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NOVEMBER 22, 2000

The Department of Energy on Tuesday said it will not restart a test nuclear reactor at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington.

Known as the Fast Flux Test Facility, the reactor hasn't been in operation since 1992. If restarted, it would have supplied NASA with plutonium for space missions and produced medical isotopes to diagnose and treat cancer and other illnesses.

Senator Slade Gorton (R-Wash) had called on the reactor to be restarted. The Hanford site is located in southeast Washington state along the Columbia River, an area Gorton easily won in the Senate election.

Get the Story:
Energy Department plans not to restart Hanford reactor (AP 11/21)

Related Stories:
DOE says nuclear cleanup ahead (Enviro 11/16)
Richardson, Babbitt pledge support (Tribal Law 11/14)
More waste cited at nuclear site (Enviro 11/3)
Report: DOE wasting cleanup money (Enviro 11/2)
DOE revises tribal policies (Enviro 11/1)

Relevant Links:
The Fast Flux Test Facility - www.fftf.org
Revised tribal policy, Department of Energy - www.hanford.gov/doe/inp/proginfo.htm
Indian Nations Program, Hanford Site - www.hanford.gov/doe/inp/index.htm
Cultural and Historic Resource Pogram, Hanford Site - www.hanford.gov/doe/culres/native.html
Tribal Nations Involvement, Office of Environmental Management - www.em.doe.gov/em22/tribindx.html