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U.S. NEWS Wednesday 10 May 2017
Tunnel with nuclear waste collapses in Washington

The cause of the col- among the labor force of
lapse was not immediately 9,000 at the site were sent
known. home early along a safe
It was discovered as part route.
of a routine inspection and “No action is currently re-
occurred during a massive quired for residents of Ben-
cleanup that has been ton and Franklin counties,”
under way since the 1980s the Energy Department
and costs more than $2 bil- said, referring to the nearly
lion a year. The work is ex- 300,000 residents near the
pected to take until 2060 site about 200 miles south-
and cost more than $100 east of Seattle. “There is
billion. no indication of a release
Hanford officials said they of contamination at this
were studying the area of point.”
the collapse to determine U.S. Energy Secretary Rick
how to create a barrier be- Perry was briefed on the
This image provided by the U.S. Department of Energy shows a tween the contaminated incident that Washington
20-foot by 20-foot hole in the roof of a storage tunnel at the Han- equipment in the tunnel Gov. Jay Inslee called it a
ford Nuclear Reservation near Richland, Wash., Tuesday, May and the outside air. serious situation.
9, 2017. An emergency was declared Tuesday after the partial Workers near the site were “Ensuring the safety of
collapse of the tunnel that contains rail cars full of radioactive
waste. evacuated and hundreds the workers and the com-
(U.S. Department of Energy via AP) of others farther away were munity is the top priority,”
By N. K. GERANIOS tion and no workers were told to remain indoors for said Inslee, a Democrat
Associated Press injured, said Randy Brad- several hours, the federal who previously represent-
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — A bury, a spokesman for the agency said. ed the Hanford region in
portion of an underground Washington state Depart- Non-essential workers Congress.q
tunnel containing rail cars ment of Ecology.
filled with radioactive No workers were inside the
waste collapsed Tuesday tunnel when it collapsed,
at a sprawling storage fa- causing soil on the surface
cility in a remote area of above to sink two to four
Washington state, forcing feet (half to 1.2 meters)
an evacuation of some over a 400 square foot
workers at the site that (37.1 square meters) area,
made plutonium for nucle- officials said.
ar weapons for decades The tunnels are hundreds
after World War II. of feet long, with about
Officials detected no re- eight feet (2.4 meters) of
lease of radiation at the soil covering them, the U.S.
Hanford Nuclear Reserva- Department of Energy said.
Giant air tanker used to attack

growing huge Georgia wildfire

By RUSS BYNUM ordered those communi-
Associated Press ties to evacuate as flames
Firefighters called up a gi- crept close Sunday.
ant air tanker to attack James Burnsed of Moniac
a rapidly growing wildfire remained at home Tues-
that threatened homes day, though he said he
Tuesday on the edge of could see the orange glow
the Okefenokee Swamp of flames through the trees
near the Georgia-Florida outside his house Monday
state line. night. He said most of his
The modified DC-10 jet neighbors had also stayed
liner, capable of dumping and were running lawn
11,600 gallons (44,000 liters) sprinklers in their yards in
of chemical fire retardant hopes grasses and plants
in a single run, was joining wouldn’t burn.
nearly 700 firefighters and “It’s absolutely not the best
support personnel working idea,” Burnsed said. “We
to contain the blaze with just don’t want to lose our
bulldozers, helicopters and stuff and we want to pro-
smaller planes. tect it if we can.”
The fire was burning Tues- The fire has burned rough-
day within a few miles (kilo- ly 220 square miles (570
meters) of the small, towns square kilometers) since a
of St. George and Moni- lightning strike ignited the
ac in southeast Georgia. blaze April 6 inside the Oke-
Emergency officials in sur- fenokee National Wildlife
rounding Charlton County Refuge.q