The new and returning administration froze federal grant payments before a judge blocked the freeze. The status remains ...

Murray said at a news conference Tuesday she’s concerned about the Trump administration’s dismissal of about 12 U.S. Department of Energy staffers and what effect that will have on safety at the site.

Layoffs at the Hanford site included safety engineers and scientists, Sen. Patty Murray said. Hundreds of other federal workers in the state lost their jobs too.

The reduction so far is about 16% of DOE’s Hanford workforce, which was 78% staffed when the layoffs were announced.

Environmental cleanup is underway at the Hanford nuclear reservation in Eastern Washington after the site was used to produce plutonium for the nation’s nuclear weapons program. Department of ...

Workers started preparing to clean up a highly radioactive spill beneath the Hanford site 324 Building near Richland and the Columbia River in 2017. (Courtesy Department of Energy) More than a ...

Layoffs at the Hanford site near Richland included safety engineers, environmental scientists and employees who protect workers’ rights, said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Washington, in a news release ...