iStock/Thinkstock(HANFORD, Wash.) — An emergency was declared Tuesday morning at the Hanford nuclear site in Washington state after reports that a tunnel had collapsed, according to Hanford government officials.
The U.S. Department of Energy Richland Operations Office activated the Hanford Emergency Operations Center at 8:26 a.m. Tuesday, according to the alert. The tunnel that is possibly affected is next to a plutonium uranium extraction facility.
Officials report that they’ve just observed a sunken area in the soil and it’s unclear whether the tunnel has collapsed.
The Hanford Fire Department is at the scene now. There are no reports of injuries and all employees have been accounted for.
A shelter-in-place order remains in effect and radiological surveys are being conducted to ensure there is no danger.
So far, there are no reports of any release of materials into the air, and no action is required for residents of the surrounding Benton and Franklin Counties.
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