The collapse of a tunnel containing radioactive waste dealt another setback to the multibillion-dollar cleanup of the Hanford nuclear waste site in Washington state. There were no injuries in the collapse of a 20-ft by 20-ft section of a tunnel onto eight railcars carrying radioactive waste, and the Dept. of Energy says no radiation leaked from the PUREX site. But the site was put on lockdown during a sitewide emergency after the collapse was discovered May 9.
“The cave-in at the PUREX plant should remind everyone that the temporary solutions DOE has used for decades to contain radioactive waste at Hanford have limited life spans,” Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said in a statement.