Workers at the Hanford nuclear site in Washington state were ordered to take shelter on Friday following the discovery of an ammonia vapor leak from a large holding tank near the vitrification plant in the 200 East Area. The leak prompted immediate safety measures: employees in the affected area were told to shelter in place by closing doors, windows, and ventilation systems, while others were instructed to avoid the 200 East Area entirely.
The Hanford Site, located along the Columbia River in Benton County, is a former nuclear production facility operated by the U.S. government. The site has been decommissioned but still stores large amounts of radioactive waste. The 200 East Area houses a vitrification plant designed to treat waste from past plutonium production. This waste, which dates back to the Cold War and World War II, was used in the development of nuclear weapons. Currently, the Hanford Site contains 177 underground storage tanks holding around 56 million gallons of hazardous and highly radioactive material.
The incident at Hanford underscores the persistent challenges of managing nuclear waste. Across the globe, nuclear power plants have produced thousands of metric tons of used solid fuel, and millions of liters of radioactive liquid waste remain in temporary storage. Some of these containers have begun to leak, releasing dangerous materials into the environment. Nuclear waste is especially problematic because it remains hazardous for thousands of years.
In response to the global nuclear waste dilemma, Finland is working toward a long-term solution. The country has constructed the world’s first deep-earth repository for nuclear waste, which will begin operation in 2026. Located more than 400 meters beneath the forests of southwest Finland, the Onkalo repository will securely store nuclear waste for up to 100,000 years. The site, built next to three nuclear reactors on the island of Olkiluoto, employs a method known as KBS-3. This multi-barrier approach ensures that even if one barrier fails, the waste will still be safely contained.
Pasi Tuohimaa, communications head for Posiva—the company responsible for managing nuclear waste at Onkalo—explained the project’s significance. “The Onkalo facility is not temporary,” he said in an interview with CNBC. “It is a permanent solution for disposing of spent nuclear fuel.”
This project marks a significant step in addressing the long-term storage challenges associated with nuclear waste.
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