DoomsdaysCW<p>Public comment extended to September 1st!</p><p>Environmental groups criticize <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Hanford" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Hanford</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/nuclear" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>nuclear</span></a> waste cleanup plan</p><p>by Eric Tegethoff<br>Wednesday, July 24, 2024 </p><p>"A new agreement on plans for cleaning up nuclear waste at the Hanford site in <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WashingtonState" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>WashingtonState</span></a> is receiving pushback from <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/environmental" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>environmental</span></a> groups.</p><p>"Public comment was originally scheduled to close at the beginning of August but has been extended to Sept. 1 for the Tri-Party Agreement between the U-S Energy Department, Environmental Protection Agency and Washington Department of Ecology.</p><p>"Simone Anter, staff attorney and Hanford program director for the nonprofit <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ColumbiaRiverkeeper" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ColumbiaRiverkeeper</span></a>, said the new agreement means changes to the cleanup efforts including how and where the Hanford <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/NuclearWaste" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>NuclearWaste</span></a> is stored.</p><p>"'If new proposals are coming out to ship either grouted or liquid nuclear waste across the region, communities deserve to know that and deserve to have a voice and deserve to be engaged,' Anter contended.</p><p>"The agreement for dealing with 177 underground storage tanks at Hanford took four years of closed door negotiations. Columbia <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Riverkeeper" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Riverkeeper</span></a> and other environmental groups worry the new agreement opens the door for a storage method other than <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/vitrification" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>vitrification</span></a>, which is used to turn high-level waste into glass.</p><p>"Anter noted <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/TribalNations" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>TribalNations</span></a> in the region were not consulted about the proposal. She stressed even if they could not be part of the agreement, the agencies should have been considered before it was presented to the public.</p><p>"'<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Tribal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Tribal</span></a> nations are not members of the public. They are government entities and should have been treated as such,' Anter pointed out.</p><p>"Anter added members of the public can play a big role in how the 56 million gallons of nuclear waste at Hanford are handled.</p><p>"'It's really important that all these cleanup decisions put human health, the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ColumbiaRiver" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ColumbiaRiver</span></a> and the environment first,' Anter asserted. 'I think public comments play an enormous role in reminding the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/TPA" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>TPA</span></a> agencies about this."</p><p>Source:<br><a href="https://www.publicnewsservice.org/2024-07-24/nuclear-waste/environmental-groups-criticize-hanford-nuclear-waste-cleanup-plan/a91457-1" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">publicnewsservice.org/2024-07-</span><span class="invisible">24/nuclear-waste/environmental-groups-criticize-hanford-nuclear-waste-cleanup-plan/a91457-1</span></a></p><p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WaterIsLife" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>WaterIsLife</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/NoDumping" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>NoDumping</span></a><br><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/FutureGenerations" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>FutureGenerations</span></a><br><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/NoWar" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>NoWar</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/NoNuclearWeapons" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>NoNuclearWeapons</span></a><br><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/RethinkNotRestart" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>RethinkNotRestart</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/NuclearWaste" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>NuclearWaste</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/HanfordNuclearSite" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>HanfordNuclearSite</span></a></p>