© 2026 TPM MEDIA LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
News

Employees Evacuated After Alert At Washington State Nuclear Site

by
05.09.17 | 12:34 pm
FILE - In this July 9, 2014, file photo, a sign informs visitors of prohibited items on the Hanford Nuclear Reservation near Richland, Wash. The entire congressional delegation from Washington is asking President-ele... FILE - In this July 9, 2014, file photo, a sign informs visitors of prohibited items on the Hanford Nuclear Reservation near Richland, Wash. The entire congressional delegation from Washington is asking President-elect Donald Trump to make environmental cleanup of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation a priority. Hanford for years made plutonium for nuclear weapons, and now is engaged in a multi-decade cleanup of the resulting waste at a cost of some $2 billion per year. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File) MORE LESS

Employees were evacuated after an emergency alert was declared at a nuclear site in Hanford, Washington on Tuesday.

The Hanford Site said in a release that employees have been evacuated and “workers in potentially affected areas of the Hanford Site have gone indoors.”

“There are concerns about subsidence in the soil covering railroad tunnels near a former chemical processing facility,” the site said. “The tunnels contain contaminated materials.”

Local NBC affiliate KING reported that the tunnel contained radioactive transports for fuel rods.

KING reporter Susannah Frame reported that managers told employees to “secure ventilation” and “refrain from eating or drinking,” though whether there was any contamination remains unclear.