Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 7, 2012)
Bids/Classifieds Energy Dept.: Slow Leak in Hanford Waste Tank It is the nation’s most contaminated nuclear site, with cleanup expected to last decades RICHLAND, Wash. (AP) — There is a slow leak in the oldest double-shell waste tank at the Hanford nuclear reservation that’s allowing highly radioactive and haz- ardous waste to leak into the space between the inner and outer shells, the federal Department of Energy said Monday. No waste is believed to have leaked from the outer shell into the soil beneath the underground tank on the south-central Washington reservation, the agency said. The Tri-City Herald reports that earlier testing showed that some of the material seen between the two walls of the tank was radioactive waste. Now DOE has confirmed a leak. While the exact amount isn’t known, the agency said perhaps a couple table- spoons of additional waste were seen between the two tank walls between Thurs- day and Sunday. The tank is one of 28 double-shell con- tainers used to hold waste from older, leak- prone single-shell tanks. They hold 56 million gallons of radioactive waste from the past production of weapons plutonium until it can be treated for disposal. The tank is roughly 40 years old and con- tains about 850,000 gallons of sludge and liquid waste. Plans call for continued twice-weekly visual inspections using cameras and regu- lar checks of liquid levels inside the primary tank, said Tom Fletcher, assistant manager for the Tank Farms Project. Fletcher added that his people are “work- ing collaboratively” with the state Ecology Department to determine what to do next and to “ensure that we are effectively pro- tecting the public and the environment.’’ Routine monitoring has not detected leaks in any of the other double-shell tanks, the Energy Department said. Expanded inspec- tions are planned on six other tanks similar to the one that is leaking. The federal government created Hanford in the 1940s as part of the top-secret Man- hattan Project to build the atomic bomb. Today, it is the nation’s most contaminated nuclear site, with cleanup expected to last decades. Hanford’s twin KE and KW nuclear reactors in 2008 with the B Reactor in the distance Soldier continued from page 1 have not discussed the evi- dence in the case, but say Bales has PTSD and suf- fered a concussive head injury during a prior deploy- ment to Iraq. The father of two from Lake Tapps, Wash., sat beside one of his civilian lawyers, Emma Scanlan, in green fatigues as an investi- gating officer read the charges against Bales and informed him of his rights. Bales said, ``Sir, yes, sir,’’ when asked if he understood them. Morse said Bales seemed utterly normal in the hours before the March 11 killings. With his col- leagues, Bales watched the movie ``Man on Fire,’’ a fic- tional account of a former CIA operative on a revenge rampage. SUB BIDS / SUPPLIER QUOTES REQUESTED PCC SOUTHEAST CAMPUS SITEWORK AND DEMO PACKAGE 2305 SE 82nd Avenue, Portland, OR O’Neill Inc is currently bidding the sitework and demo package including demo of 25,000 sf build- ing, sitework, excavation, concrete, landscaping, and miscellaneous improvements. Bids due Nov 26, 2012 at 2:00 pm Pre-Bid Meeting November 12, 2012 at 10:00 am. MANDATORY for demo scope bidders, optional for other scopes. Meet in front of Legin Restaurant, 8001 SE Division St Portland, OR 97266 Just before he left the base, Morse said, Bales told a Special Forces soldier that he was unhappy with his family life, and that the troops should have been quicker to retaliate for a roadside bomb attack that claimed one soldier’s leg. ``At all times he had a clear understanding of what he was doing and what he had done,’’ said Morse, who described Bales as lucid, coherent and responsive. Bales is accused of slip- ping away from the remote outpost with an M-4 rifle outfitted with a grenade launcher to attack the vil- lages of Balandi and Alkozai, in a dangerous dis- trict. American officials have said they believe Bales broke the slaughter into two episodes _ walking first to one village, returning to the base and slipping away again to carry out the sec- ond attack. The prosecutor said Bales returned to the base at one point, telling a colleague about shooting people at a village. The soldier appar- ently took it as a bad joke and responded: ``Quit mess- ing around.’’ Prosecutors played for the first time a video captured by a surveillance blimp that showed a caped figure run- ning toward the base, then stopping and dropping his weapons as he’s confronted. There is no audio. Morse said Bales was the caped figure. After being taken into custody, Morse said, Bales said: ``I thought I was doing the right thing.’’ The hearing is scheduled to run as long as two weeks, and part of it will be held overnight to allow video testimony from witnesses, including an estimated 10 to 15 Afghans, in Afghanistan. Bales’ attorney, John Henry Browne, said the hearing will give the defense a chance to see what the government can prove. They are expecting a court martial. Bales is an Ohio native who joined the Army in late 2001 — after the 9/11 attacks — as his career as a stockbroker imploded. An arbitrator entered a $1.5 million fraud judgment against him and his former company that went unpaid, and his attempt to start an investment firm in Florida also failed. He was serving his fourth combat tour after three Trades Excluded: None Plans are available for review on 11/8/12 at: O’Neill Inc office, DJC Plan Center and MCIP. Special Notes: This is a Prevailing Wage proj- ect with Workforce Training requirements. Certified payroll reporting is required. O’Neill Inc is a union contractor. O’NEILL INC 4444 SE 27th Ave, Portland, OR 97202 AFFORDABLE APARTMENT HOMES FOR LOW-INCOME HOUSEHOLDS Clean comfortable living for you and your family. ADA Units I BR - $663/ 700sq. ft 2 BR - $801/ 850 sq. ft. 3 BR - $939/ 950 sq. ft. Rents shown are basic rent and actual rent is based on income. CALL US TODAY!! Gateway Garden Apartments (360) 835-2214 TDD: 1-800-735-2900 (503) 493-6045 FAX (503) 460-0956 Contact: Aser Heye or Ali O’Neill ORCCB #129027 Professionally Managed by Guardian Management LLC O’Neill Inc is an equal opportunity employer and requests sub-bids from Minority, women, disadvan- taged and emerging small business enterprises. 11-7-12 This institution is an equal opportunity provider. 11-7-12 stints in Iraq, and his arrest prompted a national discus- sion about the stresses posed by multiple deploy- ments. Scanlan, his attorney, declined to say to what extent the lawyers hope to elicit testimony that could be used to support a mental- health defense. Bales him- self will not make any statements because his lawyers said he would have nothing to gain. Bales’ wife, Karilyn, who plans to attend the hearing, had complained about financial problems on her blog in the year before the killings, and noted Bales was disappointed at being passed over for a promo- tion. Browne described those stresses as garden-variety — nothing that would prompt such a massacre _ and has also said, without elaborating, that Bales suf- fered a traumatic incident during his second Iraq tour that triggered ``tremendous depression.’’ Bales remembers little or nothing from the time of the attacks, the defense said. Scanlan, who deferred an opportunity to give an open- ing statement, said the Army had only recently turned over a preliminary DNA trace evidence report from the crime scenes, but defense experts have not had time to review it. Bales, who spent months in confinement at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., before being transferred to Lewis- McChord last month, is doing well, Scanlan said. ``He’s getting prepared,’’ she said, ``but it’s nerve- wracking for anybody.’’ November 7, 2012 The Seattle Skanner Page 7
