U.S. Senators announce grant to help Hanford workers

WASHINGTON — Washington state’s Employment Security Department will receive a $1.3 million emergency grant to aid about 400 laid-off workers at the Hanford nuclear reservation.

U.S. Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell announced the grant Tuesday.

The companies handling cleanup of the highly contaminated site used federal stimulus dollars to hire additional workers, but more than 1,500 workers were laid off last year once that money was spent.

The Democratic senators wrote a letter to Labor Secretary Hilda Solis in February for additional support for those workers. The money will help laid-off workers with job search assistance, counseling and training.