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<\/a>The 200 East Area of the Hanford nuclear site is pictured on Google Earth. An emergency was declared at the site on Thursday, May 9, 2017 after a tunnel collapsed. (Google Earth Image)<\/p><\/div>\n
By Samantha Matsumoto
\nThe Oregonian<\/p>\n
The U.S. Department of Energy in Richland declared an emergency at the Hanford nuclear site in Washington on Tuesday morning after a portion of a tunnel that contained rail cars full of nuclear waste collapsed.<\/p>\n
There apparently has been no release of radiation and no workers were injured, said Randy Bradbury, a spokesman for the Washington state Department of Ecology.<\/p>\n
The emergency was declared at 8:26 a.m., according to an announcement<\/a>\u00a0on the Energy Department’s website. An alert came from the 200 East Area, the department said. Access to the area has been restricted.<\/p>\n Workers at the site of the tunnel collapse were evacuated. No workers were in the tunnel. Workers farther away were told to remain indoors.<\/p>\n Officials have not evacuated any employees from nearby buildings, said Lori A., a spokeswoman who would give only her first name. She said she did not know how many employees were asked to stay put while crews investigate the damage.<\/p>\n Nearby roads have not been affected, she said. She had no other information to share and said updates would be posted on the Hanford Emergency Information website.<\/p>\n Hanford for decades made plutonium for nuclear weapons and now is engaged in cleaning up the nation’s largest volume of radioactive defense wastes.<\/p>\n The sprawling Hanford site is near Richland and is half the size of Rhode Island<\/p>\n Reporter Susannah Frame with KING 5 in Seattle is tweeting from the site.<\/p>\n .@ENERGY<\/a> press release “Hanford Emergency Information” on this morning’s event. pic.twitter.com\/FLdv0Ldagc<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Susannah Frame (@SFrameK5) May 9, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n