[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 126 (Tuesday, August 1, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11048-S11049]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                         DON'T ABANDON HANFORD

  Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, the Nation's nuclear facilities are being 
singled out for strident criticism these days. The Hanford site in 
Washington State is one of those pointed to for its alleged waste and 
inefficiency. In fact, some of my distinguished colleagues have 
proposed legislation that would dramatically, fundamentally, and 
perhaps dangerously affect the principles which govern cleanup at 
Hanford.
  I am troubled by these criticisms, Mr. President, not because they do 
not make some good points--for certainly, Hanford's cleanup operation 
is not perfect--but because they ignore two important factors: first, 
that cleanup operations at Hanford are actually progressing; and 
second, that this Government has an obligation to help communities 
which contributed in no small part to our victories in World War Two 
and the cold war.
  The massive undertaking to clean up nuclear waste at Hanford is 
overseen by what is known as the Tri-Party Agreement. This agreement, 
forged in 1989, includes the Department of Energy, the Washington State 
Department of Ecology, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 
and is showing itself to be an effective means for guiding cleanup. As 
a recent article in the Tri-Cities Herald noted:

       Many in the Northwest, including former adversaries, say 
     the pact is the engine driving cleanup and, while slow in the 
     beginning, it now is speeding the work along.

  From safety to new technology to administrative savings, Hanford has 
made great strides. I submit for the Record a list of Hanford's recent 
accomplishments from the Tri-Cities Herald. It shows how far Hanford 
has come, and how the Tri-Party Agreement has influenced and moved 
cleanup efforts.
  The Blush Report, a review of Hanford commissioned by my 
distinguished colleague Senator Johnston, cited the Tri-Party Agreement 
as the primary obstacle to efficient cleanup. But that report was 
wrong. Just ask the people who signed the Tri-Party Agreement, the 
contractors who follow its guidelines, and the people of Washington 
State who benefit from its success. For all its faults, the Tri-Party 
Agreement serves as a constant reminder to the Federal Government that 
cleanup at Hanford is a top priority.
  And officials at Hanford are now looking to move 2,300 tons of spent 
nuclear fuel away from the Columbia River three years earlier than 
originally planned. This is not only good for the environment, but for 
the taxpayer as well--it may save as much as $120 million. Would the 
Federal Government, on its own, take the initiative like this and 
actually try to finish a project ahead of schedule? I have my doubts.
  A unique example of innovation at Hanford is the use of 
microorganisms to get rid of pollution. These microscopic creatures 
are, according to DOE News, ``stimulated with a vinegar-like solution 
to 'eat' chemical pollutants such as carbon tetrachloride and 
nitrates.'' Mr. President, surely no one can say that Hanford is in the 
grips of bureaucratic sclerosis when it enlists what one local paper 
calls ``vinegar-swigging microbes" in the fight against pollution.
  I recently received a letter from Mr. Kenneth Kensington of Viatech, 
Inc., in Hastings, MI. Viatech is cooperating with the Department of 
Energy on certain aspects of the cleanup, and Mr. Kensington writes 
that such cooperation is valuable not just to Hanford, but to the 
private sector and the advancement of research and development as well.
  Administratively, Hanford is also making great strides. Last April 
members of the Tri-Party Agreement met in St. Louis to create a 
``Blueprint for Action and Cost Control.'' As the Tri-City Herald 
reports, ``[t]he officials at the St. Louis meeting examined how to 
better manage projects, reduce costs and increase competition, track 
savings and streamline the regulatory process.''
  Mr. President, this strategy goes hand-in-hand with the legislation 
my fellow members of the Washington State delegation and I have 
introduced to reform cleanup at Hanford.
  There is, Mr. President, another aspect to this issue, and that is 
the responsibility the United States of America has for supporting 
facilities like Hanford which provided the manpower and the materials 
that helped fight and win both World War Two and the Cold War.
  Beginning in the 1940's, the Federal Government asked the Hanford 
community to join in the effort to combat Japanese, then Soviet, 
aggression. Hanford responded to the country's call, and performed its 
task magnificently, producing the materials to build up our Nation's 
defenses and face up to first the fascist and then the Communist 
threat. Tens of thousands of men and women worked on this mission, each 
contributing in their own way to American strength and security.
  Now, Mr. President, as we all know, the cold war is won, communism is 
vanquished, and we should all be thankful for the hard work and 
dedication of people in communities like Hanford. After all, these 
communities sacrificed a great deal. At Hanford, thousands of tons of 
nuclear waste lie underground, the result of a decades-long nuclear 
effort. I understand, Mr. President, that some of my distinguished 
colleagues may be concerned by the cost of cleanup at Hanford, but I 
cannot believe they would suggest that we simply turn our backs on the 
people who never faltered in their duty to their country.
  On Tuesday, the Senate Energy and Water Subcommittee approved funding 
for Hanford for 1996. I was very pleased by this, Mr. President. But I 
am still concerned about Hanford's long-term situation. I am very 
concerned that we stand by our commitments.
  Mr. President, I hope my colleagues will consider this issue 
carefully. I hope they will do what is right by the people of Hanford, 
and not, in their rush to save dollars, forget Hanford's invaluable 
service to America.
  Mr. President, I ask that this article from the Tri-City Herald be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the article was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                [From the Tri-City Herald, July 2, 1995]

 Significant Accomplishments Have Been Made, Milestones Reached Since 
                     Signing of Tri-Party Agreement

       Here's a rundown of major accomplishments at Hanford since 
     the Tri-Party Agreement was signed in 1989:
       Hanford's highest risk--the ``burping'' tank 101-SY--was 
     resolved by installing a giant mixer pump that controls 
     releases of hydrogen gases from the tank.
       Fabrication was completed on a spar pump, the second of its 
     kind for waste tank use.
       Contaminated liquid discharges to the soil were eliminated.
       K Basins, which hold highly radioactive used nuclear fuel, 
     were made earthquake-proof.

