Deal reached to address 2 leaking nuke waste tanks

By NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS
Associated Press

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — A deal to address two nuclear waste storage tanks that are leaking radioactive materials into the soil in Washington state has been reached between Washington state and the U.S. Department of Energy. The waste is left over from the production of plutonium for nuclear weapons on the Hanford Nuclear Reservation near Richland, Washington. From World War II through the Cold War, Hanford produced more than 70 tons of plutonium, including for the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, at the end of World War II. The Energy Department estimates Tank B-109 is leaking about 560 gallons of waste per year, and Tank T-111 is leaking about 300 gallons per year.