The most toxic nuclear facility in the United States

Hanford is one of America's largest and most polluting radioactive waste depots.

Hanford nuclear site in Washington state, overseen by the US Department of Energy (DOE), is a plutonium production facility during the Cold War, used to build tens of thousands of nuclear weapons, according to Science Alert. .

Hanford nuclear facility in Washington, USA.(Photo: Wikipedia).

Hanford area is about 1,517km ² . This place is no longer producing plutonium, but millions of liters of radioactive waste are still stored there. The Associated Press news agency evaluated Hanford as America's most polluted nuclear region in 2007.

On May 9, employees at Hanford's nuclear waste storage facility received an alert from the manager, asking them to evacuate and take shelter after a 6-meter section of the tunnel contained infected vehicles. The radiation collapsed, according to AFP. More specifically, an emergency occurs in an 80-hectare facility called the Plutonium Uranium Mining Plant, or PUREX.

"All employees in the neighborhood are explained the cause of the alarm. They are all safe, and there are no signs of radiation leakage , " Destry Henderson, spokesman for the Emergency Center. Hanford level, said.

Military TALON robots are being used to take samples on the ground and air, to determine if there is radioactive leakage. Some reports suggest that vibrations from nearby road repair may cause the tunnel collapse.

6 × 6m wide hole on one of the two tunnels leading into PUREX facility in Hanford.(Photo: DOE).

PUREX is where the US produces plutonium-239 (Pu-239) during the Cold War. Plutonium-239 is the raw material used to make nuclear bombs. This factory is longer than three football fields, 19.5 meters high on the ground and 12 meters deep. The 1.8-meter-thick concrete walls inside the factory have the effect of shielding workers from radiation from the building.

In the period 1956 - 1972 and 1983 - 1988, PUREX handled about 75% of the plutonium produced in Hanford. Some scientists believe that plutonium is produced at PUREX more than anywhere else in the world. PUREX handles more than 70,000 tons of uranium fuel rods during its operation.