The first ever double-shell tank to have leaked at Hanford may be in far worse condition than anyone imagined.

Earth Watch Report  -  Nuclear  Power  Truths
....

AP

FILE – In this July 14, 2010 photo, workers at the Hanford nuclear reservation work around a a tank farm where highly radioactive waste is stored underground near Richland, Wash. Several workers at the Hanford nuclear reservation are raising concerns about the safety of the plant’s design and complaining they’ve been retaliated against for raising those concerns , even as the U.S. Department of Energy announces another round of cost hikes and potential delays.  (AP Photo/Shannon Dininny)

....

Worst Hanford tank may be leaking into soil

by SUSANNAH FRAME / KING 5 News

Posted on June 21, 2013 at 5:50 AM

Updated today at 6:30 PM

Related:

• Hanford's Dirty Secrets

The first ever double-shell tank to have leaked at Hanford may be in far worse condition than anyone imagined. Hanford workers conducting routine maintenance on the tank, known as AY-102, Thursday were shocked to find readings of radioactivity from material outside the tank. Until now leaked nuclear sludge had only been detected in what's known as the tank's annulus -- the hollow safety space between the tank's two walls.
The tank has been at the center of a KING 5 investigation for months. The underground carbon steel vessel holds 865,000 gallons of the most chemically contaminated, thermally hot, corrosive and radioactive material at the site.

The U.S. Department of Energy, in a unique move, issued an email late Thursday night about the turn of events.

"On Thursday, June 20, 2013, workers detected an increased level of contamination during a routine removal of water and survey of (AY-102's) leak detection pit...The source of contamination is not yet verified, but may be an indication of a leak from the AY-102 tank’s secondary containment," wrote Lori Gamache, spokesperson for the DOE's Office of River Protection (ORP) in Richland.

The leak detection pit is located underneath the massive tank and has contact with the soil.

Read More  Here


***************************************************

Related  Articles

Hanford Nuclear Reservation Tanks Leaking Radioactive Waste Underground, Governor Inslee Says

Sealed ‘black cells’ stall radioactive waste cleanup at Hanford nuclear reservation : The black cells will be so radioactive that human beings won’t be allowed in, and remote access is limited.

The companies in charge of nuclear waste clean up at the Hanford Site hold contracts with the fed that offer no incentive for reporting problems, a dangerous climate in light of radioactive leaks, according to one of the nation’s top nuclear policy experts.

Leak in Hanford double-shell tank getting worse