The Hanford (WA) Nuclear Waste Reservation is leaking waste and there is no easy solution to the problem. While the government assures people that the area is still safe, it is only going to become a worse problem over time should it continue to leak waste into local rivers. The Hanford facility is similar to the Sheridan Water system in that the government is dealing with aging infrastructure. In Sheridan, the city is dealing with water infrastructure that was built around 1950 and that is now creating water main breaks. In Hanford, there is a tank that was built in 1943 and 1944 that is storing 447,000 gallons of waste that is starting to leak waste. Given Sheridan's experience with aging infrastructure, Hanford is a problem that will only get worse over time even though the government is currently assuring everyone that there is no danger.
It is the federal government's responsibility to dispose of the waste. However, unless Congress passes a budget bill, there will be massive budget cuts under sequestration rules, meaning that a festering problem that already has no easy answers will only get worse unchecked. The government was supposed to build a new facility to handle the waste; however, it is billions of dollars over budget and way behind schedule and the Department of Energy is running out of available space to move waste to safer facilities.
Defenders of nuclear power argue that the alternative is coal; however, coal is a finite resource and not a long-term energy solution. The nuclear disaster in Japan as well as the Hanford mess undermines arguments for nuclear power as a solution to American energy needs. In the meantime, wind and solar energy have the potential for growth since they are infinite resources and they are much safer to convert to energy. The challenge for the government and solar and wind companies will be to make it cheaper to produce and thus make it a viable alternative.
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