DOE To Miss Third Hanford Deadline for Tank Cleanup

The Department of Energy has notified Washington state officials they are likely to miss another deadline for tank cleanup.

September 30th is when DOE is supposed to have a third nuclear waste tank emptied and cleaned.   According to a 2010 court order,  DOE was supposed to have 16 tanks emptied in the C Tank Farm by the end of the month this year.

The Consent Decree is the legally-binding set of rules that act as a timetable for removing waste from 149 single-shell storage tanks that are prone to leaking, into sturdier double-shell tanks.    The degree also has timetables for when waste is supposed to start being processed in the VIT Plant at Hanford.

Four C tank farm vessels are the ones at risk for missing the deadline.   DOE says a variety of equipment and logistical issues have slowed what has otherwise been good progress.

Earlier this year, DOE told officials nearly ALL the Hanford deadlines were at risk of being missed.