Hanford nuclear plant continues to pose serious threat to PacificNorthwest

Hanford Plant

Hanford, Washington has been one of the areas along the West Coast that scientists believe is dangerous.  That's because there are leaks in the tanks that hold nuclear waste, and these tanks have lasted past their expiration date, which means these leaks can be particularly serious.

This is of particular importance as Washington Senator Patty Murray worries there is not enough money to fund the project at the level necessary to prevent a catastrophe.  She complains that funding cuts have taken place because of the large amount of money necessary for the project to build new containers for the nuclear waste.  Already the project is considerably behind the projected schedule for completion.

The Energy Department maintains that the shortfall is due to congress' unwillingness to maintain the level of funding needed to clean up Hanford and that it will be $8 million short over the next ten years.

Hanford, Washington is located just a few miles from the Tri-Cities of Pasco, Kennewick and Richland, Washington.  These small towns form the bedrock of the engineering activities that brought nuclear power to Washington, as the economy flourished there in the 1960's.  John F. Kennedy made a trip to the area in 1963, shortly before his death, to commemorate the building of a new reactor that year.

The plant was established as part of the maintenance program of nuclear energy the United States had maintained for the development of energy alternatives as well as weapons that were especially critical during the Cold War years.

But the research and development of the nuclear power plants brought increasing alarm about waste products and leaking from the area.  Many people maintained their health problems, including cancer, miscarriages, infertility and other diseases were related to exposure to nuclear material that leaked into the soil and water.  Litigation has taken place over many years, with some of the court cases continuing to be reviewed.  The evidence, however, that leaks were the direct cause of the health problems has not, however, been proven to the satisfaction of the courts.

The Columbia River is the major tributary believed poised to be polluted the most in the event of a major leak.  Some folks believe that leaks have already occurred and polluted the river in some areas.  The location of the plant offers a level of vulnerability not just to the State of Washington but also Oregon and the coastline to Canada.

Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon, has announced his concerns that the documents he has seen show construction flaws in the tanks at Hanford, even as the cutbacks in funds has created alarm that there won't be sufficient money to encase the nuclear waste properly. tion for the Department of Energy to share more with the public about construction flaws in the double-shelled tanks is stirring up opinions.

Senator Wyden reportedly wrote a letter to Ernest Moniz, Department of Energy Secretary, stating, "The citizens living along banks of the Columbia River deserve to know the full story of what is happening with the Hanford tanks."

Dick Cheney, formerly Vice President under George W. Bush, however disagrees that government should be more involved and transparent in its involvement.  He is quoted as saying,"Get the government out of it. Let the people here, the engineers and the local people, who I believe are honest and hard workers, take car of the problem," says Dick Cheney, who disagrees with more politicians getting involved.

Many of the engineers in the Hanford area are worried about the reactor waste.  This is true especially concerning the cleanup project that some say has had so many secrets, delays, lack of funding and other issues that it has been difficult to get straight answers or to get the needed materials and work done.  There is enough radioactive waste deep under the earth that it poses a hazard to the health of the immediate community and the potential for another Fukushima tragedy.

It is referred to by experts as one of the most treacherously dangerous places on earth.

Occupy Movement, environmentalists rally against Hanford nuclear threats

[caption id="attachment_15044" align="alignleft" width="300"] Dorli Rainey, activist[/caption]

Carol Forsloff - Richland, Washington  looks to the idle visitor like the kind of town that is prospering, healthy and one of those sunny villages alongside the Columbia River that people flocked to for fishing and outdoor fun. But it is also located just a few miles from the Hanford Atomic Plant, a place some scientists tell us is the most dangerous area in the world. This weekend it was the site of a protest organized by the Occupy movement and an array of activists from different organizations, as controversy continues about the potential disaster that could result from the Hanford Nuclear Plant.

Stewart Udall, former Secretary of the Interior, reportedly called Hanford the “most tragic chapter in American Cold War history.”

The Hanford Atomic Plant was one of the principal research and development centers for nuclear energy for bomb-making purposes during World War II. After worries arose over the safety of nuclear energy, the plant was closed, leaving behind many unresolved issues. Some  of these issues have involved the health and welfare of people who had lived and worked in the area, with lawsuits in and out of the courts. Some of these lawsuits remain pending, although filed decades ago. Plaintiffs claim infertility, miscarriages, cancers and a host of other diseases they believe were caused from direct or downwind exposure to nuclear waste products. The medical risks associated with Hanford, some of which are still being investigated, also include birth defects, organ failure and a host of chronic diseases, as noted by this source.

Radioactive material, above the range of normal, is found surrounding Hanford. The concerns continue even more dramatically about the disposition of the nuclear waste that threatens widespread contamination and the specific  risks to the Columbia River that extends through Washington and Oregon.

Environmental activists and members of Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility, Oregon Peaceworks, Nukewatch, and Occupy groups from both Portland and the Tri-Cities, as well as private citizens and members of other activist groups gathered on April 15 at the Jon Dam Plaza in Richland, concerned over the consequences of a prolonged nuclear clean-up that has cost the taxpayers more than $12 billion to date.

