An announcement by Washington State Governor Jay Inslee this week has nuclear energy watchdogs concerned: Six underground radioactive waste tanks at Washington’s Hanford Nuclear reservation are leaking. The tanks hold highly radioactive waste, produced over decades of plutonium production for nuclear weapons.
The government spends billions of dollars annually on cleanup efforts at the site.
And now questions over whether the looming sequester will hamper clean up efforts have risen as the cuts in government spending are scheduled to go into effect across the country after today.
Anna King, Richland correspondent for the Northwest News Network, has toured the Hanford plant and says answers on how the government will handle the situation remain uncertain.