Dept. of Energy Reports No Contamination Release in Tunnel Collapse

Hanford workers spent much of the night working to stabilize and fill a 20 foot wide hole that was found over a train tunnel at the PUREX facility at the 200 East area yesterday.  Crews started working to fill the void at about 8:00pm last night

So far... Department of Energy Officials say no nuclear contamination has been detective at site, which is right at the center of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation.  The shelter order came after a hole was discovered over a train tunnel that is used to transport highly radioactive materials.

About 3-thousand workers closest to the site were hunkered down for about 6 hours before they were given the all clear to leave. The cause of the breech is still under investigation, and responders continue to monitor the area.

An emergency was declared Tuesday shortly before 8:30am Tuesday at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in southeastern Washington after a portion of a tunnel that that contains rail cars full of nuclear waste collapsed.   The incident occurred sometime before 8:26am Tuesday when the Hanford Emergency Operations Center was activated.

The Alert was declared in the 200 East Area which is at the center of the Hanford site.

Randy Bradbury, a spokesman for the Washington state Department of Ecology, said officials detected no release of radiation and no workers were injured.

He says there were no workers inside the tunnel when it collapsed Tuesday morning but that nearby workers were evacuated and others who were farther away were told to remain indoors.

The Department of Energy issued a statement saying no action was necessary for residents of Benton and Franklin County.

Hanford for decades made plutonium for nuclear weapons and is now the largest depository of radioactive defense waste that must be cleaned.