[[Page S11049]]

       Forty million dollars was saved by selling nitric acid 
     stored in the Plutonium Uranium Extraction Finishing Plant to 
     British Nuclear Fuels in England.
       Getting that nitric acid out of PUREX will cut 10 months 
     off the former chemical processing plant's deactivation 
     schedule. The first shipment of nitric acid arrived in Great 
     Britain this month. Two shipments will leave Hanford each 
     week until December, when all 190,000 gallons will have been 
     removed.
       The Uranium Oxide Plant deactivation is done, which mean 
     the former processing plant is ready for final cleanup and 
     disposition. This project was done four months early and 
     $800,000 under budget. Deactivation reduced the annual cost 
     of maintenance from $4 million to $40,000.
       This so-called interim sludge stabilization program was 
     completed at the Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP) 85 days 
     early. That was the first major step in the eventual cleanup 
     of the plant.
       The work was done inside two small furnaces in a PFP 
     glovebox. Moist, chemically reactive plutonium scraped from 
     236 containers was heated to 1,000 degrees Celsius, 
     converting it into about 30 kilograms of impure plutonium 
     oxide that was sealed in containers and placed in PFP's 
     shielded vaults. Stabilizing this material reduced total 
     worker radiation exposures by 25 percent.
       Fuel was removed from the Fast Flux Test Facility four 
     months ahead of schedule and $475,000 under budget.
       An evaporator was constructed and has reduced the amount of 
     radioactive liquids in underground tanks from 61 million 
     gallons to 55
      million gallons. By evaporating a portion of the water and 
     thus concentrating the remaining liquid waste in double-
     shell tanks, there will be more available storage space 
     for wastes to be transferred out of other troublesome 
     tanks.
       The extra tank space provided by the evaporation means six 
     new tanks, at an estimated cost of $378 million, won't be 
     needed.
       With evaporation, only water is removed. The condensate 
     water is being piped to nearby basins to await final 
     processing.
       In the N Reactor complex, 13 of 32 buildings have been 
     deactivated and are ready for final disposal. Cleanup of the 
     N Reactor's fuel basin is to be done in 1997.
       Two effluent disposal facilities have been built in central 
     and southern Hanford to treat contaminated liquids. The 
     liquids will no longer be dumped into the soil; a practice 
     that began in 1943.
       The 200 Area Treated Effluent Disposal Facility was $25 
     million under budget and fulfilled 12 TPA milestones.
       Reduced annual overhead costs by $200 million and 
     infrastructure costs by $22 million.
       The $31 million Waste Sampling and Characterization 
     Facility was built, a laboratory to provide analysis of 
     Hanford's wastes. The complex includes an analytical 
     laboratory, nuclear spectroscopy laboratory and solid-waste 
     storage facility. Nonradioactive and low-level radioactive 
     samples can be analyzed, as can samples that cannot be sent 
     to commercial laboratories.
       250,00 pounds of carbon tetrachloride will soon have been 
     removed from the soil in the 200 Areas, nearly 34 million 
     gallons of contaminated ground water will have been treated, 
     56,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil excavated and 52 
     buildings decontaminated and decommissioned.
       A new drilling technology now in use at Hanford is safer, 
     three times faster and minimizes wastes better than 
     conventional drilling methods while producing higher-quality 
     samples.
       K Reactor water basins have been converted into fish-
     rearing ponds to revive Columbia River
      salmon runs. The project is in cooperation with the Yakama 
     Indian Nation.
       The Hanford Advisory Board was created to provide public 
     direction on cleanup from stake-holders throughout the 
     Northwest.
       A super landfill was created in central Hanford to receive 
     debris and soil from the planned riverside cleanup.
       Numerous buildings, including the B Reactor water treatment 
     plant, have been demolished.
       Construction is under way on the $230 million Environmental 
     and Molecular Sciences Laboratory, a 200,000-square-foot 
     building that will house equipment and programs to study 
     molecular interactions and likely will lead to improved 
     cleanup technology.
       The Fitzner-Eberhardt Arid Lands Ecology reserve and the 
     North Slope have been cleaned. Combined, they make up 45 
     percent of the 560-square-mile site. The lands, which had 
     contained no radiological contamination, are to be turned 
     back to the public, but a debate continues on who will get 
     the land. By 1997, another 65 square miles along the Columbia 
     River will be available for other uses.
       Additionally, several new technologies are in use. They 
     include:
       Virtual reality, a simplified version of a special 
     stereoscopic viewing system to inspect Hanford tanks. The 
     system gives operators the feeling they're actually in the 
     tank looking for structural flaws.
       A high-temperature melter system to allow for more ``waste 
     loading'' during eventual vitrification of tank waste. 
     Increased operating temperatures allow greater flexibility to 
     incorporate more volume of waste into the glass, thus 
     reducing the number of radioactive glass logs to be sent to a 
     permanent repository.
       A device that for the first time measured the amount of gas 
     in tank 101-SY.
       a tungsten ball, about the size of a softball, that has 
     been suspended into that tank on a wire cable to provide 
     information on the thickness of waste inside.
     

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