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A $90 million project has provided more confidence that Hanford's one-of-a-kind, $12.2 billion vitrification plant should operate as expected, according to the Department of Energy. DOE and its contractors just completed the first phase of testing at the Pretreatment Engineering Platform, a quarter-scale model of the process that will be used at the vit plant to separate Hanford tank waste into high-level waste and low-activity waste for separate treatment. DOE's goal is to minimize the amount of costly high-level waste canisters produced. "The facility has verified some of the key processes at the vitrification plant will work," said Bill Gay, a URS employee and assistant project director for the plant, formally called the waste Treatment Plant.

A major drilling program has commenced in Western Australia to prove up what could potentially be Australia's fifth uranium mine. The Kintyre deposit, 2000 kilometres north east of Perth, is believed to hold around 36 million kilos of uranium of a similar grade to the Ranger mine in the Northern Territory. Last year, Canadian company Cameco joined forces with Mitsubishi to buy Kintyre from Rio Tinto for almost $700 million.

The state of Washington's lawsuit against the Department of Energy to enforce Hanford cleanup deadlines could go to trial in March 2012, Judge Fred Van Sickle of Eastern Washington District federal court said Friday. Washington had requested that a trial date be set a year earlier and DOE had proposed a later date. Van Sickle also allowed the state of Oregon to join the lawsuit as an intervenor on the side of Washington state.

Hanford may have found an efficient way to treat several hundred drums of low-level radioactive waste contaminated with hazardous chemicals and PCBs. Perma-Fix Northwest Richland has applied for a modification of its permit that would allow it to treat waste contaminated with PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, at its facility that now treats low-level waste mixed with other chemicals. A public hearing is planned at 6:30 p.m. April 7 at the washington State Department of Ecology office at 3100 Port of Benton Blvd., Richland. CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Co., the new central Hanford contractor, has 110 cubic yards of waste containing PCBs with no previous plan for its disposal. There is no technology available on the Hanford site to treat the waste, said Dee Millikin, spokeswoman for CH2M Hill.

"The Chamber of Minerals and Energy has rejected the call for a public inquiry into proposed uranium projects in Western Australia. The Government yesterday upheld a decision by the Environmental Protection Authority to use an environmental and management review program to assess Toro Energy's uranium project near Wiluna. The Conservation Council of Western Australia wants a public inquiry, the highest level of assessment, and says it should be applied to all proposed uranium projects. But the chamber's Paul Frewer says he is confident the level of assessment determined by the Minister is suitable."

"A new draft study shows importing radioactive waste for disposal at Hanford would significantly increase pollution in ground water beneath the nuclear reservation, according to the washington State Department of Ecology. The state long has opposed the Department of Energy sending radioactive waste to Hanford for disposal. But the draft Hanford Tank Closure and waste Management Environmental Impact Statement that's open for public comment puts some numbers to that assertion. "We're cleaning up Hanford of some of the constituents we care most about and then recontaminating it with off-site waste to above the acceptable level from a cancer risk standpoint or a safe drinking water standpoint," said Suzanne Dahl, tank waste treatment section manager for the Department of Ecology. Under some scenarios that appear likely, the amount of certain long-lived radioactive isotopes that would be imported and buried at Hanford would account for as much as 90 percent of the releases of that isotope to the environment, according to the state. Some of the worst contamination could occur 1,000 or more years from now."

"State House OKs moving energy council oversight OLYMPIA - The state House of Representatives voted on Monday to modify the administration and jurisdiction of the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council. The bill passed 96-2, with all Mid-Columbia representatives voting in favor. House Bill 2527 transfers EFSEC from the state Department of Commerce to the Utilities and Transportation Commission, and gives the council authority to provide site certification for any commercially operated nuclear power facility. Current law allows EFSEC jurisdiction over larger-scale power plants such as Energy Northwest's Columbia Generating Station. Bill sponsor Rep. Jeff Morris, D-Mount Vernon, said during floor debate that the bill would give the state control over siting the new generation of smaller nuclear plants as technology changes and advances. The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration."

"Three civic leaders in south-central Washington are challenging the federal government's decision to abandon Yucca Mountain as a nuclear Waste repository. President Obama has said he doesn't see the Nevada site as a workable option for storing spent nuclear fuel and nuclear Waste. He has asked a commission to recommend alternatives. Bob Ferguson, Bill Lampson and Gary Petersen filed a lawsuit in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington D.C. on Thursday. They say the decision to terminate the project violates the Nuclear Waste Policy Act."

