Cantwell to visit Richland for Hanford tunnel collapse briefing

Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., will be in the Tri-Cities Saturday to learn more from Department of Energy officials about the partial collapse of the PUREX tunnel holding highly radioactive waste.

She is the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

Hanford officials are continuing to develop a plan for the next step to stabilize the 360-foot-long tunnel near the PUREX processing plant in central Hanford.

The breach, estimated at 20-by-20-feet, was stabilized by using an excavator to drop 53 truckloads of sand mixed with soil into the hole in the top of the tunnel.

A cover is expected to be added to the length of the tunnel, both to keep rain off that would add to the weight of the 8 feet of soil covering the tunnel and to prevent the spread of any radioactive contamination into the air if there were another collapse. Plans for the cover have not been released.

Work to cover the tunnel will depend on good weather. The forecast for early next week calls for showers and possibly some breezy days.

This story was originally published May 13, 2017 at 8:42 AM with the headline "Cantwell to visit Richland for Hanford tunnel collapse briefing."