NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
Page 2A
Wednesday, January 4, 2017
Radioactive contamination spreading Governor Brown’s
chief of staff resigns
in shuttered Hanford nuclear plant
RICHLAND, Wash. (AP)
— Radioactive contamination
is spreading inside a deterio-
rating processing plant on the
Hanford Nuclear Reservation
in Washington state that was
last used in the 1950s and
1960s to process plutonium
for the U.S. nuclear weapons
program.
The Tri-City Herald
newspaper reported Monday
that the facility is known as
REDOX. It is located deep
within the sprawling and
heavily guarded Hanford site,
which is half the size of Rhode
Island, and the contamination
poses no threat to the general
public.
A new report recommends
spending $181 million on
interim cleanup and mainte-
nance of the abandoned plant.
REDOX is not scheduled to
be demolished until about
2032, or possibly later.
The report said doing
some work on the building
soon could reduce the threat
of contamination spreading
AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File
Radioactive contamination is spreading inside a de-
teriorating processing plant on the Hanford Nuclear
Reservation near Richland, Wash. that was last used in
the 1950s and 1960s to process plutonium for the U.S.
nuclear weapons program.
outside the building. Animals
that get inside could spread
the contamination, or it could
spread if a fire breaks out in
the building or its utility pipes
break, the report said.
REDOX was used from
1952-1967 to process about
24,000 tons of irradiated
uranium fuel rods to remove
plutonium for the nation’s
SALEM (AP) — Oregon
Gov. Kate Brown’s chief
of staff, Kristen Leonard,
has resigned, effective
only a day before the 2017
legislative session
begins,
Brown
said Tuesday.
In a statement,
Brown noted that
Leonard began
her job in late
2015, committing
to serve for one
year, and extended
it to help oversee
the completion of Leonard
Brown’s budget
proposal. The resignation is
effective Jan. 31.
Willamette Week recently
reported that Leonard and
her husband, Kevin Neely,
had a financial interest in a
book-keeping firm whose
biggest client was Brown’s
re-election
campaign,
and that Neely’s software
company had a $214,000
state contract up for renewal
this year.
Brown spokesman Chris
Pair said the resignation is
unrelated to the reports, the
Portland Tribune reported.
Brown’s
communi-
cations office tweeted
and joints.
Signs of animal intrusion
and deteriorating asbestos
were also found in several
areas, the report said.
No one has entered the
main part of the plant since
1997.
Contamination could be
slowed and contained by
demolishing a contaminated
nearby building plus the main
plant’s attached annexes, the
report said.
Two underground storage
tanks that contained the chem-
ical hexone that was used to
make plutonium should also
be removed, the report said.
The report suggested
that doing the work to limit
the spread of contamination
would help officials retain
workers with experience in
decommissioning
nuclear
facilities at Hanford,
They will be needed as
more federal money becomes
available in the future for
environmental cleanup, the
report said.
nuclear weapons program.
The report by the U.S.
Department
of
Energy,
which owns Hanford, said
annual inspections of the
highly contaminated plant
from 2012-15 found that
radioactive
contamination
was spreading, including by
precipitation that leaked into
the building through its roof
Sagebrush defense plan will endure, officials say
details “on the importance of
maintaining the momentum
that we have in arguably one
of the most effective exam-
ples of government working
together collaboratively at
all levels.”
Western
Republican
governors have generally
supported the effort that
involves federal, state, and
local agencies as well as
ranchers trained to fight fires
in the early stages.
Jewell’s order “revolu-
tionized how we approach
rangeland fire in the West,”
said Ron Dunton, the U.S.
Bureau of Land Manage-
ment’s assistant director
for Fire and Aviation.
“It’s a very collaborative
approach.”
In October, the Interior
Department released a
139-page plan considered
a how-to guide for Jewell’s
order calling for a “science-
based” approach to safe-
guard the greater sage grouse
bird while contending with
fires that have been espe-
cially destructive in the
Great Basin.
By KEITH RIDLER
Associated Press
BOISE, Idaho — A new
wildfire-fighting plan to
protect a wide swath of
sagebrush country in the
Western U.S. that supports
cattle ranching and is home
to an imperiled bird will
likely continue after the
Obama administration ends,
Interior Secretary Sally
Jewell said Tuesday.
Jewell
spoke
after
receiving her last update at
the National Interagency
Fire Center in Boise
where managers oversee
the nation’s firefighting
resources.
Her 2015 secretarial
order to protect sagebrush
steppe spanning an area
stretching from the Dakotas
west to Oregon, Washington
and northern California is
considered by public lands
experts, outdoor enthusiasts
and scientists as one of the
most significant federal land
policy changes since the
Taylor Grazing Act of 1934.
