#62 March/April 2003
The Washington Free Press Washington's Independent Journal of News, Ideas & Culture
Home  |  Subscribe |  Back Issues |  The Organization |  Volunteer |  Do Something Directory 

Regulars

Reader Mail

Northwest & Beyond

Envirowatch

Good Ideas from Different Countries

Bob's Random Legal Wisdom

MediaBeat

Workplace Issues

Issues On Film

Features

Silent Blue Angels
essay by Signe Drake

Spy Agency Busts Union
Federal employees no longer entitled to union representation
by Brian Frielb

What's the Hangup with Solar Energy?
Rapid conversion is possible in Washington
opinion by Martin Nix

The Rubber Ducky Dilemma
Keep Ernie happy: explain the Defective Ducky Dilemma and win a free subscription
by Doug Collins

American Newspeak
word collisions by Wayne Grytting

Answers to last issue's 'Great American Newspeak Quiz'
by Wayne Grytting

Bayer, Monsanto Poison Norway
from CBG network

Poisoning Ourselves
Toxic waste in fertilizer
by Rodger Herbst

Urban Runoff Killing Washington Salmon
by J.R. Pegg, ENS

Population, Grain, Windmills...
Twelve Ways to Tell if the Earth is Healthy
by Earth Policy Institute

The Shell Game
Environmental Laws of Mass Destruction
opinion by Rodger Herbst

Fuel-Cell Cars to Arrive Soon
by Bernie Fischlowitz-Roberts, Earth Policy Institute

Russian Big Oil Redraws Pipe Dream
by Rory Cox

Hepatitis B: Rare, and Not Very Contagious
by Barbara Loe Fisher, co-founder and president, National Vaccine Information Center

'Iraq was not responsible for 9/11'
excerpts from a speech by Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio)

WA Peace Team visits Baghdad
by Gary Engbrecht

Waiting for the Missiles
Prospect of US Bombs Terrorizes Iraqis
by Norman Solomon

A Louder Call to Action
In Shifting Sands: The Truth About UNSCOM and the Disarming of Iraq
Directed by Scott Ritter
film review by Bob Hicks

'Democracy U' Video Series Available

Members First
Service Employees union local has its first contested election in anyone's memory
opinion by Brian King

SICK LEAVE Relief

Mexico Controversy Dominates Costco Meeting
from Community Alliance for Global Justice

Pasco Ordinance Bars Services for Low-Income Community
from Washington ACLU

Public NEEDS Sensible Hepatitis B Vaccine Policies
opinion by Doug Collins

Seattle Poster Ban Still Not Clear

The Shell Game

opinion by Rodger Herbst

Most folks know that production of weapons-grade plutonium has made the 560 square mile Hanford facility in Eastern Washington one of the most contaminated sites in the world. Most folks also know that the Hanford facility sits on the banks of the Columbia River, one of our region's most valuable natural resources. In 1986, the US Department of Energy (DOE) made public thousands of documents showing there had been off-site releases of radiation as well as considerable contamination of the site.

The DOE's current mission at Hanford is cleanup. In 1989, the DOE agreed to a 30-year, $50 billion schedule called the "Tri-Party Agreement" (TPA), between the DOE, the Washington Department of Ecology, and the US Environmental Protection Agency.

By mid-1997 it was clear that the existing TPA schedule for completing interim stabilization of the single-shell waste holding tanks would not be met. In 1998 Washington State stated its intention to sue for failure to meet cleanup milestones. After this, Washington State and the DOE entered into another consent decree agreement with "court enforceable, technically sound schedules" for single shell holding tank stabilization, which would vitrify 99 percent of the liquid tank waste by 2028.

The shell game now continues, as the DOE has developed a plan to implement a Bush administration goal, announced in 2001, to save money by eliminating vitrification of 75 percent of the nation's High-Level Nuclear Wastes from nuclear weapons production. Two thirds of that High level nuclear waste resides at Hanford.

Many of the elements of this plan are illegal:

  • Abandonment of High-Level Nuclear Wastes in the Single Shell Tanks, which have already leaked over one million gallons of waste that is moving towards the Columbia River. The plan involves pouring cement (grout) into tanks--even before the DOE prepares a legally required Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
  • Illegitimate "reclassification" of wastes at Hanford, per Bush Administration review released February 4, 2002. Pages A-10, 11 seek classification of waste left in the bottom of tanks as "incidental," which would avoid retrieval and treatment. The DOE's efforts to leave wastes in tanks and reclassify them is the subject of a federal lawsuit brought by the the Snake River Alliance, the Yakama Indian Nation, and others.
  • Bypassing of congressional, regulatory, and public oversight by allowing Hanford managers to shift funds appropriated by Congress for specific efforts (i.e., for legally required soil or groundwater cleanup, or tank waste safety work) to any other project without Congressional approval or notice.
  • Forcing the pending Hanford Site Solid Waste EIS to deceptively "justify" the DOE's proposal to import and bury 340,000 cubic meters of Low-Level Waste (LLW)--a figure that is several times higher than any prior proposal.
  • Importation of 70000 truckloads of mixed (chemical and nuclear) waste from out of state into the Hanford facility for burial in unlined soil trenches. The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires a comprehensive look at all the impacts in bringing waste to Hanford, including risk of accident and impact to soil and groundwater.

Based on the public's experience, DOE has lost all credibility for meeting established deadlines and upholding legally binding agreements, but the Washington State Attorney General's office has agreed to continue playing the game. Watchdog groups such as Heart of America Northwest (www.heartofamericanorthwest.org) fear that Hanford will become a "National Sacrifice Zone".

Citizens are urged to write Governor Locke that we do NOT want more radioactive waste trucked into Hanford: Governor Gary Locke, PO Box 40002, Olympia WA 88504. Email www.governor.wa.gov.



Bookmark and Share



Google
WWW Washington Free Press

The Washington Free Press
PMB #178, 1463 E Republican ST, Seattle WA 98112 WAfreepress@gmail.com

Donate free food
Home |  Subscribe |  Back Issues |  The Organization |  Volunteer |  Do Something Directory