Hanford Watch

Tank waste

2010

Vit plant hits another milestone -- Tri-City Herald, August 25
Asphalt being laid over underground Hanford tanks -- News Tribune, August 13
Whistleblower Discusses Safety Concerns At Hanford -- OPB, August 9
Engineer raises safety concerns at Hanford -- Seattle Post-Intelligencer, July 28
DC's oversight of Hanford construction increases -- Seattle Times, April 14
Comments on the Hanford Tank Closure & Waste Management DEIS -- Oregon Wild, March 18
Continued thoughts on the Tank Closure and Waste Management EIS -- Paige Knight, HW,
Feb. 27
Triay says DOE will fulfill tank waste cleanup -- Tri-City Herald, February 25
Asphalt to cap Hanford tanks -- Seattle Times, February 21
Ecology's presentation on Tank Closure & Waste Management EIS -- Hanford list, February 17
Analysis warns Hanford cleanup would take decades -- Associated Press, February 10
Comments for the Hanford Tank Closure & Waste Management EIS -- Paige Knight, HW, Feb. 8
Preliminary Oregon Comments on the EIS -- Oregon Dept. of Energy, January 4

2009

DOE tests robotic arm to remove radioactive waste -- News Tribune, October 16
Hanford plant reaches halfway point -- Seattle Times, October 15
GAO: Evaluate leaving more waste in Hanford tanks -- News Tribune, October 2
Re: Hanford assurances too familiar to taxpayers, Ken Niles, Oregon Dept. of Energy, August 26
Hanford assurances too familiar to taxpayers, Hanford email list, August 20
New plan would add oversight but delay Hanford nuclear cleanup -- Oregonian, August 11
Triay says vit plant, tanks are long-term challenges -- News Tribune, July 26
Hanford sees progress on nuke treatment plant -- Seattle Post-Intelligencer, June 17
Hanford report shows repeated stoppages -- Seattle Post-Intelligencer, June 9
Radioactive waste cleanup has hardly begun -- Mother Nature Network, April 21
Oregon Moves to Join Hanford Clean-Up Lawsuit -- Hanford email list, February 25
Hanford workers resume tank operation -- Seattle Times, January 22

2008

State right to take feds to court over Hanford cleanup -- Longview Daily News, WA - Dec 2
Department of Energy faces huge cost increases -- Tri-City Herald, October 7
NRC review finds DOE program to regulate vit plant OK -- Tri-City Herald, August 12
Is the Hanford Vitrification Plant an Eastern Washington boondoggle? -- KPLU, Richland, July 24
Energy Department Faulted for Mishandling Hanford Nuclear Waste -- Environment News Service, July 14
4 Real-Life WALL*E Robots Cleaning Up After Nuke Waste -- Popular Mechanics, July 1
About time for good news on Hanford cleanup work -- Longview Daily News, June 19
Tank waste retrieval resumes at Hanford -- Seattle Post-Intelligencer, June 17
DOE looks at options for treating tank waste at Hanford -- Tri-City Herald April 21
Wyden raises concerns over quality control at Hanford's vit plant -- Tri-City Herald, April 9
Troubled Hanford cleanup has state mulling lawsuit -- Seattle Post-Intelligencer, March 20

2007

'Umbrella' going over Hanford tank farm -- Tri-City Herald, October 31
Government to Fine Nuclear Contractor -- Forbes, October 5
Feds say work on Hanford plant to ramp up again within 30 days -- San Diego Union Tribune, August 15
Nuclear spill sends warning -- The Oregonian, August 6
Finger pointing after nuclear waste leak -- The Guardian, August 1
Hanford Vit Plant construction to resume in October -- KNDO/KNDU, June 3
State, federal officials discuss new deadlines for Hanford waste plant -- KNDO/KNDU, May 30
Wyden pushes Hanford 'accountability' -- KVTZ, May 10
Hanford pilot project maps underground leaks -- KOMOTV, February 21

