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SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — A deal to address two nuclear waste storage tanks that are leaking radioactive materials into the soil in Washington state was reached Thursday between the state and the U.S. Department of Energy.The waste is left over from the production of plutonium for nuclear weapons on the Hanford Nuclear Reservation near Richland, Washington.From World War II through the Cold War, Hanford produced more than 70 tons of plutonium, including for the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, at the end of World War II. When plutonium production ceased in 1989, the sites mission shifted to cleaning up the chemical and radioactive waste left behind, including 56 million gallons of waste stored in 177 giant underground tanks.The Department of Energy announced in April 2021 that Tank B-109 was leaking waste into the surrounding soil. Tank T-111 was discovered to be leaking in 2013.Its been a priority for the state of Washington to address leaking tanks in a way that protects nearby communities and the Columbia River, said Ecology Department Director Laura Watson. We know that ongoing vigilance and commitment will be needed to fully address these risks.But state Rep. Gerry Pollet, D-Seattle, a long-time Hanford critic, noted the deal could allow the tanks to leak for years.Letting a high-level nuclear waste tank continue to leak for years or decades is a dereliction of our states duty to protect our Columbia River, protect our groundwater, to enforce our most fundamental hazardous waste laws and adds to the history of violating Treaty rights at Hanford, said Pollet, director of watchdog group Heart of America Northwest.The Department of Energy manages the nations largest collection of radioactive waste, located on the 580-square mile (1,502 square kilometer) Hanford site, which is about 200 miles (322 kilometers) southeast of Seattle.Under the agreement, the Energy Department will:Cover the T and B tank farms with surface barriers to prevent rain or snowmelt from seeping into the tanks, and to slow the migration of leaked waste toward the groundwater.Develop a response plan for future leaks from older single-walled tanks, some of which date to World War II.Evaluate the viability of installing a ventilation system to evaporate liquid waste in Tank B-109.Tank B-109 holds about 123,000 gallons of waste (465,605 liters), with about 13,000 gallons (49,210 liters) of residual liquid form. T-111 holds an estimated 397,000 (1,502,808 liters) gallons of waste; about 37,000 gallons (140,060 liters) is liquid waste within sludge.The Energy Department estimates Tank B-109 is leaking about 560 gallons (2,120 liters) of waste per year, and Tank T-111 is leaking about 300 gallons (1,135 liters) per year. The agency estimated it could take 25 or more years for waste from Tank B-109 to reach groundwater, and 70 or more years for Tank T-111 waste to reach groundwater. In August 2022, the Department of Energy and Washington State Department of Ecology signed an agreement, called an Agreed Order, on how to respond to two leaking underground waste tanks and potential future leaks from tanks at the Hanford Site. Through its tank integrity program, DOE had determined that Tank B-109 is leaking about *1.5 gallons of waste per day, and Tank T-111 is leaking less than a *gallon a day. The agencies jointly developed the agreement following close coordination since the April 2021 announcement that Tank B-109 was leaking. DOE reported in 2013 that Tank T-111 was leaking. The leaks do not pose a risk to the Hanford Workforce, the surrounding communities or the Columbia River. It could take more than an estimated 25 years for any leakage from Tank B-109 to reach the water table, and up to 70 years for Tank T-111. Groundwater treatment systems installed several years ago under the areas surrounding both tanks are already capturing and removing contamination resulting from the discharge of millions of gallons of contaminated liquids to the soil during historical operations to produce materials for the U.S. nuclear weapons program. The planned measures in the August 2022 agreement will further reduce the risk of contamination from the tanks reaching groundwater, and the agreement supports the agencies continued focus on safe, efficient and effective stewardship, treatment and disposition of waste. *Current estimates as of August 2022 By Tori B. Powell Updated on: April 30, 2021 1:54 PM CBS News An underground radioactive chemical storage tank in southeast Washington state is leaking gallons of nuclear waste, according to the Washington State Department of Ecology, which is overseeing the sites cleanup.The 75-year-old tank B-109 at Hanford Nuclear Reservation is estimated to be leaking 3.5 gallons of waste a day into the ground - the equivalent to nearly 1,300 gallons per year.This highlights the critical need for resources to address Hanfords aging tanks, which will continue to fail and leak over time, Laura Watson, the departments director, said in a statement. The tank holds 123,000 gallons of waste and is leaking into an area where an estimated 200,000 gallons have already leaked from other tanks at the site, the states Department of Ecology said. Since March of 2019, an estimated 1,700 gallons of waste have leaked from B-109, which the department has been tracking for over a year.Randy Bradbury, a department spokesman, told CBS News his agency recognized the tanks liquid level was decreasing more than a year ago but they werent sure of the cause. But on Thursday, the U.S. Department of Energy notified the Washington agency that the tank was indeed leaking. After the leak was discovered by a contractor, the Department of Energy sent a message Thursday to Hanford Site employees saying the tank had been previously emptied of pumpable liquids, leaving a very small amount of liquid waste in the tank. An assessment showed the tank was releasing a small, slowly decreasing level of liquid that poses no increased health or safety risk to Hanford workers or the public.Contamination in this area is not a new issue and mitigation actions have been in place for decades, the announcement said. The Hanford Nuclear Reservation, which was constructed during World War II to make plutonium for nuclear weapons, includes tanks that contain various mixed waste materials made of both radioactive components and some of the most dangerous waste created over four decades, according to Washingtons Department of Ecology. In the past, more than 67 tanks at the reservation have been suspected to be leaking or have actually leaked. Hanfords B Tank Farm seen in this photo from April 2021. Courtesy U.S. Department of Energy An environmental impact statement from the National Environmental Policy Act said that numerous geologic problems with the Hanford Reservation have been pointed out. Leaving the waste in the ground is just not acceptable, the statement read. There is not enough information to take a chance on leaving any radioactive waste in the ground.And controlling a tank leak is what Bradbury said will take years to address.Theyre all very well into the ground, Bradbury said. This isnt something thats going to happen next week or next month.But Watson said that as of now the leak poses no immediate increased risk to workers or the public, but it adds to the ongoing environmental threat at Hanford. Bradbury said that the departments main concern is preventing the waste from reaching the Columbia River, which is only 10 miles away from B-109. It will just basically sit around in the soil but in fact, it does migrate and some of it has migrated, he said. Local organizations have called on legislators to address the sites repeated tank leaks. This new leak of B-109 puts a spotlight on the need for Congress and the Energy Department to act immediately to increase funding for cleanup and design and build new tanks, as soon as possible, the Hanford Challenge, a nonprofit advocacy organization, released in a statement Thursday. Hanford needs new tanks now.The group has gathered nearly 2,000 signatures on a petition addressed to the U.S. Secretary of Energy to build new tanks at the reservation.

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