Radioactive waste keeps spreading at a demolition site at Hanford. This week, officials have found more contamination on a worker’s boot, on a work trailer and a personal vehicle.
Now, a rental car that’s possibly contaminated has ended up in Spokane. It’s now on a trailer headed back to the Tri-Cities for testing.
There has also been a reshuffling of managers this week at the Plutonium Finishing Plant. U.S. Department of Energy officials say they hope the change will better protect employees and the public from contamination.
Stephanie Schleif watches over the plant’s demolition for Washington’s Department of Ecology. She’s concerned that DOE can’t keep contamination from popping up in unexpected places.
“We’re hoping sooner rather than later [Department of Energy managers] have some answers for us,” Schleif said.
The DOE has convened an expert panel to suss out what’s gone wrong. They’ll also study how the demolition project can start up safely again. Cleanup work on the old factory—and about 200 workers—have been idled since December.
Copyright 2018 Northwest News Network
