Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


Nuclear Waste Tunnel Collapses in Washington State

by VOA News

   Part of a tunnel containing radioactive waste collapsed in Washington
   state Tuesday morning, prompting an evacuation of nearby facilities.

   No personnel was in the tunnel, which houses rail cars full of
   radioactive waste, at the time of the collapse and no release of
   radiation was detected, officials determined.

   But workers at nearby Hanford were evacuated and others farther from
   the site were advised to remain indoors.

   The accident occurred at a closed plant formerly known as PUREX in the
   middle of the Hanford site, about 325 kilometers (200 miles) southeast
   of Seattle, which for decades made plutonium for nuclear weapons.
   Hanford is now the largest depository of radioactive defense waste that
   must be cleaned.