Energy Department Likely To Miss Deadline for Nuclear Treatment Plant at Hanford Site

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The federal government says it likely will miss the deadline to open a multi-billion-dollar nuclear waste treatment plant, delaying cleanup of highly radioactive materials leftover from a site that made Cold War weapons.

YAKIMA, Washington — The federal government says it likely will miss the deadline to open a multi-billion-dollar nuclear waste treatment plant, delaying cleanup of highly radioactive materials leftover from a site that made Cold War weapons.


The Energy Department, which already has delayed the project three times at the Hanford nuclear reservation, halted construction on major portions of the plant last month amid skyrocketing costs stemming from a seismic study.


The study found the government had underestimated the impact a severe earthquake could have on the treatment plant, which is the federal government's largest construction project.


A department spokesman said the study's findings mean the project will probably miss a deadline in 2011, when the plant was to be fully operational.


"Based on our review to date, there are a number of technical issues that have made it clear we likely will not be able to meet the 2011 milestone," Energy Department spokesman Mike Waldron said.


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On Thursday, the agency notified state officials that a new cost estimate and schedule for completing construction on the plant will not be ready before June.


The treatment plant has long been considered the cornerstone of cleanup at Hanford, which was created in the 1940s as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project. Today, it is the nation's most contaminated nuclear site.


The greatest risk is posed by 53 million gallons (201 million liters) of decades-old radioactive waste in 177 underground tanks. Retrieval of the waste is a priority because some of the tanks are known to have leaked, threatening the aquifer and the Columbia River less than 10 miles (16 kilometers) away.


Federal officials refused to release a new cost estimate for the plant -- currently tagged at more than $5.8 billion (euro4.78 billion). Congress has estimated the latest problems could push the cost as high as $10 billion (euro8.23 billion) and delay the start by four years.


"We continue to be frustrated by this update, but at the same time agree that USDOE and the contractors should do the job right and not make promises they cannot keep," Sandy Howard, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Ecology, said Friday.


Cleanup of the entire 586-square-mile (1,500-square-kilometer) Hanford site is expected to total $50 billion (euro41.17 billion) to $60 billion (euro49.41 billion), with completion by 2035.


Source: Associated Press