KENNEWICK — A federal judge has ruled that the Department of Energy will be required to build new storage tanks for high level radioactive waste at Hanford Nuclear Reservation if it does not meet certain deadlines related to cleanup projects.
The Tri-City Herald reported Friday that the order issued by Judge Rosanna Malouf Peterson had wins and losses for both the Department of Energy and the state of Washington on proposals for new court-enforced deadlines.
Hanford, located near Richland in eastern Washington, contains 177 nuclear waste tanks, some of which have leaked. The nation’s largest collection of radioactive waste is left over from the production of plutonium for nuclear weapons.
Peterson also ruled late Thursday that DOE would not be required to build two new facilities at the Hanford tank farms that would allow the Hanford vitrification plant to begin treating certain wastes while unresolved technical issues delay full operation of the plant.
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