It regulated public lands to
Dan Cepeda/The Casper Star-Tribune via AP, File
In this April 22, 2015 file photo, a male sage grouse
struts in the early morning hours on a leak outside
Baggs, Wyo.
prevent overgrazing.
Jewell’s order directed
federal resources for the
first time to fight massive
blazes in open sagebrush
steppe that supports cattle
ranching, recreation and
some 350 species of wild-
life, including sage grouse.
She said she will pass
along information from
that meeting to Republican
Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke,
President-elect
Donald
Trump’s choice to succeed
her.
Zinke has advocated
increased
drilling
and
mining on public lands,
but his position on Jewell’s
secretarial order is not clear.
Zinke’s
communications
director, Heather Smith, did
not immediately respond
to an emailed request for
comment.
Jewell also said she will
provide the transition team
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and Dec. 25, by the EO Media Group, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801.
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Copyright © 2017, EO Media Group
THURSDAY
Frigid with a snow
shower
Partly sunny and
frigid
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
Mostly sunny and
quite cold
Very cold; a bit of
p.m. snow
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
15°
16°
1°
3°
23°
7°
25° 20°
33° 28°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
21°
19°
5°
PENDLETON
through 3 p.m. yesterday
TEMPERATURE
HIGH
LOW
21°
40°
60° (1989)
18°
26°
-9° (1910)
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
Trace
0.11"
0.18"
0.11"
0.01"
0.18"
HERMISTON
through 3 p.m. yesterday
TEMPERATURE
HIGH
Yesterday
Normals
Records
LOW
25°
39°
60° (1996)
22°
27°
-3° (1952)
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
Trace
0.10"
0.12"
0.10"
0.01"
0.12"
SUN AND MOON
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
First
Full
Jan 5
Jan 12
7:36 a.m.
4:25 p.m.
11:13 a.m.
11:34 p.m.
Last
New
Jan 19
20°
8°
21° 17°
28° 24°
Seattle
33/19
ALMANAC
Yesterday
Normals
Records
7°
Jan 27
Today
SUNDAY
Snow and rain in
the afternoon
Spokane
Wenatchee
17/-2
18/4
Tacoma
Moses
35/14
Lake
Pullman
Aberdeen Olympia
Yakima 22/-1
19/2
38/19
34/16
26/0
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
32/12
Lewiston
19/6
23/2
Astoria
21/5
38/22
Portland
Enterprise
Hermiston
31/19
Pendleton 18/-2
The Dalles 21/5
15/1
27/9
La Grande
Salem
21/0
34/16
Albany
Corvallis 33/15
33/16
John Day
27/4
Ontario
Eugene
Bend
27/7
34/15
9/-9
Caldwell
Burns
26/5
23/-3
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
38
17
9
44
23
18
34
14
21
27
31
21
18
39
35
41
27
26
15
31
12
34
17
16
31
19
26
Lo
22
-8
-9
27
-3
-2
15
-1
5
4
0
0
-3
17
23
26
7
3
1
19
-14
16
-2
-4
16
6
0
W
s
sf
sn
sh
sn
c
sn
sf
c
sn
sn
sf
c
r
c
c
sn
pc
sf
pc
sn
sn
s
sf
pc
c
s
Hi
39
6
15
42
11
15
30
15
19
24
20
16
16
33
37
42
13
20
16
33
15
32
11
16
32
17
22
Today
Beijing
Hong Kong
Jerusalem
London
Mexico City
Moscow
Paris
Rome
Seoul
Sydney
Tokyo
(in mph)
Klamath Falls
31/0
Boardman
Pendleton
Lo
24
-10
1
28
-13
0
14
4
7
7
-7
5
3
15
24
26
-3
3
3
16
-8
16
0
0
15
6
0
W
pc
pc
pc
s
pc
pc
s
pc
pc
pc
s
pc
pc
s
s
s
pc
pc
pc
s
pc
s
pc
pc
s
pc
s
Lo
24
66
40
28
46
16
30
39
25
66
42
W
s
s
pc
pc
s
sn
c
s
s
sh
s
Thu.
Hi
40
75
55
41
78
25
42
52
50
78
50
Lo
26
68
41
31
47
5
27
28
28
68
36
W
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
sn
s
pc
pc
sh
s
REGIONAL FORECAST
Eastern Washington: Sunny to partly
cloudy today, but some clouds across the
south. Partly cloudy tonight.
Cascades: A morning fl urry, then snow
today, accumulating 1-2 inches, except a bit
of snow across the north.