2006

Hanford board questions tanks' capability -- Tri-City Herald, November 6
Vit plant quake measures approved -- Tri-City Herald, November 3
Addition of vit plant stacks changes Hanford's skyline -- Tri-City Herald, October 28
Hanford Advisory Board Hears Report on Tank Waste -- KNDO/KNDU, October 10
Hanford empties fifth tank, 144 to go -- Tri-City Herald, October 6
Department of Energy Missed key Hanford Cleanup Deadline -- KNDO/KNDU, October 3
Radioactive Leaks and Plumbers at Hanford -- CounterPunch, September 15
Hanford Tank Waste Evaporated -- KNDO/KNDU, September 13
CH2M Hill Announces a Fourth Hanford Tank Emptied -- KNDO/KNDU, September 13
Hanford Budget A 'Mixed Bag' -- KNDO/KNDU, September 12
'60 Minutes' Focuses on Vit Plant at Hanford -- KNDO/KNDU, September 12
Vit plant to cost $12 billion -- Tri-City Herald, September 8
Errors, Costs Stall Nuclear Waste Project -- Los Angeles Times, September 4
Hanford budget meeting failed to inform public -- Paige Knight, Hanford Watch, July 8
Hanford budget one step closer -- Tri-City Herald, July 2
Hanford vit plant funding restored -- Tri-City Herald, June 29
Cost for Hanford plant now stands at $11.55 billion -- Seattle Post-Intelligencer, June 21
Oregon uneasy with Hanford study -- Tri-City Herald, June 4
Hanford cleanup needs stable funding, better management -- Paige Knight, May 26
Hanford vit plant must be built, but it must be built right -- The Seattle Times, May 25
Congress weighs slowdown of Hanford work -- Seattle Post-Intelligencer, May 17
Feds recommend Hanford vit plant slowdown -- Tri-City Herald, May 15
House calls for reforms at vit plant -- Tri-City Herald, May 12
Nuke Waste Site Calamity Reflects Industrial Crisis -- The NewStandard, May 9
GAO Says Blame Shared for Hanford Vit Plant Costs -- Houston Chronicle, April 6
Price tag on Hanford plant rises again, by nearly $1 billion -- Caspar Star Tribune, April 7
Hanford news -- Paige Knight, April 6
Energy Department fines Bechtel for violations at Hanford plant -- KGW, March 17
Researchers develop alternate method to dispose nuclear liquid waste -- EurekAlert, February 22
Cost of Hanford vit plant could top $10 billion -- The Seattle Times, February 9
Hanford cleanup's costs, delays examined -- Seattle Post-Intelligencer, February 3
Washington governor threatens suit over Hanford -- The Olympian, January 31

2005

Vit plant won't face $100 million more in cuts -- The Seattle Times, December 20
U.S. unveils report on problems at Hanford vit plant -- The Seattle Times, December 7
Tank waste cleanup attempts at Hanford -- The Seattle Times, December 1
Washington state leaders press Bush on Hanford cleanup cost -- Seattle Post-Intelligencer, November 15
Senator rethinks Hanford cleanup -- The News Tribune, November 16
Hanford vs. Katrina: not a good argument -- The Seattle Times, November 16
Congress requires quarterly reports on Hanford waste treatment plant -- KGW.COM, November 11
Murray: Vit plant budget to be slashed -- Seattle Post-Intelligencer, October 26, 2005
Federal board says Hanford waste plant is moving forward -- Seattle Post-Intelligencer, October 18
Energy Department may not meet deadline for Hanford plant -- The Seattle Times, October 7
Hanford board baffled by DOE's reluctance on cost, schedule specifics -- Tri-City Herald, September 12
Hanford lab building lags behind -- Tri-City Herald, September 14
Construction slowdown on Hanford plant worries industry insiders -- Seattle Post-Intelligencer, August 27
Hanford tank waste cleanup excels -- Tri-City Herald, August 17
Workers remove radioactive waste from third Hanford tank -- Seattle Post-Intelligencer, August 16
DOE unlikely to meet Hanford cleanup goal -- Tri-City Herald, August 2
Hanford's Sludge Becomes Glass -- Forbes, August 1
Waste Mismanagement -- Forbes, August 15
Hanford plant gets deadline for plan to end construction -- The Seattle Times, July 19
DOE memo asks for plan on halting vit work -- Tri-City Herald, July 15
Hanford probe urged in Congress -- The Seattle Times, June 29
Ecology director expects fight over Hanford funding -- Corvallis Gazette-Times, June 18
Energy chief pledges cleanup effort -- Tri-City Herald, June 4
Vitrification plant construction costs go up -- The Seattle Times, May 26
Vit plant obstacles don't stop progress -- Tri-City Herald, May 4
Hanford contractor to lay off 700 vit plant workers -- Seattle Times, April 15
Activists consider tank waste cleanup tradeoffs -- Paige Knight & Rob Davis, March 7-8
Experts: Keep Cold War nuke waste at sites -- MSNBC, March 2
Quake would have more impact on vitrification plant -- Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Feb. 24
Hanford prepares to test tank waste bulk vitrification -- San Diego Union Tribune, Feb. 10
The National Academies: Two reports on radioactive waste at DOE sites -- The Energy Net, Feb. 3
DOE gets tank waste separation proposal -- Tri-City Herald, Jan. 5

2004

Vit plant work slows for review of quake design -- Tri-City Herald, December 23, 2004
Yucca Mountain and transportation of nuclear waste -- Paige Knight, December 23, 2004
Keeping wastes here at 'heart' of initiative -- Tri-City Herald, December 15, 2004
"bulk vitrification" -- Tri-City Herald, December 14th, 2004
How secure are radioactive waste shipments? -- Gerry Pollet, Heart of America NW, November 20, 2004
Abraham funded Hanford cleanup, but with strings -- McClatchy Newspapers, November 15, 2004

Cleanup threatened by November events -- Tri-City Herald, November 14, 2004
Washington voters pass Initiative 297-- Gerry Pollet, Heart of America NW, November 9, 2004
Court overturns ruling on Hanford tank waste -- Seattle Post-Intelligencer, November 6, 2004
Nuclear waste gridlock looms, officials warn -- Tri-City Herald, November 5, 2004
Bill Allows Atomic Waste to Remain in Tanks -- New York Times, October 10, 2004
Bulk vitrification testing under way -- Tri-City Herald, September 1, 2004
Gigantic tank set at vit plant -- Tri-City Herald, August 19, 2004
DOE empties liquid from old waste tanks -- Tri-City Herald, August 13, 2004
Hanford waste project carries a high risk of accident, audit finds -- Seattle Post-Intelligencer, July 27, 2004
Response to GAO Report -- DOE Office of River Protection Manager Roy Schepens, July 23, 2004
Cost of Hanford tank waste plant could quadruple -- Seattle Post-Intelligencer, July 13, 2004
Pace of Hanford cleanup criticized -- Register-Guard, July 13, 2004
Cost likely to rise for tank waste vit plant construction -- Seattle Post-Intelligencer, July 2, 2004
Hanford project to test bulk vitrification -- Tri-City Herald, June 22, 2004
Hard reality of cleanup at Hanford -- The Seattle Times, June 9, 2004
DOE to stop trying to bring Hanford sludge to New Mexico -- Seattle Post-Intelligencer, June 7, 2004
Oregon's Heroine, Washington Senator, Maria Cantwell -- Portland IndyMedia, June 6, 2004
Unfettered federal ability to reclassify nuclear waste is ill-conceived -- Oregonian, June 3, 2004
Three Mile Island a million times over -- Oregonian, June 3, 2004
Senate OKs easing nuclear sludge rules -- MSNBC, June 3, 2004
The sludge in the defense bill -- The Oregonian, June 1, 2004

Waste reclassification fight comes to Hanford -- Tri-City Herald, May 28, 2004
Senate should halt nuclear waste plan -- Seattle Post-Intelligencer, May 18, 2004
Report: The Savannah River at Grievous Risk -- IEER, May 17, 2004
Senate bill raises worries about Hanford waste -- Seattle Post-Intelligencer, May 7, 2004
Waste reclassification talks stall -- Tri-City Herald, April 28, 2004
Reclassifying Hanford tank waste & sending to WIPP -- Albuquerque Tribune, April 22, 2004
Energy Dept. threatens no nuclear cleanup -- The Guardian -- April 7, 2004
The crisis at Hanford -- Paige Knight, April 7, 2004
States want ruling on DOE tank wastes upheld -- Tri-City Herald, March 26, 2004
$2.07 billion proposed for cleanup -- Tri-City Herald, Feb. 3, 2004
DOE not working with public on cleanup -- Paige Knight, Feb. 2, 2004
Rebar errors turn up again at vit plant -- Tri-City Herald, Jan. 30, 2004
Officials to review vit plant costs -- Tri-City Herald, Jan. 29, 2004
Letter asks for cleanup solution -- Tri-City Herald, Jan. 27, 2004

