DOE: No changes planned for Washington state nuclear waste

Published 1:30 am Thursday, June 27, 2019

Associated Press

RICHLAND — A U.S. Department of Energy official says there is no change proposed for waste designated as high level at the Hanford nuclear complex.

The News Tribune reported Wednesday that DOE undersecretary for science Paul Dabbar says the department currently does not “have any plans to propose anything in Washington state.”

Gov. Jay Inslee and Attorney General Bob Ferguson, both Democrats, have expressed concerns that DOE policy changes are potentially “reckless and dangerous action.”

The DOE earlier this month announced changes in the way it interprets the legal definition of high-level radioactive waste at Hanford and two cleanup sites in South Carolina and Idaho.

State officials say the update could change the standards for treating and disposing of some waste at the Hanford site.