"There are four "fairly firm" proposals from companies interested in a proposed energy park at Hanford that would help provide power to the vitrification plant under construction at the site, a representative of the Mid-Columbia Energy Initiative said Tuesday. The Mid-Columbia Energy Initiative, a group seeking to establish the energy park, is working to secure 20 square miles of reclaimed land on the Hanford site for the energy park by 2013 and 60 square miles by 2015. Gary Petersen, vice president of Hanford programs for the Tri-City Development Council, told Richland City Council members at a Tuesday workshop that the types of energy the companies interested in the park would provide include piped natural gas supplied by Cascade Natural Gas, and biofuel, anhydrous ammonia and liquefied natural gas plants."

"Even after billions of dollars are spent cleaning up the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, radioactive waste could threaten the Columbia River for thousands of years to come. A government analysis shows that hot spots of uranium, strontium 90 and other potential carcinogens could linger in Hanford's groundwater for nearly 10,000 years. The analysis is part of a 6,000-page document outlining the U.S. Department of Energy's options for dealing with leaky underground storage tanks. But that's a worst-case scenario, Department of Energy officials said Tuesday night. The goal is to ensure that groundwater leaving Hanford after the cleanup meets drinking water standards, they said. Officials faced a skeptical crowd at a public meeting in Spokane. "The impacts to the groundwater and the people who will use it are shockingly high," said Gerry Pollet, executive director of Heart of America Northwest, a Seattle-based Hanford watchdog group that advocates stricter cleanup standards. "Our grandchildren will be exposed to this. People will drink that groundwater. It's a valuable resource and it's only going to get more valuable.""

"Even after billions of dollars are spent cleaning up the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, radioactive waste could threaten the Columbia River for thousands of years to come. A government analysis shows that hot spots of uranium, strontium 90 and other potential carcinogens could linger in Hanford's groundwater for nearly 10,000 years. The analysis is part of a 6,000-page document outlining the U.S. Department of Energy's options for dealing with leaky underground storage tanks. But that's a worst-case scenario, Department of Energy officials said Tuesday night. The goal is to ensure that groundwater leaving Hanford after the cleanup meets drinking water … "

"The fiscal 2011 budget for the Hanford nuclear reservation would increase at least $22 million from the current year's budget to about $2.1 billion under the Obama administration's proposal released Monday. That money would be in addition to $1.96 billion in federal economic stimulus money being spent on Hanford cleanup from spring 2009 through fiscal 2011. In early budget talks, the administration had considered cutting the budget for environmental cleanup of nuclear weapons sites such as Hanford by 20 percent, or about $1 billion, nationwide. But the Washington congressional delegation stepped up to get funding restored in the proposed budget, with Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., personally visiting the White House to discuss her concerns, said Gary Petersen, vice president of Hanford programs at the Tri-City Development Council."

"A local environmental group is rallying its members and supporters to appear at tonight's San Clemente City Council meeting to question whether it is safe to restart the shut-down Unit 2 reactor at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. The City Council has scheduled an appearance by Greg Warwick, senior Nuclear Regulatory Commission resident inspector at San Onofre, to report on safety at the power plant just south of town. Southern California Edison shut off the reactor in September for refueling and to swap out two aging 640-ton steam generators. On Jan. 19, Gary Headrick, founder of San Clemente Green, asked for the city's support in delaying reactivation of Unit 2 until there is assurance it is safe. He cited reports about concerns of some employees at the plant, air pockets in some welds on one of the new steam generators and NRC investigations into safety practices at San Onofre."

"About $2 billion in federal stimulus money has been spent in Washington state, creating or retaining tens of thousands of jobs in the state, state officials said Monday. State and local government workers submitted an update to the federal government this past weekend to track stimulus spending. The federal government reported Friday that about 600,000 jobs have been saved or created under President Barack Obama's economic stimulus plan. Gov. Chris Gregoire said about 45,000 jobs have been retained or created since the stimulus money first started being released early last year. About 14,000 of those have come since October. Job creation at a time when the state is in the midst of a 9.5 percent unemployment rate is especially important, Gregoire said."

"People living close to Hanford, particularly those just across the Columbia River, may have felt a whole lot of shaking going on over the past year. The swarm of small earthquakes that started in January 2009 continued periodically through December, numbering about 2,000 total, said Alan Rohay, a seismologist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The swarm of quakes appears to be over now, with just one detected last month. But during the year they were active, scientists were able to learn more about the phenomena. In February and March 20 to 40 quakes were detected, including a magnitude-2.9 earthquake measured Feb. 22. Although the number declined in April, the quakes continued at a background level."

