UNDERGROUND tanks that hold a stew of toxic, radioactive waste at America's most contaminated nuclear site pose a possible risk of explosion, officials say.
State and federal authorities have long known hydrogen gas could build up inside the tanks at Washington's Hanford Nuclear Reservation, leading to an explosion that would release radioactive material.
The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board recommended additional monitoring and ventilation of the tanks last autumn and federal officials were working to develop a plan to implement the recommendation.
The board expressed those concerns again on Monday to US Senator Ron Wyden, who is chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and had sought the board's perspective about cleanup at Hanford.
The federal government created Hanford in the 1940s as part of the secret Manhattan Project to build the atomic bomb.
It spends billions to clean up the 1500-square-kilometre site neighbouring the Columbia River, the southern border between Washington and Oregon and the Pacific Northwest's largest waterway.
Federal officials have said six underground tanks at the site are leaking into the soil, threatening the groundwater, and technical problems have delayed construction of a plant to treat the waste for long-term safe disposal.
Those issues are likely to come up during confirmation hearings next week for Energy Secretary-nominee Ernest J. Moniz.
The fears of explosion and contamination could give Washington and Oregon officials more clout as they push for cleanup of the World War II-era site.
Central to the cleanup is the removal of 212 million litres of highly radioactive, toxic waste left from plutonium production from underground tanks.
Many of the site's single-shell tanks, which have just one wall, have leaked in the past, and state and federal officials announced in February that six such tanks are leaking anew.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
US nuke board warns of explosion risk
Dengan url
http://flasdiskvirus.blogspot.com/2013/04/us-nuke-board-warns-of-explosion-risk.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
US nuke board warns of explosion risk
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
US nuke board warns of explosion risk
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar