Hanford's 177 tanks are located twelve to fifteen miles from the Columbia River, in southeastern Washington State. Currently, Hanford's tanks contain about 53 million gallons of highly radioactive and chemically hazardous waste. Sixty-seven of Hanford's tanks have leaked an estimated one million gallons of this waste into the soil. Further releases to the ground, ground water and the Columbia River are the inevitable result of tank failure. The contamination already in ground water under Hanford could reach the Columbia River in as little as 20 years and continue for the next 5,000 years. The risk from this waste is recognized as a threat to the Northwest as a region. Construction and operation of a Treatment Complex is the only viable permanent solution to reducing the risk posed by this tank waste. All other Federal sites with liquid high-level radioactive and chemically hazardous waste have treatment facilities, but at Hanford the process to remove and treat the tank wastes is barely underway. There is now general agreement about the right treatment method for Hanford tank waste - "vitrification" or immobilizing tank waste by turning it into a glass - but serious concerns exist about the Federal government's ability to fund a treatment complex for Hanford. The Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) supports the vitrification of Hanford tank waste; it is a technically sound and viable approach. Efforts to secure the necessary facilities have seen repeated false starts and delays over the past ten years. The most recent setback , in summer of 2000, was the failed privatization approach to contracting. In late 2000, United States Department of Energy (USDOE) has shown commitment towards a Treatment Complex by issuing a construction contract. Successful removal and treatment of Hanford's tank waste will take at least thirty years and require a national commitment equivalent to that spent putting a man on the moon. Time is running out for Hanford's tanks. Continued storage of an enormous volume of dangerous waste in Hanford's leaking and aging tanks poses catastrophic risks to the human, environmental and economic health of the Pacific Northwest. Failure to retrieve and treat the waste is not an option. Washington State is willing to do whatever is necessary to ensure acquisition of a treatment complex for tank waste - succeeds this time around. We must all work together to make the present approach succeed. Washington State is seeking enforceable commitments that will hold the USDOE accountable, and ensure swift action to protect the environment, human health and the Columbia River. Washington State is also working to inform stakeholders about this regional problem – through regular status reports and building a Pacific Northwest consensus and outcry for a Tank Waste Treatment Complex. Ecology is working with Congress to ensure adequate funds the project.
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