NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
Page 2A
Wednesday, April 27, 2016
Hanford seeks possible
leak in second tank
SPOKANE (AP) — Ofi-
cials for the Hanford Nuclear
Reservation are trying to
determine if a second giant
underground tank containing
radioactive waste from the
production of plutonium for
nuclear weapons is leaking,
the U.S. Department of
Energy revealed on Tuesday.
Air monitors attached
to an aging tank known
as AY-101 recently found
radiation at higher than
normal background levels,
the agency said.
A video inspection of the
underground tank found no
evidence that radioactive
waste had leaked from the
primary tank into the space
between the two walls,
Hanford oficials said. While
a new leak is a possibility,
they have found no evidence
of one.
“We want to discredit that
potential before we make
any statement,” said Tom
Fletcher, the U.S. Depart-
ment of Energy’s tank farms
manager at Hanford.
A Hanford watchdog
group on Tuesday contended
the higher radiation found by
the air monitors was evidence
of a leak in a second tank.
Hanford Challenge is based
in Seattle.
“The presence of these
radioactive materials in the
outer shell of the tank, known
as the annulus, is a solid indi-
cator that the primary shell
of the tank has failed and is
leaking high-level nuclear
waste into the outer shell,”
said Mike Geffre, a former
Hanford worker now on the
board of Hanford Challenge.
Earlier
this
month,
Hanford oficials revealed
that a tank known as AY-102
had leaked several thousand
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
The head of a dead thistle plant is covered in spider webs in a ield on the Oxbow
property in Hermiston.
BRIEFLY
move is part of a restructuring caused by
declining personal computer sales.
Intel is Oregon’s largest private
employer, with 19,500 workers in Portland’s
western suburbs. State law requires
employers to give advance warning before
a plant closing or mass layoff. The Ofice
of Community Colleges and Workforce
Development said Tuesday it has received
the warning from Intel. The company said
in a letter it is iring 784 workers.
Gov. Brown renews call for
transportation funding
EUGENE (AP) — During a visit to
Eugene and Springield, Oregon Gov. Kate
Brown again called on state lawmakers to
approve more transportation funding.
The Register-Guard reports that Brown
has asked the Legislature to pass a major
transportation funding package in 2017. It
would be likely be paid for by higher gas
taxes and vehicle registration and driver
license fees.
During her visit, Brown took a short bus
ride along Franklin Boulevard with local
oficials. The route is being considered for
major upgrades and could receive money
from the transportation package.
Springield oficials have long wanted to
turn Franklin into an upscale development
hub and Eugene oficials want to improve
the stretch of the road near the university.
Brown wouldn’t say how much money she
supports raising for transportation.
Bill introduced to return
Kennewick Man to tribes
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — A bill has
been introduced in the U.S. Senate to
require the federal government to give
the bones of Kennewick Man back to the
Indian tribes from which he descended.
It calls for the Army Corps of Engineers
to repatriate the 9,000-year-old skeleton
back to the tribes for reburial.
The remains were discovered in 1996
near the Columbia River in Kennewick,
triggering a lengthy legal ight between
tribes and scientists.
Kennewick Man is one of the oldest and
most complete skeletons found in North
America. Last year, new genetic evidence
determined the remains were closer to
modern Native Americans than any other
population in the world.
Intel to cut 784 Ore. workers
PORTLAND (AP) — Intel has notiied
Oregon oficials it plans to lay off nearly
800 workers in Washington County.
The Santa Clara, California-based
company announced last week it is
shedding 12,000 jobs worldwide. The
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REGIONAL CITIES
Forecast
THURSDAY
TODAY
Times of clouds
and sun
Nice with clouds
and sun
63° 43°
69° 46°
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
Breezy with
periods of sun
SUNDAY
Mostly sunny
Pleasant with
some sun
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
63° 43°
66° 39°
74° 43°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
67° 43°
74° 48°
PENDLETON
through 3 p.m. yesterday
TEMPERATURE
HIGH
LOW
62°
65°
86° (1904)
43°
41°
25° (1924)
PRECIPITATION
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
0.00"
0.37"
1.00"
4.36"
3.02"
5.00"
HERMISTON
through 3 p.m. yesterday
TEMPERATURE
HIGH
Yesterday
Normals
Records
LOW
65°
68°
84° (2013)
41°
41°
25° (2008)
PRECIPITATION
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
0.00"
0.28"
0.74"
2.98"
1.78"
3.88"
SUN AND MOON
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
Last
New
Apr 29
May 6
5:49 a.m.
7:58 p.m.
12:08 a.m.
9:48 a.m.
