The Oregon Hanford Cleanup Board will hold a two-day public meeting on July 15-16, 2019 at 234 SW Kendall Court in Troutdale. The meeting will begin at 1 PM on Monday and reconvene at 8:30 AM Tuesday, with an opportunity for public comment each day.
The meeting agenda includes:
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Updates on recent Hanford cleanup progress and ongoing challenges from the U.S. Department of Energy and the Washington Department of Ecology. This will include the resumption of demolition activities at the Plutonium Finishing Plant and progress in removing highly radioactive sludge from a storage basin near the Columbia River shoreline.
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An update on a National Academy of Sciences committee evaluation of the potential uses of different technologies to immobilize some of Hanford’s tank waste.
The Oregon Hanford Cleanup Board provides input to the US DOE and its regulators on the cleanup of the Hanford Nuclear Site – one of the largest and most complex environmental challenges in the world. The Oregon Department of Energy and the board work together to keep important cleanup issues visible, hold the US DOE and its contractors accountable, ensure good public involvement and outreach, and reinforce that Oregon has a major stake in the safe and timely cleanup of Hanford.
More than 40 years of plutonium production for America's nuclear weapons program left hundreds of billions of gallons of radioactive and chemically hazardous waste at the Hanford Nuclear site, which sits on the Columbia River just 35 miles from Oregon’s border. From Hanford, the Columbia flows through prime Oregon farmlands, fisheries, communities, and popular recreational spots. Due to the potential threat of radioactive and chemical contamination affecting Oregon's resources, economy, and public health, the board's primary role is to ensure cleanup decisions are protective of the river.
The board typically hosts three public meetings per year at locations throughout Oregon, usually in communities along the Columbia River closest to Hanford. At the meetings, representatives of the USDOE, contractors, Washington Department of Ecology, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and Oregon DOE staff update the board on a wide variety of issues associated with the Hanford Site. Public attendance and participation is encouraged.
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