DOE Drops ‘High-Level’ Nuclear Waste Definition In Hanford Cleanup Deal

EPA, the Energy Department (DOE) and Washington state have agreed to amend their settlement for the cleanup of DOE’s massive Hanford, WA, nuclear waste complex, setting new deadlines for completing a long-sought waste treatment plant while dropping use of the department’s controversial new definition of “high-level radioactive waste” (HLW) that allowed for eased disposal options. DOE’s Office of Environmental Management announced April 29 that it had reached an agreement with EPA and the Washington Department of Ecology for “a landmark...