Washington Plant on Track to Treat Radioactive Waste in 2023

A plant in Washington State will begin processing 56 million gallons of radioactive waste in 2023.

The plant will turn low-activity radioactive waste into glass and disposing of it safely, in a process called vitrification. 

The plant’s millions of gallons of waste are a byproduct of national defense plutonium-production efforts during World War II and the Cold War era. The waste is currently stored in 177 underground tanks. Over 60 of the tanks have leaked, contaminating the subsurface in the area and threatening the Columbia River. 

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