Gov. Gregoire testifies before nuclear commission

For Immediate Release: July 15, 2010

KENNEWICK � Gov. Chris Gregoire today testified before the Blue Ribbon Commission on America�s Nuclear Future. The commission is meeting in Kennewick to hear from the communities with an active interest in the Hanford nuclear reservation.

�By the time the N reactor shut down in 1987, Washington was home to the most dangerously contaminated waste site in the nation,� Gregoire said. �Given the real threats Hanford represents for our communities, our economy and our environment, a slow-down or stop in cleanup work is not acceptable under any circumstance. Work at Hanford must go in only one direction � toward a clean, safe site.�

Under President Obama�s direction, the U.S. Department of Energy created the blue ribbon commission to conduct a comprehensive review of policies for managing the nation�s nuclear waste and developing a new plan for storage. Today, approximately 53 million gallons of highly radioactive waste is stored in 177 underground tanks at Hanford. Of those tanks, 67 are confirmed to be leaking � contaminating soil and threatening the nearby Columbia River.

�I am very proud of the fact that we have emptied 7 of these million-gallon tanks. Several more are being expedited now,� Gregoire said. �This is a huge accomplishment � one that some said couldn�t be done. But we need to empty those remaining tanks. We need to vitrify the waste and contain it in a manner that is compatible with long-term storage. And I firmly believe the safest, most reliable long-term solution is to store those cylinders in a deep geological repository. It�s important to note that the $12.3 billion Hanford Waste Treatment Plant was designed to safely process high level waste specifically for storage in the Yucca Mountain deep geological waste repository.�

In March, the DOE filed paperwork to withdraw a license application to build a repository at Yucca Mountain, and permanently remove Yucca Mountain as an option to store nuclear waste. Earlier this month, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission�s Atomic Safety and Licensing Board announced it denied the DOE�s request.

�Ultimately, we must be certain that our storage method for this waste is responsible, based on a strictly scientific and technical analysis,� Gregoire testified. �We can�t pick a storage site for high level radioactive waste by default. We must choose it, design it and use it. We need to keep all options on the table.�

The commission is expected to submit to the President a draft report next summer, with a final report due by the beginning of 2012.