"Oregon officials are raising concerns about contamination at the Hanford nuclear site reaching the Columbia River. Oregon officials are raising concerns about contamination at the Hanford nuclear site reaching the Columbia River. The U.S. Department of Energy, which manages cleanup at the south-central Washington site, is taking public comments on its proposal for cleaning up storage tanks and managing Waste. The proposal projects that some radioactive contaminants could threaten the Columbia River for thousands of years. Ken Niles, assistant director of the Oregon Department of Energy, says that should force the government to review its long-term cleanup plans at Hanford. The report also discusses the government's plan to import some radioactive Waste from other sites to Hanford after 2022, which Niles says poses unacceptable risks."

"Concerns over chemical vapors from an underground tank have stopped work to retrieve radioactive waste from Tank C-104, the only leak-prone tank currently being emptied at Hanford. A Hanford worker has been diagnosed with a medical issue after several workers smelled fumes, and a determination has not been made about whether the medical problem could be linked to the vapors. Late at night Jan. 25, workers who were in a control trailer for the work outside the C Tank Farm fence at Hanford came outside and smelled a strong odor linked to vapors vented from the tanks, said Fred Beranek, director of environment, safety, health and quality at washington River Protection Solutions. "

"The Hanford Advisory Board is questioning whether the Department of Energy is doing enough to protect Hanford workers from an incurable lung disease caused by exposure to beryllium. DOE officials in Washington, D.C., are about to launch a review of the Hanford beryllium protection program because of the concerns of some workers. But by the time that review is finished, three more cases of chronic beryllium disease could be diagnosed if current trends continue, said board member Mike Korenko at a meeting Thursday of the advisory board in Kennewick. "How can you not look at that data and have adrenaline flowing?" he asked Doug Shoop, deputy manager of the DOE Hanford Richland Operations Office. Ten months have passed since the advisory board last recommended that DOE improve its beryllium protection program, and since then three more Hanford cases of chronic beryllium disease have been verified. That brings the total with the disease to 32 and the number of workers determined to be sensitized to beryllium to 95, up from 88."

The nearly $2 billion in stimulus money being spent on environmental cleanup at the Hanford nuclear reservation made a list of questionable spending released Tuesday by Republican Sen. John McCain. "Hanford nuclear site gets billions for failed cleanup effort," said the stimulus checklist that the former presidential candidate prepared with fellow Republican Sen. Tom Coburn. The list included 100 projects, with Hanford at No. 10, which the senators said represented "billions of dollars of stimulus funding that have been wasted, mismanaged or directed toward silly and shortsighted projects." But Sen. Patty Murray, D-wash., who fought to get the money for Hanford, dismissed McCain's list as "political posturing of the worst kind."

The nearly $2 billion in stimulus money being spent on environmental cleanup at the Hanford nuclear reservation made a list of questionable spending released Tuesday by Republican Sen. John McCain. "Hanford nuclear site gets billions for failed cleanup effort," said the stimulus checklist that the former presidential candidate prepared with fellow Republican Sen. Tom Coburn. The list included 100 projects, with Hanford at No. 10, which the senators said represented "billions of dollars of stimulus funding that have been wasted, mismanaged or directed toward silly and shortsighted projects." But Sen. Patty Murray, D-wash., who fought to get the money for Hanford, dismissed McCain's list as "political posturing of the worst kind."

The state of Oregon has fined URS, the contractor operating the incinerator at the Umatilla Chemical Depot, $111,000. Most of the fine is for violations of the facility's hazardous waste and air contaminant discharge permits as it began to burn mustard weapons agent and the agent containers. The Umatilla Chemical Agent Disposal Facility has not incinerated any chemical weapons agent or containers for 40 days while it addresses the issue. "They are delaying operations to make sure it doesn't happen again," said Rich Duval of the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality's Chemical Demilitarization Program in Hermiston. URS's washington Demilitarization Co. reported the problems to the state, including eight occasions when the plant exceeded its emissions limit for carbon monoxide as it began incinerating mustard agent.

The state of Oregon has fined URS, the contractor operating the incinerator at the Umatilla Chemical Depot, $111,000. Most of the fine is for violations of the facility's hazardous waste and air contaminant discharge permits as it began to burn mustard weapons agent and the agent containers. The Umatilla Chemical Agent Disposal Facility has not incinerated any chemical weapons agent or containers for 40 days while it addresses the issue. "They are delaying operations to make sure it doesn't happen again," said Rich Duval of the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality's Chemical Demilitarization Program in Hermiston. URS's washington Demilitarization Co. reported the problems to the state, including eight occasions when the plant exceeded its emissions limit for carbon monoxide as it began incinerating mustard agent.