and when i'm 103, i'll throw a glowing party , and invite gandalf..

[Guest guest]

An agreement struck this week between the U.S. Department of Energy

and Washington state will restore the original timeline and budget

for the cleanup of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. Following

technological delays under former President Clinton and proposed

budget cuts by the Bush administration, the cleanup date was pushed

back from between 2025 and 2035 to 2070. In addition to agreeing to

the original dates, the White House also restored $300 million it had

cut from the cleanup budget and provided an additional $150 million

this year, bringing the total Hanford budget for next year to more

than $2 billion. The cleanup plan, which still must be approved by

Congress, will tackle the problem of the more than 53 million gallons

of highly radioactive waste stored in underground tanks near the

banks of the Columbia River.

 

straight to the source: Spokane Spokesman-Review, Karen Dorn Steele,

08 Mar 2002

<http://www.spokesmanreview.com/news-story.asp?date=030802 & ID=s1112473>