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Environment & Energy

Eugene

(61,939 posts) Thu Mar 7, 2013, 10:43 AM Mar 2013

3

Energy Department plans to ship Hanford nuke waste to New Mexico

Source: Reuters

Energy Department plans to ship Hanford nuke waste to New Mexico

By Eric M. Johnson
RICHLAND, Washington | Wed Mar 6, 2013 11:42pm EST

(Reuters) - The Department of Energy on Wednesday put forward a long-term plan to extract and ship low-level radioactive waste from leaking tanks at Washington state's Hanford Nuclear Reservation to a dump in New Mexico.

The announcement came two weeks after Washington Governor Jay Inslee publicly announced that six waste tanks were leaking at the World War Two-era nuclear weapons site, and coincided with a visit by the governor to Hanford.

The plan faces several regulatory hurdles and may require New Mexico to agree to accept the waste.

The Department of Energy (DoE) said on Wednesday its "preferred alternative" is to retrieve up to 3.1 million gallons (11.7 million liters) of radioactive waste sludge in up to 20 of Hanford's 177 tanks, stabilize it and truck it to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in Carlsbad, New Mexico, for disposal.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/07/us-usa-nuclear-leak-idUSBRE92603F20130307

3 replies

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Energy Department plans to ship Hanford nuke waste to New Mexico (Original Post) Eugene Mar 2013 OP

WIPP already accepts much low level waste NMDemDist2 Mar 2013 #1

WIPP will likely be expanded eventually to handle all of the country's spent nuclear material wtmusic Mar 2013 #2

Right. Let's just shift the stuff from here to there LiberalEsto Mar 2013 #3

NMDemDist2

(49,313 posts)

1. WIPP already accepts much low level waste

Reply to Eugene (Original post)

Thu Mar 7, 2013, 10:50 AM

Mar 2013

what is DoE planning on doing with the rest of it?

wtmusic

(39,166 posts)

2. WIPP will likely be expanded eventually to handle all of the country's spent nuclear material

Reply to NMDemDist2 (Reply #1)

Thu Mar 7, 2013, 11:00 AM

Mar 2013

as well as the stuff that's truly "waste".

LiberalEsto

(22,845 posts)

3. Right. Let's just shift the stuff from here to there

Reply to Eugene (Original post)

Thu Mar 7, 2013, 11:07 AM

Mar 2013

and keep shifting it periodically. Because we still have no idea how to safety dispose of it!

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