Hanford Initiative Likely on November Ballot

by Gregg Small, WTC

On January 2, a broad coalition of organizations submitted more than 282,000 signatures to the state to place Initiative 297 on the ballot to protect Washington residents from the hazards of the Hanford Radioactive Waste site. The number of signatures submitted was a record for any initiative ever filed in this state and demonstrates the strong support that exists in Washington for cleaning up one of the most polluted waste sites in Washington and preventing more pollution from coming in. If passed, Initiative 297, the "Protect Washington" initiative, will:

• End dumping of radioactive waste in unlined soil trenches near the Columbia River;
• Protect Washington from risks of 70,000 truckloads of radioactive waste and "mixed radioactive hazardous" waste, keeping thousands of truckloads from going through downtown Spokane;
• Require cleanup of deadly liquid high-level nuclear waste tanks and leaks from the tanks, which the Bush administration has adopted plans to abandon. The initiative would create thousands of jobs as well as protect the Columbia River from these wastes; and
• Require landfills and tanks leaking contamination and violating hazardous waste laws to be cleaned up before more waste is added from other nuclear weapons plants run by the US Department of Energy.

The Washington Toxics Coalition has endorsed the initiative and believes that it is a very important measure aimed at protecting public health and the environment in Washington.

For more information about the initiative and what you can do to help get it passed, visit www.protectwashington.org.