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Hanford Cleanup Success Critical to the Northwest
Weekly Column by Congressman Doc Hastings
October 31, 2014
Dams, agriculture products, the Pacific Northwest National Lab and abundant natural resources are just a few things that make Central Washington unique. Hanford is another.
Hanford began in the 1940’s with nuclear production that played a pivotal role in our defense for decades. An integral part of the Manhattan Project, the work done at Hanford helped end World War II and the Cold War. Today, Hanford is the world’s largest environmental cleanup project.
Since I was first elected to Congress in 1994, a lot has changed at Hanford for the betterment of our region and our environment.
In 1994, there was no overriding plan for the cleanup of our defense nuclear waste sites like Hanford. Within Congress, the prevailing attitude about Hanford was to put a fence around it and let it sit there.
Today the attitude about cleanup is much different. There is recognition of the federal government’s legal obligation to clean up this waste and focus on getting the job done safely, quickly and efficiently. On the ground, very real, measurable progress has been made.
In 1998, I created the Office of River Protection to ensure that the safety and treatment of the waste stored in Hanford’s underground tanks receives the focus and attention it deserves.
The bipartisan Nuclear Cleanup Caucus was formed, and as the Chairman, I’ve utilized it to empower advocates of defense nuclear cleanup to speak loudly and with one voice.
Plans to expensively and wastefully shutter Hanford’s historic B Reactor have been reversed, with the facility being preserved and protected for the public.
Twenty tons of plutonium has been safely shipped out of our state.
Cleanup along the Columbia River is largely complete.
The Waste Treatment Plant which will treat Hanford’s tank waste and turn it to glass for permanent storage at Yucca Mountain is over 60 percent complete.
Nuclear fuel has been moved away from the Columbia River.
The largest groundwater treatment facility in the country has been built.
More than 650 shipments of transuranic waste has been shipped out of Hanford.
Because of the volume and the nature of the wastes at Hanford, cleanup is critical to the entire Northwest. The sooner these wastes are cleaned up, the better off all our communities and our environment will be. Given the accomplishments of the past 20 years, I’m hopeful for the future.
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