The U.S. Department of Energy has announced it is expanding the Hanford site facility that only weeks ago faced a potential layoff of many of its workers due to withheld funding.
Employee layoffs at a Hanford site subcontractor were reportedly averted after one of the state’s U.S. senators criticized one of President Donald Trump’s cabinet members for not providing budgeted funds. But more funding cuts may be on the horizon at the nuclear cleanup site.
Workers at the Hanford vitrification plant have begun introducing chemicals akin to tank waste into the facility’s melter in the latest step to test its systems ahead of full-scale operations.
A Pasco-based union that got its start using cutting-edge technology on the top-secret Manhattan Project at Hanford continues to innovate as it prepares the next generation for careers as plumbers and pipefitters.
Federal lawmakers will next come up with their own budget proposals before negotiating a final budget ahead of the next fiscal year, which starts Oct. 1.
About $65 billion has been spent on the cleanup effort to date. That funding has paid for thousands of workers to empty storage tanks, address contamination in the soil and water, and build facilities necessary to eventually treat, vitrify and store the waste at the site or transport it to other locations.
One Hanford contractor estimated that collectively, the Hanford prime contractors donate more than $1 million to nonprofits each year in both financial donations and volunteered time.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the EEOICPA program, which is intended to compensate DOE employees who became ill after being exposed to harmful substances while working at certain sites, including Hanford. But it can be a challenging program to navigate.
