Bats like underground Hanford home, scientists say
Published 9:21 am Wednesday, April 22, 2009
RICHLAND — The Department of Energy says it’s OK for the largest known colony of bats in Eastern Washington to stay in its underground home at the Hanford nuclear reservation.
The 2,000 bats live in a concrete structure once used to hold Columbia River water before it was used at a reactor. The structure was to be demolished as part of the Hanford cleanup, but that was before a contractor discovered the bats roost there from mid-March to mid-October.
The tiny bats — a species called Yuma myotis that are smaller than a mouse — seem to like their underground home, which hasn’t been used in 30 years. Scientists tell the Tri-City Herald that the structure has no contamination and the bat colony is thriving.
