Cleanup efforts at nuclear weapons production sites around the U.S. are proceeding too slowly, largely because Congress has been too stingy with funding and because management of cleanup efforts has been poor, according to a new report given to Energy Secretary Bill Richardson by the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. The Savannah River nuclear site in South Carolina has the three most pressing problems, according to the report, while serious problems are also pinpointed at the Hanford nuclear reservation in Washington state, the nation’s largest and most contaminated nuclear site. The Government Accountability Project, a watchdog group, yesterday released a report warning that high levels of radiation have been detected near a Hanford building where an aluminum manufacturer has set up shop and has 40 employees working.