First
Full
May 13
72° 38°
78° 42°
Seattle
62/45
ALMANAC
Yesterday
Normals
Records
68° 45°
May 21
Today
Spokane
Wenatchee
64/44
67/47
Tacoma
Moses
62/40
Lake
Pullman
Aberdeen Olympia
Yakima 66/42
60/39
59/43
63/39
67/42
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
61/43
63/45 Lewiston
69/42
Astoria
64/45
60/45
Portland
Enterprise
Hermiston
62/46
Pendleton 52/40
The Dalles 67/43
63/43
65/46
La Grande
Salem
57/42
62/44
Albany
Corvallis 61/45
61/44
John Day
59/40
Ontario
Eugene
Bend
66/44
59/43
55/32
Caldwell
Burns
64/45
58/33
Astoria
Baker City
Bend
Brookings
Burns
Enterprise
Eugene
Heppner
Hermiston
John Day
Klamath Falls
La Grande
Meacham
Medford
Newport
North Bend
Ontario
Pasco
Pendleton
Portland
Redmond
Salem
Spokane
Ukiah
Vancouver
Walla Walla
Yakima
Hi
60
58
55
56
58
52
59
59
67
59
53
57
55
60
56
57
66
70
63
62
56
62
64
55
60
63
67
Lo
45
36
32
47
33
40
43
40
43
40
31
42
40
44
45
47
44
41
43
46
29
44
44
36
42
45
42
W
pc
pc
sh
sh
c
pc
r
c
c
r
sh
c
pc
r
r
r
pc
pc
pc
pc
sh
r
pc
c
pc
pc
c
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
Thu.
Hi
59
63
60
62
63
57
63
66
74
63
62
63
61
68
57
60
72
75
69
65
65
66
68
60
64
67
74
Lo
45
34
30
46
32
34
41
41
48
39
29
40
38
43
45
47
45
45
46
45
29
43
45
35
42
48
44
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
W
s
pc
pc
s
c
pc
s
pc
c
c
pc
pc
pc
s
s
s
c
pc
pc
s
pc
s
pc
pc
s
pc
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WORLD CITIES
Today
Beijing
Hong Kong
Jerusalem
London
Mexico City
Moscow
Paris
Rome
Seoul
Sydney
Tokyo
Hi
68
85
73
52
84
58
52
65
68
74
68
Lo
52
76
52
34
51
49
35
53
48
59
59
W
c
c
pc
t
pc
r
t
t
pc
s
c
Thu.
Hi
79
85
70
52
86
62
53
68
70
76
65
Lo
52
72
52
42
51
43
36
53
48
61
58
W
pc
t
s
pc
pc
c
sh
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pc
pc
r
WINDS
Medford
60/44
(in mph)
Klamath Falls
53/31
Boardman
Pendleton
REGIONAL FORECAST
Coastal Oregon: Mostly cloudy today.
Showers; only in the morning across the
north.
Eastern and Central Oregon: Mostly cloudy
today. Showers around in the south and near
the Cascades; rain and drizzle in central parts.
Western Washington: Cloudy this morning,
then clouds and sun this afternoon; a
shower.
Eastern Washington: Times of clouds and
sun today.
Cascades: Cloudy today with a couple of
showers. Mostly cloudy tonight.
Northern California: A shower and storm in
central parts; showers at the coast. Snow, up
to an inch in the mountains.
Today
Thursday
WSW 4-8
WSW 4-8
W 4-8
W 6-12
UV INDEX TODAY
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
1
2
4
4
3
levels of radioactivity within
the annulus of tank AY-101,
which is more than 40 years
old and contains about
578,000 gallons of waste.
They did a video inspec-
tion of the annulus and
found no evidence of a leak,
Fletcher said.
“There are a number of
potential sources this could
come from,” Fletcher said,
including a leak that might
have so far escaped detec-
tion.
Fletcher said Hanford
oficials will continue to
study the problem, but he
could offer no deadline for
solving the riddle.
Hanford
Challenge,
quoting unnamed sources
inside Hanford, said the
air
monitor
recorded
above-background levels of
Cesium-137 and plutonium
in the annulus.
The possible failure
of a second double-shell
tank at Hanford is serious
because Hanford is running
out of space to store waste
from leaking tanks, said
Tom Carpenter, director of
Hanford Challenge.
“There is no other realistic
option but to begin building
new tanks immediately,”
Carpenter said. Those tanks
would take several years to
build, the group said.
Hanford stores about
two-thirds of the nation’s
high-level nuclear waste,
Hanford Challenge said.
Dealing with that waste is
expected to take decades and
cost billions of dollars.
