The 75-year-old tank in Washington state is leaking some 3.5 gallons of waste each day into an area where an estimated 200,000 gallons have already leaked from other tanks at the site.
By Tori B. Powell
Updated on: April 30, 2021 / 1:54 PM / CBS News
An underground radioactive chemical storage tank in southeast Washington state is leaking gallons of nuclear waste, according to the Washington State Department of Ecology, which is overseeing the site s cleanup.
The 75-year-old tank B-109 at Hanford Nuclear Reservation is estimated to be leaking 3.5 gallons of waste a day into the ground - the equivalent to nearly 1,300 gallons per year. This highlights the critical need for resources to address Hanford s aging tanks, which will continue to fail and leak over time, Laura Watson, the department s director, said in a statement.
The tank holds 123,000 gallons of waste and is leaking into an area where an estimated 200,000 gallons have already leaked from other tanks at the site, the state s Department of Ecology said. Since March of 2019, an estimated 1,700 gallons of waste have leaked from B-109, which the department has been tracking f
Officials: Underground waste tank leaking liquid at Washington nuclear site
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Officials said an underground tank stored at Hanford s B Tank Farm in Washington was leaking contaminated liquid into the ground. Photo courtesy of U.S. Department of Energy/Website
April 30 (UPI) An underground radioactive chemical waste tank stored in southeast Washington is leaking gallons of liquid a day into the soil, state officials said.
The Department of Ecology for the state of Washington announced the leak in a statement Thursday, identifying the tank as B-109 at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, which is about 170 miles southwest of Spokane.
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(Photo : Jeff T. Green/Getty Images)
A report said that an underground waste tank is leaking a radioactive liquid at a Washington nuclear site. Estimates are that gallons are leaking into local soil daily.
Underground Waste Tanks Leaking at Nuclear Sites are Dangerous
Officials say that a chemical waste tank full of radioactive material is leaking, a cause for concern, reported UPI. State officials said an underground chemical waste tank stored in southeast Washington is leaking gallons of liquid a day into the soil.
According to the Department of Ecology for Washington, which reported a leak in a statement last Thursday, tank B-109 was found at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, 170 miles from Spokane.
State wants Biden to overturn Trump rule on Hanford nuclear waste,
By ANNETTE CARY of the Tri-City Herald , 1 Mar 21,
The state of Washington and other groups are asking the Biden administration to overturn a Trump administration rule that would allow the federal government to potentially clean up the Hanford nuclear reservation to less stringent standards.
A letter sent Friday to Jennifer Granholm, just a day after she was confirmed as energy secretary, was signed by leaders of Washington state, the Yakama Nation, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Hanford Challenge and Columbia Riverkeeper.
They call the Department of Energy’s decision in 2019 to allow the reclassification of some Hanford site and other radioactive waste “a matter of extraordinary concern.”