Northern California: Showers around
today; snow, accumulating 2-4 inches in the
interior mountains.
Today
Thursday
NNE 6-12
WNW 4-8
S 3-6
NW 4-8
UV INDEX TODAY
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
Coastal Oregon: Showers in the south to-
day; a rain or snow shower in central parts.
Mostly sunny in the north.
Eastern and Central Oregon: A little snow
today, accumulating 1-3 inches; however, a
snow shower across the north.
Western Washington: Sunny today, except
some clouds across the south. Partly cloudy
tonight.
Corrections
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.
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COMMERCIAL PRINTING
Production Manager: Mike Jensen
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Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
WORLD CITIES
Hi
47
75
51
47
76
18
43
52
47
75
55
from Northwest Alloys to
sublease the state’s aquatic
lands to Millennium Bulk
Terminals for the project.
Goldmark said Millennium
had refused to provide
basic information about
its finances following the
bankruptcy of its previous
owner, Arch Coal, last year.
A
spokesman
for
Millennium did not imme-
diately return a call seeking
comment.
Jay Manning, board
chairman of Washington
Environmental
Council,
praised the decision and
called it the final nail in the
coffin for the project.
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
Thu.
WINDS
Medford
39/17
SEATTLE (AP) —
Washington
state
is
refusing to allow its aquatic
lands to be used for a
major coal-export terminal
along the Columbia River,
dealing what one opponent
described as “the final
nail in the coffin” for the
project.
Millennium Bulk Termi-
nals proposed building a
terminal in Longview that
would export coal from
Montana, Wyoming and
other states to Asia.
Outgoing Public Lands
Commissioner Peter Gold-
mark announced Tuesday
that he has rejected a request
REGIONAL CITIES
Forecast
TODAY
Washington denies sublease
for coal export terminal
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recently that Leonard had
officially made the financial
disclosures months earlier,
providing a link to the
information on the Oregon
Government
Ethics Commis-
sion web site.
F o r m e r
Oregon
Gov.
John Kitzhaber
resigned in 2015
amid suspicion
that his fiancee,
Cylvia
Hayes,
used her relation-
ship with him
to earn lucrative
consulting
contracts.
The couple has denied
wrongdoing. Brown, then
Secretary of State, became
governor, and on Nov. 8
won the gubernatorial elec-
tion to finish the last two
years of his term.
The chief of staff
manages employees in
the governor’s office and
works with state agencies,
other offices, and legislative
leaders.
“Kristen
executed
this job with integrity
and distinction, and I am
grateful for her dedicated
service,” Brown said.
0
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. ©2017
-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: Bands of heavy snow will develop downwind of the Great Lakes as arc-
tic air invades the East today. Heavy rain with heavy mountain snow is forecast for central
and northern California with lesser snow inland.
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 88° in McAllen, Texas
Low -26° in Jordan, Mont.
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
55
53
54
53
4
49
27
50
69
45
19
32
47
20
26
64
21
-2
79
55
28
72
24
63
41
61
Lo
34
34
30
24
-7
31
10
28
43
21
8
19
34
0
17
42
8
-15
65
46
16
49
11
50
27
55
W
s
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
sn
pc
c
c
pc
sf
pc
sn
sf
s
sn
c
pc
pc
pc
pc
c
pc
s
sh
Thur.
Hi
54
56
39
37
10
50
16
36
63
30
15
24
45
7
23
65
23
-4
79
66
21
72
18
65
40
61
Lo
31
34
30
28
1
30
-3
26
44
21
3
15
26
-6
12
45
-21
-13
63
45
9
45
4
40
25
53
W
r
pc
pc
pc
s
pc
pc
pc
pc
sn
c
sn
pc
sn
sn
s
sn
c
s
c
sn
pc
c
pc
c
c
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
35
42
84
17
4
40
60
52
39
20
54
66
45
51
62
4
48
53
30
37
64
55
33
67
56
32
Lo
22
29
63
5
-4
27
45
27
21
7
26
48
22
25
32
-11
33
40
19
24
54
45
19
44
28
15
W
s
s
sh
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
s
pc
pc
pc
pc
r
r
s
sn
pc
r
s
s
pc
pc
Thur.
Hi
29
39
81
13
3
38
62
35
31
15
37
67
33
36
50
7
36
52
24
24
64
52
32
68
41
25
Lo
17
26
61
1
-6
23
51
29
18
2
29
50
17
24
35
-10
15
31
12
7
56
38
24
48
31
10
Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain,
sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice.
W
sn
c
s
c
c
pc
pc
pc
c
c
pc
s
s
pc
pc
pc
c
s
sn
sf
sh
s
pc
s
pc
sn