Nuclear waste bunker collapse in the US

A section of nuclear waste storage at the US Hanford nuclear facility yesterday 9/5 suddenly collapsed, causing all workers here to evacuate.

Reuters quoted state officials as saying that the incident occurred at dawn 9 May local time in the toxic chemical storage cell of Hanford Nuclear Storage facility about 275km southeast of Seattle.

The collapse occurred at the Hanford nuclear facility.(Photo: Getty).

A section of about 6m long tunnel suddenly collapsed, however fortunately no one was injured after this incident and there is currently no sign of radioactive leakage. However, to ensure safety, all workers here have been recommended to use oxygen cylinders and have been evacuated.

A hole in the tunnel.(Photo: Business Insider).

According to the US Department of Energy, the cause of the collapse is because the land above the tunnel is subsided.

The Hanford nuclear facility was used to produce plutonium for bomb construction. The reactors at the facility have been shut down since 1987, but millions of gallons of gas and waste still remain in nearly 200 underground tanks.