A Hanford first: tank waste to be treated off site. Could it lead to less costly cleanup? Tri-City Herald | November 4, 2017
For the first time, Hanford radioactive tank waste has been sent off site for treatment and disposal.
Whether it could lead to a potentially faster and less-expensive way of handling some of Hanford’s 56 million gallons of waste held in underground tanks is yet to be determined.
A mere three gallons of the waste held in Hanford’s tanks has been sent to nearby Perma-Fix Environmental Solutions in Richland to be encapsulated in concrete-like grout.
It then is expected to be sent to a privately owned Texas waste disposal facility that was built to accept low level radioactive waste, including waste mixed with hazardous chemicals, from federal projects.
In September the Energy Communities Alliance, a nationwide coalition of local governments affected by Department of Energy projects, called for a new approach to nuclear waste management as costs for cleanup of Hanford and other sites stands at $257
billion.
The alliance, which includes Hanford-area local governments, advocated for DOE to take actions, including moving ahead on pilot projects, that it said could conservatively cut $40 billion from environmental cleanup costs.
LEGISLATIVEHouse Tax Bill Trims Wind Tax Credit, Extends Nuclear
Provision Bloomberg Politics | November 2, 2017
Tax credits cherished by the wind and solar industry remain under a rewrite of the tax code revealed by House Republicans, but the tax overhaul bill would trim the wind energy’s production tax credit by more than a
third.
The bill, unveiled by House GOP leaders Thursday, also extends an estimated $6 billion tax credit for the nuclear industry, which would benefit Southern Co. Without the extension, the credit may have gone unused before a 2021 deadline. Southern’s Vogtle project in Georgia faces construction delays and is not on track to be completed before the deadline.
The bill also adds tax credits for other energy sources, such as geothermal, small-scale wind and fuel cells that were left out of a 2015 budget and spending deal.
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