Energy Dept. Puts Off Shipping Nuke Waste

The federal government will halt its quest to ship hazardous waste to the nation’s most contaminated nuclear site until a new environmental review is done, the U.S. Energy Department announced Monday.

Washington state had sued to block the proposed shipments of nuclear and hazardous waste to the Hanford nuclear reservation on the banks of the Columbia River.

The state agreed to drop the lawsuit in exchange for another environmental study, which will re-analyze effects of waste storage on groundwater. The state will also play a greater role in developing the new statement.

The document is to be completed by 2008.

The Washington Post