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May 24, 2017

Wyden, Walden, Bipartisan Group of Lawmakers Call on GAO to Review Infrastructure Safety, Unfinished Work at Hanford Nuclear Reservation

Washington, D.C. - Following this month's tunnel collapse at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington State, a bipartisan group of Pacific Northwest lawmakers today called for a U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) review of the nuclear waste cleanup and environmental remediation work at Hanford. In their letter today, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., along with Sens. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Reps. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., Dan … Continue Reading


March 02, 2017

Wyden Votes ‘No’ on Perry to Lead Energy Department

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today issued the following statement on his vote against confirming former Texas Gov. Rick Perry to lead the U.S. Department of Energy: "The Energy Department can set the temperature for a boom in good-paying American jobs in clean energy technologies like wind, solar and hydropower. But as Trump is threatening to slash DOE's budget, Gov. Perry hasn't convinced me he's up to the task of creating those jobs and putting points on the board in … Continue Reading


December 05, 2016

HANFORD: Wyden, Murray, Cantwell Call on Top Energy Official to Immediately Implement New Worker Safety Recommendations

Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR), Patty Murray (D-WA), and Maria Cantwell (D-WA), urged the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to take immediate action to protect workers at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington state by implementing new safety recommendations. The recommendations were released this week after a months-long review to address chemical vapor exposures at the Hanford tank farms by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and … Continue Reading


May 31, 2016

Wyden Commends Energy Department Office of Inspector General Review of Hanford Vapor Exposures

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., commended the Department of Energy's Office of Inspector General for beginning a review today of chemical vapor exposures to workers at the Hanford nuclear site in Washington state. "This is a good step toward providing the workers at Hanford with some assurance that someone is looking out for their safety," Wyden said. "I look forward to a thorough review by the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Energy's response to working … Continue Reading


May 12, 2016

Wyden Presses Energy Department Inspector General Nominee on Hanford

Washington, D.C. - Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today pressed the nominee for the Department of Energy's Inspector General post about changing the way the department manages the Hanford nuclear reservation in Washington state. At a confirmation hearing before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Wyden asked Susan Beard to provide a timeline within 72 hours for actions she will take as inspector general to change the way clean-up is managed at Hanford. "I was there last week, and the … Continue Reading


April 19, 2016

Wyden Demands U.S. Energy Department Response to Discovery of Hanford Tank Leak

Washington, DC -- Sen. Ron Wyden today demanded the U.S. Energy Department establish an independent panel to monitor and report on an already damaged high-level waste tank and to re-assess the risks associated with the remaining double shell-tanks at the Hanford Reservation. Wyden's letter to Energy Department Secretary Ernest Moniz follows in the wake of reports that Hanford workers on Sunday detected an unexpectedly large amount of waste in an outer tank while retrieving high-level waste … Continue Reading


June 16, 2015

Wyden to Hold up Energy Department Nomination over Unaddressed Hanford Concerns

Washington, D.C.- Sen. Ron Wyden, D- Ore., today said he would object to the Senate's consideration of the Department of Energy's nominee for Assistant Secretary of Energy for Environmental Management, in a hearing before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Wyden said he would hold up the full Senate proceeding to vote on the nomination of Monica C. Regalbuto until the Energy Department takes "concrete action" to address both the culture of hostility for workers at Hanford … Continue Reading


April 28, 2015

Wyden Blasts DOE Hanford Contractor for Wasting Millions of Taxpayer Dollars, Demands Investigation

Washington, D.C. - Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today demanded an investigation into questionable contracting practices at the Department of Energy's Hanford nuclear site in Washington State and blasted the DOE for its lack of oversight, citing an internal report from a project management contractor obtained earlier this year. The report from Bechtel National, Inc., dated January 9, 2015, shows that about $277 million of taxpayer money has been spent on work orders that have not been completed at … Continue Reading


December 16, 2014

Wyden Demands Plan to Address Radioactive Waste Leaks at Hanford

Washington, D.C. - Sen. Ron Wyden, D- Ore., today asked the Energy Department to come up with a plan and a strict timeline to address storage tanks leaking radioactive nuclear waste at the Hanford Site in Southeast Washington. Wyden requested the plan in response to a Government Accountability Office report released today that describes the continuing deterioration of Hanford tanks. The GAO report found that both the older single-shell and newer double-shell tanks at Hanford are continuing to … Continue Reading


March 11, 2014

Wyden Defends Hanford Whistleblowers, Blasts Culture of Secrecy in Senate Roundtable

Washington, D.C. - Sen. Ron Wyden, D- Ore., today stood up for whistleblowers and expressed his ongoing concerns about the culture of secrecy at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation site in a roundtable discussion before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Financial and Contracting Oversight. The subcommittee held a roundtable discussion prior to a hearing on the same subject to allow two whistleblowers, Dr. Walter Tamosaitis and Donna Busche, an opportunity to … Continue Reading


March 01, 2014

Wyden Reveals New Safety Risks From Flawed Nuclear Waste Storage Tanks At Hanford, Calls For Immediate DOE Response

Washington, D.C. -Up to six storage tanks holding dangerous radioactive nuclear waste at the Hanford Site in Southeast Washington State are at a higher risk of leaking, according to previously undisclosed inspection reports released by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., on Saturday. Wyden called for Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz to outline within 45 days how the Department of Energy will address these newly revealed construction problems, and the implications for DOE's larger plan for cleaning up … Continue Reading


April 08, 2008

Wyden Calls for Accountability at the Hanford Nuclear Waste Treatment Plant

Washington, D.C. -- In a letter to the U.S. Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) requested an explanation of the causes of the most recent "black cell" procurement problems at the Hanford Nuclear Waste Treatment Plant, located in Richland, Washington on the Columbia River. Citing reports from staff at the Defense Nuclear Facility Safety Board, Wyden noted that as many as 1000 pipe sections procured by the contractor - Bechtel National, Inc. (BNI) - for … Continue Reading


May 22, 2007

Wyden Calls for Accountability at Hanford Nuclear Waste Treatment Plant

Washington, D.C. - Citing a recent report by the Inspector General of the Department of Energy -- which stated that the control system intended for use at the Nuclear Waste Treatment Plant at Hanford "does not meet the stringent procedures, plans, specifications, or work practices associated with nuclear quality standards" -- U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) sent a letter to Secretary Samuel Bodman today asking what actions the Department will be taking in response to the Inspector General's … Continue Reading


June 17, 2004

Wyden obtains Energy Dept. commitment to meet maximum cleanup standards forHanford Nuclear Waste Tanks

Washington, DC U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) today obtained a commitment from the U.S. Department of Energy that the agency will not attempt to weaken standards for cleaning up nuclear waste in tanks at Hanford, Wash. Under questioning from Wyden, Assistant Secretary of Energy for Environmental Management Jessie Roberson said that an Energy Department proposal to leave 10 percent of existing waste in the Hanford tanks far more than the one percent currently allowed under legal agreements is … Continue Reading

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