www.hanford.gov/c.cfm/eoc/?page=290 [hanford.gov]
> Hanford has had leaks before [...]
Decades ago, when the PUREX plant (to which this tunnel was attached) was operating, there were experiments done in which there were large intentional releases of radioisotopes, such as iodine-131 and xenon-133.
http://library.state.or.us/repository/2013/201309171606142/index.pdf [state.or.us]
During the "Green Run" experiment in 1949,
Sources cite 5,500 to 12,000 curies (200 to 440 TBq) of iodine-131 released, and an even greater amount of xenon-133.
-- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Run [wikipedia.org]
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Thursday May 11 2017, @08:19AM (4 children)
I get the impression that no releases into the air or nearby rivers has occurred so far. The question then becomes if underground water has been tainted? or aquifers?
And there are also unrelated underground storage tanks with radioactive waste that has started to leak. Hopefully they do a full cleanup without Trump/EPA impeding such cleanup. Superfund sites are that for a reason.
(Score: 2) by butthurt on Thursday May 11 2017, @08:27AM (3 children)
> I get the impression that no releases into the air or nearby rivers has occurred so far.
Not from this week's event, they say. They're burying the damaged tunnel:
Workers have begun to fill the hole in the tunnel, located near the PUREX Plant in the 200 East Area of the Hanford Site, with soil. Approximately 50 truckloads of soil will be used to fill the hole. There is a misting machine on the right side of the photo that is being used to control dust. The operator in the cab of the excavator is wearing a protective suit and a filtered air mask.
-- http://www.hanford.gov/c.cfm/eoc/?page=290 [hanford.gov]
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Thursday May 11 2017, @08:49AM (2 children)
Won't the lack of a tunnel impede operations in some way?
There must be a reason it existed to begin with.
(Score: 2) by Aiwendil on Thursday May 11 2017, @10:16AM (1 child)
From World Nuclear News [world-nuclear-news.org]
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Thursday May 11 2017, @10:28AM
Maybe it would be better to have those cars properly sealed before they are buried? Lest rainwater accumulate in them and overflow down to groundwater.
(Score: 3, Funny) by Phoenix666 on Thursday May 11 2017, @12:44PM
The funny thing is the Columbia River Gorge is a fantastic place for wind farms, because it's one of the consistently windiest places in the United States. It's a mecca for wind surfers for that reason. If they fully implemented wind farms along it they'd surely get enough energy to power Portland.
Washington DC delenda est.