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SEATTLE (Reuters) - Six tanks at Washington state's Hanford Nuclear Reservation are leaking radioactive waste, but the leak has not posed an immediate public health risk, Governor Jay Inslee's office said on Friday.
Lisa Harper, a spokeswoman for the Inslee, said outgoing U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu informed the governor on Friday that the leak involved six tanks. She said the leak had not been stopped.
Inslee spokeswoman Jaime Smith said the U.S. Department of Energy received data the leaks were occurring but, because it was not analyzed properly, had not immediately been aware of its significance or notified state officials.
"One of the frustrating things we have learned is that the Department of Energy had data that the leaks were going on - and had they analyzed it properly it would have told us much sooner that the leaks were occurring," Smith said.
She said officials were concerned the waste could leak into the Columbia River.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Hanford is a 586-square-mile site where nine nuclear reactors were constructed along the Columbia River as part of the Manhattan Project.
Production ended in 1989, according to the EPA and work shifted to cleanup of nuclear and chemical waste at the contaminated site.
Six Washington state nuclear tanks leaking: governor's office - Business - Stocks & economy | NBC News
Lisa Harper, a spokeswoman for the Inslee, said outgoing U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu informed the governor on Friday that the leak involved six tanks. She said the leak had not been stopped.
Inslee spokeswoman Jaime Smith said the U.S. Department of Energy received data the leaks were occurring but, because it was not analyzed properly, had not immediately been aware of its significance or notified state officials.
"One of the frustrating things we have learned is that the Department of Energy had data that the leaks were going on - and had they analyzed it properly it would have told us much sooner that the leaks were occurring," Smith said.
She said officials were concerned the waste could leak into the Columbia River.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Hanford is a 586-square-mile site where nine nuclear reactors were constructed along the Columbia River as part of the Manhattan Project.
Production ended in 1989, according to the EPA and work shifted to cleanup of nuclear and chemical waste at the contaminated site.
Six Washington state nuclear tanks leaking: governor's office - Business - Stocks & economy | NBC News
