Another round of looking at potentially less expensive options to treat the stew of radioactive and hazardous chemical waste stored in Hanford’s underground tanks has brought out the skeptic in some Northwest officials.
“Just once I’d like to hear ‘How can we do it better? How can we ensure protection for as long as these wastes remain hazardous?’” said Ken Niles, nuclear safety administrator for the Oregon Department of Energy.
Countless times since cleanup regulations were formulated in 1989, new political administrations and new U.S. Department of Energy officials have
asked for a fresh look at options, saying that environmental cleanup at Hanford is taking too long and costing too much, Niles said.
He was among the invited speakers at a two-day meeting in Richland last week of leading national researchers assembled as a committee of the nonprofit National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.
