How do the agencies that clean up Hanford know if they’re on the right track?
The Hanford Advisory Board, or HAB, deals with a variety of issues at the site. That includes things like how to respond to leaking underground tanks of radioactive waste, worker safety, the cleanup on Hanford’s 324 Building and Hanford’s waste dump. The board creates written advice that helps direct the cleanup.
But the board’s workflow has been bogged down. The HAB hasn't been able to have all of its members fully participate. That’s because the U.S. Department of Energy hasn’t vetted and approved members yet. The new and continuing members were supposed to start their term last October.
Miya Burke is the vice chair of the HAB. She works for Hanford Challenge, a Seattle-based watchdog organization.
“It’s been really frustrating,” Burke said. “We’ve been hearing from them [U.S. Department of Energy] for months that the packets are still not approved.”
Currently, there are about a dozen new and continuing members waiting for approval to be an official part of the board. The entire board has nearly 40 seats — and most seats have both primary and alternate members.
Without this federal approval, some board members are only able to partially participate. Non-approved members can’t be on official advice issued by the board.
The Hanford Advisory Board is made up of stakeholder interests, including tribes, Hanford workers and environmental watchdogs.
“I mean, it brings all of these different interests together around one table,” Burke said. “And it’s a publicly accessible space. So the public can observe the meetings.”
Burke said the HAB allows the members to build relationships among themselves, including groups that may never talk if there weren’t a board.
Impacts from the latest government shutdown have also bogged down the board, Burke said. When the shutdown ended and meetings resumed, the board was flooded by new information.
“I personally worry about a future where there isn’t a Hanford Advisory Board,” Burke said. “And I think it’s really important that the board is here to give the Tri-Party agencies consensus advice about the path forward for Hanford cleanup. Not just now, but for the entirety of the cleanup, which is well past my lifetime.”
