Officials Write Impact Statement On Hanford

Thu., March 6, 1997

From Staff And Wire Reports

Washington state officials are writing an environmental impact statement on the commercial low-level radioactive waste disposal site at Hanford.

A public scoping meeting for the new study will be held tonight in Spokane.

The Health and Ecology departments are involved in the study. They will evaluate whether the site, run by US Ecology Inc., can be kept safe for at least 1,000 years, said Michael Wilson of Ecology.

The agencies will determine whether there are long-term health threats to surrounding communities, site workers and the environment.

“Our goal, together with that of US Ecology, is to continue safely isolating the waste until it no longer poses a threat,” Wilson said.

The site opened in 1965 on 100 acres of land sub-leased by the state from the federal government for 100 years. It has buried more than 13 million cubic feet of low-level radioactive wastes from hospitals, nuclear reactors and research facilities.

Closing the site in the 21st century is expected to cost $29 million (in 1996 dollars). Site maintenance for 100 years after closure would cost $12 million.

Tonight’s meeting is scheduled from 7 to 9 p.m. at Spokane Falls Community College’s Student Union Building, 3410 W. Fort George Wright Drive. Other meetings will be held in Seattle on March 11 and in Portland on March 13.

, DataTimes

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