Hanford workers take cover after chlorine alarm sounds

RICHLAND, Wash. — About 1,000 workers at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation have been told to take cover after a chlorine alarm sounded at a water treatment plant. Department of Energy spokesman Geoff Tyree told the Tri-City Herald that no chlorine leak has been detected, but the cause for the alarm Wednesday afternoon is being investigated. He said maintenance was done on the alarm earlier in the day and the activation may be a false alarm. Hanford was created by the Manhattan Project during World War II in the race to build an atomic bomb. The sprawling complex near Washington’s Tri-Cities of Richland, Kennewick and Pasco is involved in a multi-decade cleanup program that already has cost more than $40 billion.