[xurl= http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/15/16977573-tank-at-hanford-nuclear-site-leaking-radioactive-liquids-washington-governor-says ]Tank at Hanford nuclear site leaking radioactive liquids, Washington governor says (February 16, 2013)[/xurl]

"A tank that holds radioactive liquids is leaking at the nation's most contaminated nuclear site, Wash. Gov. Jay Inslee said Friday, raising concerns about the integrity of other storage facilities at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation."

"The tank in question contains about 447,000 gallons of sludge, a mixture of solids and liquids with a mud-like consistency."

"The U.S. Department of Energy said liquid levels are decreasing in one of 177 underground tanks at the nuclear reservation."

"The tanks hold millions of gallons of a highly radioactive stew left from decades of plutonium production for nuclear weapons."

"Over time, many of those tanks have leaked, threatening the groundwater and the neighboring Columbia River, the largest waterway in the Pacific Northwest."

Hanford Quick Facts (July 23, 2006)

"67 of the single shell tanks have leaked about 1 million gallons of highly radioactive waste into the ground. This waste is traveling through groundwater toward the Columbia River."

"Groundwater under two of the tank farms is contaminated with Technetium-99 at amounts many hundreds of times greater than the federal drinking water standard. Groundwater under a third tank farm contains uranium concentrations at amounts 20 times higher than the federal drinking water standard."

"With the exception of the above tank farms, most of the contamination is currently still in the soil above the groundwater, but is moving downward toward the groundwater. There are some areas where Cobalt can be measured and the data show the contamination moving downward. The resulting groundwater plumes are currently small but with high concentrations of contaminants. These plumes are being fed by the past leaks into the soil above."

"If cleanup does not proceed on schedule, the plume will reach the Columbia River in 12 to 50 years depending on location and type of contamination."