Washington state officials have been firing warning
shots at the federal Department of Energy, threatening fines for
the sluggish pace of cleanup at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation
(HCN, 5/11/98). “We have had a change of philosophy. We are going
to hold their feet to the fire,” says Democratic Gov. Gary
Locke.
Yet Locke is ready to give the Department
of Energy the go-ahead to restart nuclear weapons production at
Hanford’s Fast Flux Test Facility, a mission that many fear will
further slow cleanup of leaking storage tanks (HCN,
9/1/97).
The reactor was shut down in 1993, but
the Department of Energy placed it on “hot standby” in case the
Defense Department needed tritium, a key component in nuclear
bombs. The DOE says the reactor could also produce medical isotopes
as well as bombs, and both the governor and Washington Sen. Patty
Murray, D, believe this justifies a restart. The Washington State
Medical Association disagrees, however; it says isotopes are not in
short supply. Proponents say restarting the reactor could create
some 1,000 jobs.
Opponents are most concerned
about the reactor’s effect on cleanup efforts. “They’re robbing
($32 million a year) from the cleanup account to fund (the reactor)
at a direct cost to the health and safety of the Columbia River and
the public,” says Gerry Pollett of the nonprofit group, Heart of
America Northwest. Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, D, has also criticized
funding the reactor.
The Washington State
Department of Ecology is reviewing comments from public hearings
and will take a position on the reactivation this summer. The
Energy Department is expected to decide on the reactor’s status in
December.
* Chris
Carrel
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Fast flux on a fast track.
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