Hanford Removes 18 Tanks From Safety-Watch List

Eighteen underground tanks holding 638,000 gallons of radioactive sludge have been removed from a safety-watch list at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, Energy Department officials said Wednesday.

But 38 tanks remain under watch for hazards including flammable gas, high temperatures and organic materials that could become explosive.

“This is a major step forward in resolving one of our most serious safety issues,” said Jackson Kinzer, the DOE’s assistant manager for the tank waste remediation system.

The 18 tanks were considered a potential hazard because they contained ferrocyanide - a chemical added in the 1950s to remove cesium from the waste. Ferrocyanide can ignite or explode when temperatures reach 450 degrees.

Recent studies of the tanks show the ferrocyanide has decomposed and is no longer a threat, Kinzer said.

“This was something we assumed was happening but had to be able to prove,” said Mike Berriochoa, spokesman for Fluor Daniel Hanford, DOE’s main contractor.

Hanford produced weapons-grade plutonium until the late 1980s.