2003

A messy cleanup -- The Seattle Times, Dec. 6, 2003
Activists protest Hanford dump through initiative -- Western Front, Dec. 4, 2003
HAB questions postponing decision on waste melters -- Tri-City Herald, Nov 7, 2003
Tank waste treatment plan may be cheaper -- Tri-City Herald, Nov. 6, 2003
Hanford tank waste cleanup forum -- Rob Davis, Hanford Information Network, Oct. 31, 2003
False claims by DOE that renaming waste and using "alternative treatments" to vitrification will save $20 billion -- Gerry Pollet, Heart of American NW, Oct 24, 2003
Groups willing to mediate with DOE over tank waste classification issue -- Tri-City Herald, Oct. 19, 2003
Hanford tank waste forum -- Paige Knight, Hanford Watch, Oct. 13, 2003
House votes against tank waste reclassification -- Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Oct. 3, 2003
Vitrification alternatives unveiled -- Tri-City Herald, Sept. 17, 2003
DOE's waste reclassification try opposed -- Tri-City Herald, Aug. 29, 2003
Waste pumped from tank farm reaches 3 million gallon mark -- Tri-City Herald, Aug. 21, 2003
History of Hanford Tank Waste Classification -- Allyn Boldt, Aug. 28, 2003
Touring the tank waste vitrification facility -- Paige Knight, Hanford Watch, Aug. 16, 2003
GAO report criticizes DOE's approach to glassification -- Tri-City Herald Thursday, July 24th, 2003
Re: The Big Question -- Paige Knight, Hanford Watch, July 24, 2003
The Big Question -- Rob Davis, Hanford Information Network, Jul 21, 2003
Congress, DOE at odds over Hanford cleanup -- Seattle Post-Intelligencer, July 18, 2003
Nuclear waste ruling could prove costly, warns Energy Department -- Seattle Times, July 8, 2003
Judge Voids Cleanup Plan for Wastes at Bomb Plants -- New York Times July 4, 2003
As Good as Glass -- Allyn Boldt, June 18, 2003
Vit plant likely to face delay -- Tri-City Herald, July 10th, 2003
Alternate tank waste vitrification method tested -- Tri-City Herald, June 26, 2003
Hanford tank waste hearing in Portland -- Paige Knight, Hanford Watch, Feb. 25, 2003
Comments on tanks waste EIS scoping -- William Kinsella, Hanford Watch, Feb. 19, 2003
Is the Office of River Protection understaffed? -- Rob Davis, Hanford Information Network, Jan. 29, 2003
Ecology expresses "alarm" at ORP proposal to eliminate technetium removal technology from pre-treatment plant -- Tim Hill, Washington Dept. of Ecology, Jan. 29, 2003

2002

OOE tank waste comments -- Ken Niles, Oregon Office of Energy, Nov. 25, 2002
Letter regarding tank closure plan -- E.S. Aromi, CH2M HILL, Nov. 26, 2002
Letter regarding tank closure plan -- Roy Schepens, DOE Office of River Protection, Oct. 31, 2002
Ecology's letter to Roy Schepens on tank closure -- Paige Knight,Hanford Watch, Oct. 23, 2002

Recent reports about tank closures -- Tim Hill, Wa. Dept. of Ecology, Oct. 14, 2002
Letter from Wa. Dept. of Ecology to DOE Office of River Protection re tank waste cleanup -- Tom Fitzsimmons, Oct. 10, 2002
Redefining high level waste -- Paige Knight, Hanford Watch, Aug. 6, 2002

Tank waste construction schedule -- Paige Knight, Hanford Watch, May 2, 2002
Vitrification plant design completion percentages -- Lynn Porter, Hanford Watch, April 26, 2002

2001

See Hanford email list archive.

2000

Paige Knight -- Tank waste meeting Oct. 26, 2000
Lynn Porter -- Federal tank waste cleanup legislation
Lynn Porter -- The firing of Dick French
Paige Knight -- The firing of Dick French

1999

Lynn Porter -- Tank waste vitrification contract
Paige Knight -- Tank waste vitrification project

1998

Paige Knight -- Looking for a MORP for ORP

Hanford cleanup deadlines
The Oregonian, August 11, 2009

Remove radioactive waste from 16 single-shell tanks in tank farm C
Progress: Waste from seven tanks removed.
Old deadline: 2006
New deadline: 2014

Begin processing tank waste at treatment plant
Progress: Plant construction 44 percent complete; design 75 percent complete.
Old deadline: 2011
New deadline: 2019

Start full operation of treatment plant
Old deadline: none
Deadline: 2022

Extract waste from all 149 single shell tanks
Old deadline: 2018
New deadline: 2040

Treat all tank waste at treatment plant
Old deadline: 2028
New deadline: 2047

Sources: U.S. Department of Energy; Washington Department of Ecology


Seattle Post-Intelligencer, March 20, 2008