State, federal officials investigate possible new leak at Hanford (Nuclear Reservation)
Source: Los Angeles Times
State, federal officials investigate possible new leak at Hanford
By Michael Muskal
June 21, 2013, 5:02 p.m.
State and federal officials are investigating a higher level of radioactivity that may indicate a leak from a tank holding radioactive waste at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington state.
The U.S. Energy Department said workers had detected higher radioactivity levels under tank AY-102 during a routine inspection Thursday.
“The Department of Energy has been actively monitoring double-shell tank AY-102 since it was discovered to have a slow leak from the primary tank,” the department said in a statement emailed to reporters on Friday. “Workers detected an increased level of contamination during a routine removal of water and survey of the leak detection pit.”
Spokeswoman Lori Gamache said by telephone that the department had notified Washington state officials and was investigating.
Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-hanford-may-have-new-leak-20130621,0,7669871.story