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Tagged: Hanford

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Poetry
11:34 am
Tue January 1, 2013

Kathleen Flenniken On Coming To Terms With Hanford

Credit Wikimedia
B Reactor at the Hanford nuclear site.
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In childhood, our allegiances, our loves, are often black and white, simplistic. One of the difficult parts of becoming an adult is reconciling ourselves to the failings and flaws in what we have loved and admired. Sometimes the task involves recognizing our own complicity in those failings.

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Hanford Nuclear Reservation
11:54 am
Wed December 19, 2012

Gregoire’s Relationship With Hanford Long And Complex

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Credit State of Washington
Credit State of Washington
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By Anna King

Originally published on Mon December 17, 2012 5:23 pm

When Governor Chris Gregoire leaves office in January, she’ll take with her nearly a quarter-century’s worth of expertise on one of the most contaminated places on earth. Cleanup of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation has been one of her top priorities. Before Gregoire was governor, she worked on Hanford issues as the state’s attorney general and before that as ecology director.

Gregoire knows cleaning up Hanford is no easy task. She’s been involved longer than many of the top federal site managers. And despite all of the problems and complexities she’s still optimistic.

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Hanford Nuclear Reservation
9:42 am
Thu December 6, 2012

New Federal Plan On Hanford Tank Farms Coming Soon

Credit US Department of Energy
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Originally published on Thu December 6, 2012 7:24 am

RICHLAND, Wash. – The federal government plans to release a major document early next week that could guide a couple of decades worth of cleanup at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. This is important because it maps out decisions like where to bury the radioactive waste, and how much to leave in place.

The new document is huge -- 6,000 pages huge. And it’s taken about 10 years to draft.

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Environment
7:51 am
Thu November 15, 2012

Hanford Managers Mull Solutions For Leaky Tanks

Workers empty a radioactive waste tank at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. Photo courtesy of Hanford contractor Washington River Protection Solutions
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By Anna King

Originally published on Wed November 14, 2012 5:31 pm

RICHLAND, Wash. – Some of the decisions made over the last 40 years at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation are coming back to haunt the site’s current managers. A new report out this week examined why a double-hulled tank of radioactive waste recently sprung a leak in its inner shell. That has raised the possibility of having to pump out the waste from the tank.

The tank is called AY-102. And it’s about the size of a house. It’s buried in the sandy soil north of Richland.

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Environment
8:59 am
Wed November 14, 2012

Hanford Officials Prepare For Worst With Leaking Tank

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Routine periodic visual monitoring (via camera) of the AY-102 annulus found material that was never before seen. Photo courtesy of U.S. Department of Energy
Refractory installation of tank AY-102 at Hanford circa 1970. Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy
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Originally published on Wed November 14, 2012 8:53 am

RICHLAND, Wash. – Workers the Hanford Nuclear Reservation are readying pumping equipment at a slow-leaking radioactive waste tank in case the leak gets worse. A newly released report details why the tank became unstable.

Hanford officials say so far they’ve found no waste leaking into the environment from the tank called AY-102.

The new report says many of the tanks original welds from 40 years ago didn’t meet standards and had to be fixed before it was filled. Later, super-hot waste was added that was likely corrosive to the tank’s metal walls.

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