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High risk for 2nd tunnel collapse at nuclear waste site A 20-foot by 20-foot hole collapsed May 9 in the roof of a storage tunnel at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation near Richland, Wash. [U.S. Department of Energy via AP, File] Friday Jun 30, 2017 at 5:21 PM Jun 30, 2017 at 5:21 PM By Nicholas K. Geranios Associated Press SPOKANE, Wash. — There is a high risk that a second tunnel filled with radioactive waste might collapse at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington state, the U.S. Department of Energy said Friday. A tunnel partially collapsed on May 9, forcing some 3,000 workers to shelter in place for several hours. There were no injuries or release of airborne radiation from that accident, the agency said. The Energy Department said it had completed an evaluation of a second tunnel on the former nuclear weapons production site and determined there is a high potential for the 53-year-old structure to collapse. The agency has an Aug. 1 deadline to develop plans to prevent that. Hanford is located in south-central Washington state and for decades made plutonium for nuclear weapons. The site is now engaged in cleaning up a massive inventory of nuclear waste. In a report released Friday, the Energy Department said the two sealed tunnels "do not meet current structural codes and standards." "The report finds that Tunnel 2 is identified as presenting a high potential for localized collapse," it said. Tunnel 2 was built of metal and concrete in 1964. It is approximately 1,700 feet long and is covered with eight feet of soil to prevent radiation from escaping. Inside are 28 flat-bed rail cars containing nuclear waste, including giant storage vessels and other large equipment from plutonium production. The tunnel was sealed in 1996 and has not been entered since, said Doug Shoop, Hanford manager for the Energy Department. The ceiling of Tunnel 1, which was built in 1956 and is 360 feet long, partially collapsed in May. That tunnel contains eight rail cars carrying radioactive waste, and it was sealed in 1965. As a result of the partial collapse of Tunnel 1, Hanford officials have started daily inspections of the two tunnels and installed remote-controlled cameras to monitor them, Shoop said.