Oregon Hanford Cleanup Board to Meet August 7-8 in Salem

Contact:
Cliff Voliva, 503-378-3637
Rachel Wray, 503-689-0294

SALEM — The Oregon Hanford Cleanup Board will meet August 7-8 at the Oregon Department of Energy, 550 Capitol St. NE, in Salem.

The board, which gathers three times a year, provides policy advice to Oregon’s Governor,  legislature, and the Department of Energy on a wide range of issues regarding cleanup of the Hanford nuclear site in southeast Washington, just north of Oregon’s border.

At the two-day public meeting, the board will:

• Receive an update from the U.S. Department of Energy-Office of River Protection on recent activities, including tank waste retrievals and Waste Treatment Plant construction
• Get an update on the demolition progress of the Plutonium Finishing Plant from the U.S. Department of Energy-Richland Operations Office
• Hear from the Oregon Department of Energy on how it responded to the May 9 emergency after a partial collapse of a waste storage tunnel near Hanford’s PUREX facility.

The public will have an opportunity to comment to the board each day. A full meeting agenda is on the Oregon Department of Energy’s website: www.oregon.gov/energy/facilities-safety/safety/Pages/Oregon-Hanford-Cleanup-Board.aspx

To request an interpreter for the hearing impaired, or accommodations for persons with disabilities, please contact ODOE at least 72 hours before the meeting at 1-800-221-8035 or fax 503-373-7806. TTY users should call the Oregon Relay Service at 711.

For the last 25 years, Hanford has been the site of the world’s largest environmental cleanup program, the result of wastes created during the production of plutonium for America’s nuclear weapons program. Cleanup will continue for at least the next several decades.

Part of the Oregon Hanford Cleanup Board’s mission is to protect the Columbia River and Oregon from possible contamination from the Hanford site. The board is composed of citizens, a representative of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, a representative of the Governor, state agency representatives, and state legislators. ODOE serves as staff to the board.