Hanford Advisory Board Calls for Risk Study Funding Halt

The Hanford Advisory Board is asking the Department of Energy not to spend any more of the Hanford cleanup budget on a Consortium for Risk Evaluation with Stakeholder Participation evaluation of the remaining risk at the Department of Energy site. The study by the independent, multiuniversity group was announced as a $4 million project. Preliminary draft results, covering about half the Hanford areas and facilities still requiring cleanup, were released Aug. 31. The preliminary report focused on many of the most complex remaining projects, including groundwater, waste storage tanks, and the PUREX processing facility. The next phase of review would cover other Hanford projects, which include additional processing plants and waste sites where large amounts of liquid were disposed of in the ground.

“We are concerned that its finding may be used to help justify doing less cleanup at Hanford,” the board said in a letter to Monica Regalbuto, assistant energy secretary for environmental management. “We have seen numerous attempts through the years to do just that, all based on the premise that it is too expensive to do the cleanup that DOE has committed to complete.” Board members said there is no justification to deviate from the Hanford cleanup work spelled out in the Tri-Party Agreement, the court-enforced consent decree, and records of decision. Their provisions are based on extensive scientific analysis, including risk analysis, along with significant public review and input, the letter said. “The board strongly recommends that you not proceed with the remainder of this project and return its associated budget back to Hanford,” the letter said.