Hanford is the most contaminated site in the western hemisphere and, twenty-five years into the cleanup, there are still new challenges to face. It's not like there weren't dangerous hurdles to begin with when you consider he facts:

-56 million gallons of high-level radioactive waste stews in underground storage tanks and awaits treatment and long term storage.

-80 square miles of contaminated groundwater threatens the Columbia River.

-Eight cocooned reactors await radioactive decay in place near the rivershore. 

That said, the latest bad news from the AP shouldn't come as a surprise but it is none the less a set back as more cancer-causing isotopes are leaking into soil only five miles from the Columbia River. This is the cost of delays as the tanks designed to temporarily hold waste fall apart. From the AP:

An underground tank holding some of the worst radioactive waste at the nation’s most contaminated nuclear site might be leaking into the soil.

The U.S. Energy Department said workers at Washington state’s Hanford Nuclear Reservation detected higher radioactivity levels under tank AY-102 during a routine inspection Thursday.

Spokeswoman Lori Gamache said the department has notified Washington officials and is investigating the leak further. An engineering analysis team will conduct additional sampling and video inspection to determine the source of the contamination, she said.

State and federal officials have long said leaking tanks at Hanford do not pose an immediate threat to the environment or public health. The largest waterway in the Pacific Northwest — the Columbia River — is still at least 5 miles away and the closest communities are several miles downstream.

However, if this dangerous waste escapes the tank into the soil, it raises concerns about it traveling to the groundwater and someday potentially reaching the river.

Full story HERE. 

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