Hanford’s sorry history

We took pictures in the Hanford waste tanks in the mid-1960s that showed cracks. Since the waste was boiling, we knew it was leaking into the soil. It was declared top secret, so nothing was issued to the public.

An engineer was assigned the next year and Battelle Labs also started looking at glassification, etc. Very little was done until the news was leaked to the public in 1973.

The Atomic Energy Commission was dissolved as the corruption and incompetence, especially with protecting the environment, was so widespread they didn’t see a fix. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission was set up to start cleaning up the mess at several nuclear facilities.

Here we are today, nearly 50 years later, with very little done. Why? Once the mess is cleaned up, the billions in federal dollars goes away. The mother’s milk for the Tri-Cities economy dries up.

If Hanford, and the nuclear industry as a whole, had been run like the space program, we might have a safe, reliable, clean source of energy.

Robert Cannata

Spokane