The Hanford Watch Advisory Board  says, “The Hanford Nuclear Reservation is the largest nuclear waste dump in the Western Hemisphere and a major Northwest environmental issue. It is a serious long-term threat to the Columbia River, which Oregon depends on for power generation, farm irrigation, fishing, transport and recreation.”

Environmentalists worry about the fact that the cleanup plant is only half constructed. Problems related to waste removal and protection of the environment have yet to be resolved for the estimated 53 million tons of radioactive waste. Some of that waste is contained in tanks that are long past the life span projected for safety.

In an article published in DC Bureau, entitled "Veteran Hanford Engineer Says DOE’s Multi-Billion Dollar Hanford Nuclear Waste Processing Plant Might Not Work Properly and Has Serious Potential Safety Problems", author David Rosenthal  relates some of the background of the Plant and the whistle-blower whose report of safety violations cost him his job. Dr. Walter Tamosaitis was the research and technology manager and the deputy chief processing engineer for URS Corporation, according to Rosenthal's report. URS Corporation is a subcontractor to Bechtel, the company in charge of the clean-up. Tamosaitis had been responsible for the  $500 million budget set up to cover the major design functions of the waste treatment plant. functions.

On July 2,  2010 Tamosaitis said that he was literally escorted out of the building at the Plant “like an absolute felon,” he said. He was fired after raising concerns of about safety and some of the operations taking place at the plant.

“The management, in my opinion, did not want to hear that and the easiest thing to do to move ahead is to eliminate what’s a potential road block. …’We’ll get rid of him,’” Rosenthal reports Tamosaitis as saying. This had followed a presentation Tamosaitis and some of his fellow engineers had presented to URS and Bechtel managers.

Should nuclear power be dismissed as an option for energy? While environmentalists complain about the potential risks, Jerry Schlaman, a mechanical engineer who has worked for 27 years in nuclear power and who was interviewed by this reporter at the rally, maintains nuclear power is a viable option.  He said, "I am pro-nuke, but anti-nuke management. The emphasis needs to be on safety, not money."

And money continues to be a major factor, as Richland sports new housing developments everywhere. Money from Hanford fuels much of the Tri-Cities economy, and the longer the delay, the more money is spent on the challenges left at the nuclear plant. It is, however, those great risks to the populations of Oregon and Washington all the way to the Canadian border that brought the activists to rally this weekend for the government to explain the delays in containment of the nuclear waste and to demand appropriate solutions to what they call "the problems caused by Hanford's past in order to ensure the health and dignity of future generations."

Dorli Rainey, who is called by the community of activists, "a rock star" for her involvement in causes of peace, women's rights and the environment, spoke early on the program about the need for safety in solving the problems of the nation's energy crisis. She was raised in Austria during World War II, and at the age of 84 remains a stout defender of peace, telling folks, "When you have a bomb dropped on your house, you can scream for revenge or look for peaceful ways to solve problems. I choose the path of peace."

But for Lori McMillan of Hermiston, Oregon, who lives "downwind" or less than 50 miles from the Hanford plant, the problems at Hanford are truly  personal. She told this reporter she had moved to the area in 1977. Out of 14 people who were a close group of friends, Lori said there are only 4 left. All the others died of cancer, and McMillan has breast cancer now. Her daughter has cervical cancer, had an ectopic pregnancy and two miscarriages.

[caption id="attachment_15045" align="alignleft" width="300"] Lori McMillan at protest rally in Richland, Washington[/caption]

It is this personal story, the anecdotal evidence, that arouses compassion from those who call attention to the safety concerns of nuclear power and those who challenge governmental delays before Hanford becomes the far greater disaster than Japan's Fukushima plant that some scientists predict may happen.

Hanford Nuclear Plant to be target of major weekend demonstrations

[caption id="attachment_3526" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Nuclear plume at Hanford"][/caption]

This weekend people will be arriving in Richland, Washington, a town just on the outskirts of the Hanford Nuclear Plant, in protest of the nuclear waste that could cause a serious explosion and create a disaster much greater than Japan's earthquake, environmentalists maintain.

Individuals from the Portland Occupy community, religious groups, ordinary citizens and members of the media are traveling on Sunday for an afternoon protest in the central area of Richland.

The Tri-Cities, Pasco, Kennewick and Richland, are the major populated areas most directly effected by the Hanford Nuclear plant and waste dump that is reported by many scientists to be the most toxic place on earth.

GHN's Journal of Humanitarian Affairs will be on hand this weekend to cover the events.  This author lived in both Pasco and Richland during the early 1960's when most people were innocent of the environmental risks caused by nuclear waste.

Years later nuclear energy, which is touted by many as a solution to the energy crisis, remains part of a major debate on how to develop alternatives for gas and oil.  It also remains worrisome to the many West Coast residents, from Oregon to Canada, who could be impacted by a major accident at the Hanford Plant.