Inslee: Feds need to increase nuclear waste cleanup funds

By NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS and TED WARREN
Associated Press

RICHLAND, Wash. (AP) — Washington Gov. Jay Inslee says more federal money is needed to finish the job of cleaning up the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, a former nuclear weapons production site. Hanford created more than two-thirds of the nation’s plutonium for nuclear weapons. Left behind was the most contaminated nuclear site in the nation. Inslee wants the Biden administration to request $3.76 billion for Hanford cleanup in fiscal 2024, up from its current request of $2.52 billion for fiscal 2023. The $3.76 billion would help meet legal obligations, including court-ordered cleanup deadlines. Much of the waste is stored in 177 aging underground tanks, some of which are leaking. Hanford is located near Richland in southcentral Washington state.