The Department of Energy will not be allowed to start filling the second Hanford Site PUREX Plant tunnel storing radioactive waste until after the end of a public comment period mandated by Washington state.
In the wake of the partial collapse of the first PUREX storage tunnel in May 2017, DOE wants to use a concrete-like grout to stabilize the other tunnel. The federal agency asked Washington state in July for temporary authorization to start the work as soon as this week. That would circumvent a legal requirement for a state Department of Ecology public comment period prior to a change to DOE’s state permit for the treatment, storage, and disposal of dangerous waste at Hanford.
On Monday, the state began a 45-day public comment period and told DOE it had denied its request to start grouting waste before the public comment period ended. However, it will allow DOE to begin setting up the equipment it would need for the process.
“We’re striking a balance between the public’s right to comment on this important cleanup decision and the need to secure the waste in the tunnel,” said Alex Smith, manager of Ecology’s Nuclear Waste Program, a Hanford regulator.
The decision came despite a letter from the mayors of four cities near Hanford – Richland, Kennewick, Pasco, and West Richland – urging the state to allow grouting to proceed. Waiting until after the state holds public meetings “could potentially delay, as much as a year, the action recommended by the panel of experts, which will reduce the risk to our region of a potentially catastrophic tunnel collapse,” the mayors said in their July 31 letter.
The Energy Department had requested temporary authorization to start filling the 1,700-foot-long, 54-year-old tunnel with grout to allow all or most of the work to be done before the worst of the winter weather turns roads icy. The project will require an estimated 5,000 truckloads of grout.
Public comments may be submitted at http://wt.ecology.commentinput.com/?id=7mped. Public meetings are scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Aug. 27 at the Richland Public Library and 6:30 p.m. Sept. 5 at the University of Washington Center for Urban Horticulture.
