Oregon Senator Ron Wyden has sent a letter to Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz asking him to convene an independent panel to investigate a “large amount of waste in an outer tank” that was discovered Sunday. ย The letter also asks the Energy Department to re-assess the safety risks associated with the remaining double shell tanks that contain radioactive waste. ย Wyden says the exact cause of the sudden leakage is unknown.
“It goes without saying that citizens in Oregon and I are concerned about this situation especially given the fact that previous analyses of this tank and other double-shell tanks have raised numerous design and construction concerns and the exact cause of the original AY-102 leaks has never been determined,” Wyden stated.
The double-shell tanks ย provide for long term storage of high level waste with a much greater level of safety than single-shell tanks previously used. ย However, tanks AY-101 and AY-102 have surpassed their 40 year design life when the leaks were detected Sunday. ย
“In the immediate term, citizens of the Northwest need to be assured that there is no immediate danger from the conditions in tank AY-102 and from any continuation of retrieval operations. ย In the longer term, the cause of all of the leaks in this tank must be determined and the risk of failures in the remaining double-shell tanks should be reassessed.”ย Picture: ย Columbia River Keepers. ย
This article appears in Apr 13-20, 2016.
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