Listen Live
Donate
 on air
    Schedule

    KCRW

    Read & Explore

    • News
    • Entertainment
    • Food
    • Culture
    • Events

    Listen

    • Live Radio
    • Music
    • Podcasts
    • Full Schedule

    Information

    • About
    • Careers
    • Help / FAQ
    • Newsletters
    • Contact

    Support

    • Become a Member
    • Become a VIP
    • Ways to Give
    • Shop
    • Member Perks

    Become a Member

    Donate to KCRW to support this cultural hub for music discovery, in-depth journalism, community storytelling, and free events. You'll become a KCRW Member and get a year of exclusive benefits.

    DonateGive Monthly

    Copyright 2026 KCRW. All rights reserved.

    Report a Bug|Privacy Policy|Terms of Service|
    Cookie Policy
    |FCC Public Files|

    Back to To the Point

    To the Point

    Tunnel collapses at Washington plutonium plant

    A collapsing tunnel at America's most radioactive nuclear site in Washington State near the Colombia River Photos courtesy Hanford Nuclear Site The Hanford Nuclear Site in Eastern Washington built the atomic bomb that destroyed Nagasaki, Japan in 1945. It provided plutonium for nuclear weapons for the next 40 years, and now it's the most…

    • rss
    • Share
    By Warren Olney • May 10, 2017 • 1 min read

    The Hanford Nuclear Site in Eastern Washington built the atomic bomb that destroyed Nagasaki, Japan in 1945. It provided plutonium for nuclear weapons for the next 40 years, and now it's the most radioactive location in the Western Hemisphere. Yesterday, a 20-foot section of a tunnel full of nuclear waste collapsed. So far, there are no reports of radioactive releases. Dan Hirsch, director of the Environmental and Nuclear Policy Program at UC Santa Cruz and president of the nuclear watchdog group Bridge the Gap in Los Angeles, has more on the accident and clean-up efforts.

    The full episode

    2 of 2
    Trump fires FBI Director James Comey
    1. 1:30Will firing James Comey backfire on President Trump?
    2. 46:12Tunnel collapses at Washington plutonium plantYou’re reading this
    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Warren Olney

      former KCRW broadcaster

    • KCRW placeholder

      Andrea Brody

      Senior Producer, KCRW's Life Examined and To the Point podcast

    • KCRW placeholder

      Katie Cooper

      Producer, 'One year Later'

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Yael Even Or

      Producer, 'Press Play'

    • KCRW placeholder

      Dan Hirsch

      UC Santa Cruz / Committee to Bridge the Gap

      NewsNationalPolitics

    The full episode

    2 of 2
    Trump fires FBI Director James Comey
    1. 1:30Will firing James Comey backfire on President Trump?
    2. 46:12Tunnel collapses at Washington plutonium plantYou’re reading this
    Back to To the Point