March 17, 2014

STATE: DOE PLAN FOR LEAKING TANK UNACCEPTABLE

By ExchangeMonitor

The Department of Energy’s plan to wait at least two years to pump waste from Hanford’s damaged double-shell tank is legally unacceptable, the Washington State Department of Ecology said Monday. The plan released late Friday “demonstrates the federal government’s lack of commitment to set a firm, near-term schedule for the removal of waste from leaking double-shell Tank AY-102,” the state said in a statement. State regulations require DOE to pump waste as soon as practicable, but DOE has not removed any waste from the tank since confirming in October 2012 that it was leaking waste between its shells.

DOE’s new plan calls for no waste to be removed until DOE is prepared to start removing sludge as well as liquid waste, but the discovery of more leaked waste last week reinforced the need to start pumping liquid waste now, the state said. “We recognize the issues that (DOE) is concerned with regarding available tank space, cost and the absence of immediate danger to the public,” the Department of Ecology said. “However, those do not mitigate the need to take all precautions to avoid further risk to human health and the environment.”

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