Arrow-right Camera

Color Scheme

Subscribe now

Project leaking money

Sunday’s article about Hanford is alarming, not so much because of safety (though that’s serious), but over taxpayer expense.

Bechtel is receiving $12.3 billion to create nonleaking tanks for long-term storage of 56 million gallons of radioactive waste. The U.S. government authorized Bechtel to commence work on what amounts to sealing up pumps and mixing equipment inside tanks with the expectation that the moving parts will last 30 years. Tests prove it lasts months.

Yet Bechtel is welding tanks shut with the mixing equipment inside.

I wouldn’t expect Bechtel to put the kibosh on anything once construction starts; if you can bill out a worker who costs $85 per hour for $200 per hour, it makes sense to keep billing the U.S. taxpayer. If there is a stop order, Bechtel can charge for that. If a safety review shows rework must be performed, the invoice to the taxpayer will be billions of overruns.

For those who think safety isn’t an issue, read Wikipedia’s article on the “Tokaimura nuclear accident.” Three workers died from radiation. Dozens of emergency workers and nearby residents were hospitalized. Hundreds of thousands of nearby residents stayed indoors for 24 hours. All that was from just 11 gallons that achieved critical mass.

Greg Lloyd

Spokane Valley



Letters policy

The Spokesman-Review invites original letters on local topics of public interest. Your letter must adhere to the following rules:

  • No more than 250 words
  • We reserve the right to reject letters that are not factually correct, racist or are written with malice.
  • We cannot accept more than one letter a month from the same writer.
  • With each letter, include your daytime phone number and street address.
  • The Spokesman-Review retains the nonexclusive right to archive and re-publish any material submitted for publication.

Unfortunately, we don’t have space to publish all letters received, nor are we able to acknowledge their receipt. (Learn more.)

Submit letters using any of the following:

Our online form
Submit your letter here
Mail
Letters to the Editor
The Spokesman-Review
999 W. Riverside Ave.
Spokane, WA 99201
Fax
(509) 459-3815

Read more about how we crafted our Letters to the Editor policy