Vitrification Plant Construction to be Resumed

The DOE has announced that construction of the Hanford vitrification plant will recommence within 30 days. Work has been halted for the past two years as a result of drastically increased costs and seismic concerns. The seismic safety of the design has been increased so that the structure will be capable of withstanding a worst-case-scenario earthquake, but the estimated cost of the project has risen from $4.3 billion to over $12 billion. This facility has been chalk full of problems that GAP has previously exposed.