‘Take Cover’ Alert Sent to Hanford Site Nuclear Waste Treatment Plant

Update: Officials said alert was sent as a precaution

Workers at a nuclear waste treatment plant in Washington state were texted an alert telling them to “take cover” on Oct. 25, due to steam coming from a tunnel, according to reports.

A spokeswoman for Bechtel, the firm building the plant, told Q13 that the alert to workers was sent as a precaution.

Hanford Site tweeted: “A take cover was called as a precautionary measure in the 200 East Area on #HanfordSite after steam was observed coming from PUREX Tunnel 2 during tunnel filling operations. There is no indication of a release of hazardous material.”

Workers at a nuclear waste treatment plant in Washington state were texted an alert telling them to “take cover” on Oct. 25 due to steam coming from a tunnel, according to reports. (Google Maps)

The facility also posted a statement on its website: “The occurrence appears to be limited to the immediate vicinity of the tunnel at this time ... Employees are currently directed to continue to take cover in the 200 East Area until more information can be obtained. Hanford site federal and contractor employees should contact their managers or supervisors for more information.”

The alert had read: “WTP Alert: The WTP Site is in Take Cover. Go to the closest Take Cover facility now. Avoid eating or drinking until further notice. Await further instructions.”

The Hanford plant is being designed to solidify millions of gallons of liquid radioactive waste sourced from the Hanford Site, which produced plutonium for nuclear weapons starting in the 1940s. It was used in the Manhattan Project, which created the first nuclear bomb.

In May 2017, a partial collapse of two tunnels at the Hanford Site, which both stored radioactive waste, prompted a structural analysis. Officials said that another tunnel on the site needed to be stabilized, the Tri-City Herald reported.