Nuclear health and safety

The plutonium-uranium extraction (Purex) plant at DOE's Hanford Site in Washington state was closed in December 1988 for safety reasons. DOE plans to restart the plant in March 1991 in order to resume extracting weapons-grade plutonium from spent fuel and to dispose of spent fuel that cannot yield weapons-grade plutonium. This report discusses how DOE's plans for restarting the facility are inadequate. Specifically, DOE has not shown the Purex is needed for weapons-grade plutonium production or that Purex is the best alternative for waste disposal purposes, determined that a supplemental environmental impact statement is needed, required that previous safety problems be corrected before the plant is reopened, and provided assurance that staff will be fully trained to operate Purex safely