Sunday, February 24, 2013

World War II nuclear waste found leaking from tanks

Workers says they’re unsure how long or how much has leaked


Gov: 6 underground Hanford nuclear tanks leaking
FILE -- In this March 23, 2004 file photo, workers at the tank farms on the Hanford Nuclear Reservation near Richland, Wash., measure for radiation and the presence of toxic vapors. Six underground radioactive waste tanks at the nation's most contaminated nuclear site are leaking, Gov. Jay Inslee said Friday, Feb. 22, 2013. Inslee made the announcement after meeting with federal officials in Washington, D.C. Last week it was revealed that one of the 177 tanks at south-central Washington's Hanford Nuclear Reservation was leaking liquids. Inslee called the latest news "disturbing." (AP Photo/Jackie Johnston, File)

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Gov: 6 underground Hanford nuclear tanks leaking photo
FILE - In this July 14, 2010 photo, workers at the Hanford nuclear reservation work around a a tank farm where highly radioactive waste is stored underground near Richland, Wash. Six underground radioactive waste tanks at the nation's most contaminated nuclear site are leaking, Gov. Jay Inslee said Friday, Feb. 22, 2013. Inslee made the announcement after meeting with federal officials in Washington, D.C. Last week it was revealed that one of the 177 tanks at south-central Washington's Hanford Nuclear Reservation was leaking liquids. Inslee called the latest news "disturbing." (AP Photo/Shannon Dininny, File)
Some of the waste dates all the way back to the bomb created for and used on Nagasaki during World War II. The site as closed in 1987 but the waste has remained since that time.
Workers say there are six tanks leaking and they are not sure how long the problem has been going on or much has escaped.
The site is in the state of Washington, about 185 miles from Seattle according to reports. See more on this story here.

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