WA Attorney General May Take Feds to Court Over Hanford Cleanup

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@EARTHLINK.NET>]

WA Attorney General May Take Feds to Court Over Hanford Cleanup

  

OLYMPIA, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 23, 2001--Attorney General 

Christine Gregoire today called for the preparation of legal action 

in the event the federal government breaks its promise to begin 

construction this summer on a facility to treat radioactive waste at 

the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. 



Reported cuts in the Department of Energy (DOE) budget could slash 

funding for cleanups nationwide by an estimated $425 million. To meet 

its obligations at Hanford, DOE would need an estimated increase of 

several hundred million dollars. 



Gregoire said the DOE has a legally binding commitment to begin 

construction by July 31, 2001 on a facility that will convert liquid 

radioactive waste into more easily stored glass. While DOE has issued 

a contract for the work, it has not completed design of the facility 

and is unlikely to start construction on time with this budget 

scenario. 



Gov. Gary Locke and Attorney General Gregoire have written letters to 

President Bush and Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham urging them to 

raise budget requests to accurately reflect cleanup costs. 



In addition, Gregoire circulated a letter that has been signed by 

attorneys general of 11 Western states, expressing their concern to 

Secretary Abraham about the budget situation. 



"If we are going to clean up this waste in our lifetime, we must move 

forward now," Gregoire said. "We cannot and we will not allow the 

legacy of untreated nuclear waste to be left for yet another 

generation to cope with." 



"The federal government has made commitments to timelines for the 

cleanup and it is irresponsible for the President to suggest cutting 

the funding needed to meet them," Locke said. "These wastes must be 

turned into glass and stored where they will pose no threat to the 

environment for the thousands of years during which they will remain 

radioactive." 



Gregoire and Locke are most concerned about the likely delay in 

cleaning up 53 million gallons of high-level radioactive waste now 

stored in underground tanks, many of which are decades past their 

planned useful life. 



About 1 million gallons already have leaked into the soil and 

contaminated groundwater that flows toward the Columbia River. 



The DOE signed an agreement in 1989 with the Environmental Protection 

Agency and the Washington Department of Ecology to clean up the 

dangerous waste at Hanford. Under the agreement, the state has the 

right to sue the federal government to force compliance with the 

cleanup timetable. 



- ------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sandy Perle                                     Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800) 548-5100                                     

Director, Technical                             Extension 2306                                  

ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Service         Fax:(714) 668-3149                                          

ICN Pharmaceuticals, Inc.                       E-Mail: sandyfl@earthlink.net                                                      

ICN Plaza, 3300 Hyland Avenue           E-Mail: sperle@icnpharm.com                       

Costa Mesa, CA 92626



Personal Website: http://sandyfl.nukeworker.net

ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Website: http://www.dosimetry.com



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