Wyden Tours Hanford, Holds Town Halls

Hanford represents an unacceptable threat to the Pacific Northwest and it’s time to move the cleanup of the radioactive waste at the site up on the list of priorities for the Senate and for the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. That was the message that came through loud and clear after Senator Wyden visited Hanford on February 19 for a day-long tour of the groundwater treatment plant, the waste tanks and the unfinished waste treatment plant. The threat comes from the combination of leaking tanks and a waste treatment plant that is behind schedule, over budget and with no completion date in sight.

The trip, plus the announcement that six tanks of hazardous nuclear waste are now believed to be leaking, promoted Senator Wyden to ask the Government Accountability Office to investigate maintenance and monitoring procedures at Hanford.

Hanford wasn’t the only thing on Senator Wyden’s trip. There were also town hall meetings in Lincoln, Tillamook, Sherman, Morrow and Umatilla counties along with a speech to the Medford Rotary on the need to increase the federal timber harvest in Southwestern Oregon, a visit to CDS Publications in Medford, a chance to talk with World War II and Korean War veterans at the Air and Space Museum in Eugene and watched the Oregon men’s basketball team win over Stanford.

Senator Wyden also stopped by Portland’s own Puppet Labs and Keen Footwear. At Puppet Labs he talked tech policy, rode their “flyer,” and met employees and their company dog! Then on to visit Keen Footwear to check out their new products and hold a Q&A with employees.

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