A nuclear cleanup site at Hanford, one of the biggest, most complex superfund sites in the country, has been evacuated. At 8:26 this morning, the Hanford Emergency Operations Center jumped into action after an alert regarding subsidence of soil covering old railroad tunnels that contain contaminated materials.
Susannah Frame of KING 5 reports that the "subsidence" concern translates into a collapsed tunnel, and workers have been instructed not to eat or drink anything.
EMERGENCY AT HANFORD: Employees told to "take cover" as a tunnel collapses at plutonium finishing plant.
— Susannah Frame (@SFrameK5) May 9, 2017
The tunnel that collapsed at Hanford is full of highly contaminated materials such as hot, radioactive trains that transported fuel rods
— Susannah Frame (@SFrameK5) May 9, 2017
The dark area underneath the tall orange flag is the collapse site – a hole left by the tunnel collapse. pic.twitter.com/7fvqsRimhC
— Susannah Frame (@SFrameK5) May 9, 2017
There isn't much more we know at the moment—the media lines are busy. We do know that access to the area where the alert was generated, 200 East Area, has been "restricted" and workers in potentially affected areas have been told to stay indoors.
We'll update when we know more.
