Feds get more time to start up massive Hanford plant. Construction began 20 years ago
RICHLAND, Wa. — A federal judge has agreed to give the Department of Energy more time to start treating waste at the $17 billion Hanford vitrification plant under construction since 2002.
A federal court consent decree, as amended in 2016, had required the plant to start treatment of some of the least radioactive waste held in underground storage tanks at the Hanford site by the end of 2023.
But because of delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic that deadline has been extended to August 2025 under a court order filed Friday.
During the pandemic work slowed as employees on site were limited, work crews that were infected or exposed to the virus had to quarantine, and Hanford faced the same supply chain issues as the rest of the nation.
Read more: https://www.yakimaherald.com/news/northwest/feds-get-more-time-to-start-up-massive-hanford-plant-construction-began-20-years-ago/article_5f909dbb-dc51-528d-9a21-f3c267f6095d.html
