DOE CLEARS ALMOST ALL OF SET OF HANFORD SINGLE-SHELL TANKS OF LEAK CONCERNS

Just one of six suspect single-shell tanks at Hanford is leaking waste into the ground, according to evaluations released Wednesday by the Department of Energy. However, the Washington State Department of Ecology does not agree with all of the conclusions reached by DOE and Washington River Protection Solutions. Both DOE and the state concur that four of the six tanks in question are not leaking, said Dieter Bohrmann, a spokesman for the Department of Ecology. Liquid waste is being lost to evaporation, both agencies agree. They also agree that Tank T-111, the first tank announced to be leaking this winter, is losing waste into the ground. It has been estimated to be losing up to 300 gallons of waste a year. However, DOE believes the leaking has slowed. The state says its evaluation of the data did not reach that conclusion. While DOE said the remaining tank, Tank TY-105, is not leaking, the state is not convinced. DOE has not made the case that the entire loss of up to 150 gallons a year is due to evaporation, according to the state.

 

Hanford single-shell tanks have leaked in the past, but were not suspected of actively leaking after the last of the pumpable liquids was removed in 2004. In 2011 DOE and WRPS began looking at 20 tanks that had waste reductions of more than 1 inch in 15 years, with six tanks considered at most risk. DOE believes the evaluations completed Wednesday show that 19 of 20 of those tanks are not actively leaking. "We will continue to keep the state of Washington, Congress and other key stakeholders apprised of the situation as we continue to monitor the liquid levels inside the single-shell tanks," DOE said in a statement.