Alongside the Columbia River, just north of the City of Richland, Hanford's 300 Area stretches for several miles. It's the southern "gateway" to the Hanford Reach National Monument. The area and River shorelines are far too contaminated for safe public use. And, under USDOE's cleanup plan, on which comments are being taken at hearings July 30 in Richland, July 31 in Seattle and August 8 in Hood River, they may never be safe. Under foot, and seeping into the highly popular stretch of River for boaters, water skiers, family wading and fishing, invisible danger lurks.
Uranium, which is both a radioactive carcinogen and a toxic heavy metal,contaminates the soil and flows into the River far above Drinking Water Standards.
For the areas which had been within the fences of, and the shorelines of the River along, the industrial 300 Area, the USDOE proposes to only cleanup to a level safe for adult workers to be exposed when standing on parking lots or working inside buildings 40 hours a week. This is called an industrial cleanup standard. Washington State's cleanup law (MTCA), which federal law says must be met, only allows use of this weak standard if there is no reasonable foreseeable future use of an area other than fenced off industrial uses with no recreational or commercial use - and, NO children.
But, many of the buildings and parking lots are gone.
The shoreline is already used for recreation.
Tribes have treaty rights to use the shorelines and fish.
So, shouldn't the area be cleaned up to be safe for public use? For children?
Or, should USDOE be allowed to leave Uranium, TCE and other contaminants and OBSERVE them for decades hoping that their levels will slowly go down. This is what USDOE calls "monitored natural attenuation," a fancy term meaning DO NOTHING.
Click here for our Citizens' Guide with suggested comments and how to send in your comments.
