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May 10th, 2017 
Awake Goy 
nsnbc : An emergency was declared at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington state, USA, on Tuesday, after the roof of a tunnel used for storing highly radioactively contaminated waste collapsed.
All workers at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation have reportedly been accounted for. Several thousand workers were told to take shelter in buildings. An aerial survey conducted mid-morning Tuesday revealed an opening about 20 feet by 20 feet into one of the tunnels, which had been covered with about eight feet of soil.
The breach at the defunct Purex processing plant tunnel could potentially expose the highly radioactive material in the tunnel to the atmosphere. Reportedly no airborne radiation had been detected as of about noon.
However, with no detailed information about the methodology used to monitor eventual airborne radiation released, it is safe to assume that residents downwind may be extra cautions, keep windows closed and eventually use respiratory masks until further notice, said a Danish nuclear engineer who is consulting for nsnbc international. Radiological surveys were reportedly continuing.
The Department of Energy reported that all workers have been accounted for. The tunnels are about 25 miles northwest of the center of Richland in the Hanford nuclear reservation’s 200 East Area.
Instructions for Hanford workers to shelter in place were expanded from central Hanford to all federally controlled portions of Hanford, including the LIGO observatory and the reactor areas along the Columbia River, after the aerial survey. The order was partially lifted about noon. Workers outside the 200 East Area of central Hanford were being allowed to leave buildings then, but about 3,000 workers in the 200 East Area continued to shelter in place. They included about 1,000 workers at the vitrification plant under construction.
No one was being allowed to enter the site beyond the security barricades and flights over the reservation were restricted. Earlier Tuesday morning workers near Purex noticed a 4-foot-by-4-foot depression that was 2 to 4 feet deep over the tunnel. About six workers were reportedly in Purex and were evacuated and the initial order to take shelter was issued when the depression was noticed.
At 8:26 a.m. the Hanford emergency center was activated and the Hanford Fire Department was on scene in central Hanford. Both Franklin and Benton counties have activated their emergency operations centers. However, both counties, without referring to specific data or methodology, said the public did not need to take any protective actions. The Richland School District told parents and others who were concerned that there was no danger that any radioactive contamination could reach its schools and that they were not affected in any way by the incident.
Washington State University Tri-Cities also assured students and alumni there was no danger at its Richland campus. Work continued at the commercial nuclear power plant on leased land at Hanford outside the security barricades. Workers at the plant, the Columbia Generating Station, were not told to shelter indoors. The plant is about 12 miles from Purex, according to Energy Northwest, which operates the plant.
Private pilots have been told to avoid flying over the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. The Hanford Patrol is working with the Federal Aviation Administration to put a formal air restriction in place until the FAA can determine whether the incident poses any risk or danger.
Workers in the 200 East Area were still sheltering indoors early Tuesday afternoon. However, ventilation systems had been turned on and a prohibition against eating and drinking had been lifted. When ventilation systems were turned off as part of the emergency response, some equipment that generates heat also was powered down. Historically at Purex, railcars full of highly contaminated materials and equipment from the plant were backed into waste disposal tunnels at the plant and left there as a disposal method.
The – some would say irresponsibly disposed – material was so radioactive that several empty cars were placed between the railcar holding waste and the locomotive to protect the driver from radiation. The plant, formally called the Plutonium Uranium Extraction Plant, was used to chemically process irradiated fuel rods to remove plutonium for the United States’ nuclear weapons program.
The Department of Energy (DoE) released a statement from Washington, D.C., saying that Energy Secretary Rick Perry had been briefed. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said DOE had notified him of the emergency, which was followed by a call from the White House to alert him to the emergency, as well. Inslee said: “This is a serious situation, and ensuring the safety of the workers and the community is the top priority. … We will continue to monitor this situation and assist the federal government in its response.”
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said she also was monitoring the situation. The Columbia River flows through Hanford and then along the border between Washington and Oregon. Oregon set up an operations center in Salem as a precaution. The public may request information by calling 509-376-8116. Updates follow later.
CH/L – nsnbc 09.05.2017
Source Article from https://nsnbc.me/2017/05/09/emergency-declared-at-hanford-nuclear-reservation-after-tunnel-collapse/
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