The East Oregonian works hard to be accurate and
sincerely regrets any errors. If you notice a mistake in
the paper, please call 541-966-0818.
ADVERTISING
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— Founded Oct. 16, 1875 —
gallons of radioactive waste
from its primary tank into the
annulus.
It was the irst of the
28 double-walled tanks
at Hanford to be found to
have leaked. That waste is
being pumped back into the
primary tank.
The sprawling Hanford
site is located near Rich-
land, Washington, and was
constructed during World
War II to make plutonium,
a key ingredient in nuclear
weapons. The site is now
engaged in cleaning up the
leftover waste at a cost of
more than $2 billion per year.
The most dangerous
wastes are stored in 177
underground tanks, most
of them old, single-walled
tanks, some of which have
leaked. The double-walled
tanks were presumed to be
much safer.
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden,
D-Oregon,
a
frequent
Hanford critic, said the situ-
ation there was urgent.
“In light of today’s
developments, I will also be
asking the U.S. Government
Accountability Ofice to
examine what and when
DOE knew about the leaks in
these tanks, the adequacy of
the department’s tank safety
efforts and responses to the
deteriorating condition of
all of the high-level waste
tanks,” Wyden said.
Fletcher, in a telephone
interview with The Associ-
ated Press, said air samples
checked on April 6 and April
14 showed some elevated
1
8 a.m. 10 a.m. Noon 2 p.m. 4 p.m. 6 p.m.
0-2, Low
3-5, Moderate 6-7, High;
8-10, Very High;
11+, Extreme
The higher the AccuWeather.com UV Index™ num-
ber, the greater the need for eye and skin protection.
Forecasts and graphics provided by
AccuWeather, Inc. ©2016
-10s
-0s
showers t-storms
0s
10s
rain
20s
flurries
30s
40s
snow
ice
50s
60s
cold front
70s
80s
90s
100s
warm front stationary front
110s
high
low
National Summary: Severe storms, including the risk of tornadoes, will be over most of the
Mississippi Valley today. Storms will dot the Southeast; showers will occur in the West and
rain will fall over the northern Plains.
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 98° in Dryden, Texas
Low 15° in Tuolumne Meadows, Calif.
NATIONAL CITIES
Today
Albuquerque
Atlanta
Atlantic City
Baltimore
Billings
Birmingham
Boise
Boston
Charleston, SC
Charleston, WV
Chicago
Cleveland
Dallas
Denver
Detroit
El Paso
Fairbanks
Fargo
Honolulu
Houston
Indianapolis
Jacksonville
Kansas City
Las Vegas
Little Rock
Los Angeles
Hi
70
85
57
62
47
83
63
54
86
77
53
57
83
56
60
80
55
57
86
86
68
86
74
74
82
71
Lo
44
67
46
50
33
66
43
40
66
59
42
43
58
34
41
56
36
35
73
70
58
64
50
55
62
55
W
s
pc
pc
c
c
t
pc
s
pc
t
r
pc
pc
pc
pc
s
pc
c
sh
t
r
s
t
pc
t
pc
Thur.
Hi
69
80
56
59
47
83
69
53
84
80
51
54
86
52
54
84
62
56
86
86
75
87
65
67
85
71
Lo
41
64
47
46
33
64
44
42
66
57
43
46
67
35
43
56
35
38
72
71
51
67
47
56
63
56
W
t
t
r
r
c
pc
pc
s
pc
t
r
c
pc
c
r
s
s
c
pc
pc
t
pc
s
sh
pc
pc
Today
Louisville
Memphis
Miami
Milwaukee
Minneapolis
Nashville
New Orleans
New York City
Oklahoma City
Omaha
Philadelphia
Phoenix
Portland, ME
Providence
Raleigh
Rapid City
Reno
Sacramento
St. Louis
Salt Lake City
San Diego
San Francisco
Seattle
Tucson
Washington, DC
Wichita
Hi
78
80
85
49
57
84
87
63
77
68
65
85
51
59
86
39
57
69
77
58
70
64
62
84
65
62
Lo
63
67
73
39
39
65
73
46
50
48
48
61
29
38
65
27
42
51
61
46
60
52
45
57
53
46
W
t
t
s
c
r
pc
t
s
s
r
pc
s
s
s
t
sn
sh
t
t
sh
pc
t
pc
s
c
pc
Thur.
Hi
82
86
87
46
49
86
85
60
76
59
60
76
53
59
80
43
63
80
75
59
69
69
66
78
62
71
Lo
61
63
72
39
41
58
73
47
58
42
49
59
31
40
61
29
40
52
54
43
60
53
47
50
51
51
Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain,
sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice.
W
t
pc
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r
r
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