Two batches of hazardous waste have been sent to the vitrification plant at Hanford but the process of turning the toxic material into glass form has not yet begun – though it is imminent.

The Hanford site contractor that will operate the facility set to treat tens of millions of toxic waste stored in underground tanks has plans to lay off 733 workers on Oct. 16 if Congress has not reached a deal to fund the federal government. 

One day into a federal government shutdown, state officials announced all necessary permits and approvals from state agencies to operate the Hanford site’s vit plant are complete. They are now waiting on federal officials to start processing waste. 

The U.S. Department of Energy has signed off on allowing radioactive tank waste to be introduced into the Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste (DFLAW) facility at the Hanford site, according to Sen. Patty Murray.

Gov. Bob Ferguson didn’t mince words during a Sept. 12 press conference in Kennewick: if the Waste Treatment Plant at the Hanford site does not begin treating waste by Oct. 15, the state will pursue legal action to bring the facility online and the state will win. 

The Trump administration’s top official at the U.S. Department of Energy has reportedly told a Washington senator that he is stalling operations at a critical Hanford site facility that is weeks away from beginning operations – though his office says otherwise.

Even as potential budget cuts and other shifts at the federal level introduce complications in the Hanford site’s cleanup mission, progress on initiatives is continuing, according to one Hanford site official.

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Sept. 9 pushed back against media reports that he is seeking a “different direction” to the environmental cleanup effort at the Hanford site, including halting work on a treatment facility on the cusp of becoming operational. 

U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse appeared to walk a fine line when he addressed a packed ballroom Aug. 27 at the Pasco Red Lion while protestors lined the street outside.