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The Shell Game
Environmental Laws of Mass Destruction
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.
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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.
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