Hanford stimulus spending called a success via The News Tribune

By Annette Cary, Tri-City Herald

Published: 10/15/11 1:37 am | Updated: 10/15/11 1:37 am

Not since environmental cleanup began at Hanford has the nuclear reservation had a period where it could point to as much work completed as in the last 30 months.

As the Department of Energy wraps up most spending of its $1.96 billion in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act money, Hanford regulators and the state of Oregon, which keeps a close eye on Hanford, are calling the program a success.

Within a day of receiving its first Recovery Act money in spring 2009, Department of Energy contractors were hiring to ramp up cleanup.

Two and half years later Hanford has torn down 67 buildings and structures, dug up 73 waste sites, drilled 303 wells for ground water treatment, nearly completed two new plants to treat contaminated ground water and pulled 130 plutonium-contaminated glove boxes out of one of Hanford’s high risk plants, among other work accomplished with the additional money.

Continue reading at Hanford stimulus spending called a success