That is the Columbia River. The picture is looking south along the river.
By M. Alex Johnson, staff writer, NBC News
The leaking of radioactive liquids (click here) at the Hanford, Wash., Nuclear Reservation is more extensive than previously reported, with six storage tanks affected, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said Friday.
In a conference call with reporters Friday after a meeting with Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Inslee disclosed that six of the 177 tanks were leaking at the nuclear facility in Richland, in eastern Washington about 50 miles southeast of Yakima.
Inslee said Chu told him that evaluation system of the tank levels wasn't used correctly, raising the prospect that there may be even more leaks. But he said he was told that there was no immediate threat....
Inslee said Chu told him that evaluation system of the tank levels wasn't used correctly, raising the prospect that there may be even more leaks. But he said he was told that there was no immediate threat....
Polluted groundwater (click here) from Hanford seeps into the Columbia River in the Hanford Reach. Federal and state agencies are undertaking major efforts to prevent the movement of contaminated groundwater to the Columbia River. Black Rock reservoir will leak into the groundwater, and could create pressure on natural groundwater, increasing the movement of groundwater toward the Hanford site.
The dark line at the top third of the picture divides the land open to the public. That dark line is the Columbia River. The area north (designated by arrow to the right) is open to the public. It is considered the north shore of the monument. The area south of Columbia River (the dark line) is closed to the public. The area closed to the pubic is where the nuclear mess is managed or perhaps better stated, was managed.
This is what bothers me, The public access area is about 30 miles north of the nuclear facility. It is always believed the contamination into the aquifer will never migrate anywhere but south. I am not convinced of that.
If a drop of dark ink is dropped into a puddle with an exit into a trickle of rain water, it doesn't simply run in one direction. The ink spreads throughout the puddle while it also runs toward the exit into the trickle. My guess is that the Hanford management is underfunded. It is just one of those things that is under the pubic radar. Those in the area know it is there, but, it isn't a focus of concern. The darn thing has been a problem for so long, it is assumed it is contained and managed.
If Secretary Chu is re-running tests and finding new conclusions, there is a good chance the management in the past has been flawed. That is just me, but, I would be remiss not to mention it.
