RICHLAND, Wash. – There's disappointment and relief in the Tri-Cities, Washington now that a new Department of Energy plan says Texas is a better spot for storing the nation's unwanted mercury. D--O--E was looking at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation and several other sites across the nation to store up to 11-thousand tons of the nation's unused mercury. Gary Petersen is one of those who is relieved. He helps run the Tri-Cities Development Council – an agency that usually tries to bring in new jobs to the region. “We just couldn't see brining additional hazardous materials of any kind, I don't care if it's mercury, or strychnine, or DDT, to this site as a national repository, until we move toward complete cleanup of the site. And that's quite a few decades away.” The Energy Department's plan recommends against Hanford, because it would require a new building or a big remodel to safely hold the toxic chemical.
Public comments will be accepted on the mercury plan until March 30.
Copyright 2010 Northwest News Network
See DOE's mercury EIS:
http://www.mercurystorageeis.com/library.htm#draft
See the executive summary:
http://www.mercurystorageeis.com/draft/EIS-0423_D-Summary.pdf
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