HANFORD: North America's Fukushima 4 15 12
HANFORD: North America's Fukushima
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- Date: Sunday, April 15, 2012
- Time: 12:00pm until 3:00pm
- Location: John Dam Plaza, Richland, WA 99352
Purpose
The purposes of this event are:
- Educational
To educate the community about the dangers of the groundwater contamination with weapons grade plutonium and other radioactive isotopes at the Hanford site and it's eventual release into the Columbia river, the dangers of nuclear energy as it relates to the Columbia Generating Station plant(a similar design to the Fukushima plant), and the problems with the delays and safety concerns at the vitrification plant.
- Communication
To bring all concerned parties to the table to discuss the challenges and gather feedback from current, past, and future generations.
Background
The Hanford Site is a mostly decommissioned nuclear production complex on the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington, operated by the United States federal government.
- The Hanford site represents two-thirds of the nation's high-level radioactive waste by volume.
Today, Hanford is the most contaminated nuclear site in the United States and is the focus of the nation's largest environmental cleanup. The most significant challenge at Hanford is stabilizing the 53 million U.S. gallons (204,000 m3) of high-level radioactive waste stored in 177 underground tanks. About a third of these tanks have leaked waste into the soil and groundwater.[55] As of 2008, most of the liquid waste has been transferred to more secure double-shelled tanks; however, 2.8 million U.S. gallons (10,600 m3) of liquid waste, together with 27 million U.S. gallons (100,000 m3) of salt cake and sludge, remains in the single-shelled tanks.[5] That waste was originally scheduled to be removed by 2018. The revised deadline is 2040.[53] Nearby aquifers contain an estimated 270 billion U.S. gallons (1 billion m3) of contaminated groundwater as a result of the leaks.[56] As of 2008, 1 million U.S. gallons (4,000 m3) of highly radioactive waste is traveling through the groundwater toward the Columbia River. This waste is expected to reach the river in 12 to 50 years if cleanup does not proceed on schedule.[5] The site also includes 25 million cubic feet (710,000 m3) of solid radioactive waste.[56]
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