{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.murray.senate.gov/senator-murray-celebrates-key-milestone-nuclear-waste-officially-being-turned-into-glass-at-hanford/", "Senator Murray Celebrates KEY MILESTONE: Nuclear Waste OFFICIALLY Being Turned Into Glass at Hanford", "2025-10-15", "2025", "2025-10", "Democrat", "Senate", "WA", "Patty Murray", "M001111", "www.murray.senate.gov", "murray", "https://www.murray.senate.gov/category/press-releases/", "scraper", "ICYMI: Senator Murray Statement on DOE Signing Paperwork to Allow Go-Live at Hanford Waste Treatment Plant After Trump Administration Threatened to Upend Cleanup Efforts\n\nWashington, D.C. \u2013 Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, released the following statement in response to news that Hanford\u2019s Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste (DFLAW) facility at the Waste Treatment Plant began to solidify Hanford tank waste into glass for the very first time.\n\nThe Waste Treatment Plant at Hanford has been in the works for decades and is the largest and most technically sophisticated radioactive waste treatment plant in the world.\n\n\u201cThis is really a historic breakthrough. After decades of effort, we are officially turning nuclear waste into glass at Hanford. This is a monumental achievement that belongs to quite literally generations of Hanford workers. When it comes to Hanford, you can\u2019t cut corners\u2014and that\u2019s part of why I\u2019ve always fought to secure the federal resources needed to move this cleanup forward. I\u2019ll always fight to support the Hanford cleanup and the workers who power this mission. The federal government has a moral and legal obligation to follow through on the Hanford cleanup\u2014and I\u2019ll never let any President forget it. This is just the start and we\u2019ve still got a ways to go before we\u2019re anywhere near done, but today\u2019s success is worth celebrating\u2014let\u2019s make glass!\u201d\n\nOn September 17th, the Department of Energy (DOE) finally signed the required paperwork ensuring radioactive tank waste could be introduced into the Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste (DFLAW) facility at the Waste Treatment Plant. The Project Management Risk Committee unanimously endorsed moving forward to project completion in July.\n\nAccording to reporting and other sources, DOE leadership had been interested in axing the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant Project at the Hanford Site altogether, with DOE Secretary Chris Wright reportedly wanting to go in a \u201cdifferent direction\u201d on the Hanford cleanup. Senator Murray spoke to Secretary Wright on September 10th, and on that call, Wright admitted that the Trump administration was actively stalling progress at the Waste Treatment Plant\u2014claiming that moving forward was somehow a safety issue, although records did not corroborate his assertion. In response, Senator Murray released a statement emphasizing that Secretary Wright\u2019s comments \u201cwere in stark contrast to the positive news we received today that safety reviews and technical tests at one melter at the Waste Treatment Plant have been completed\u2014some of the final steps before the plant can begin turning nuclear waste into glass via completion of hot commissioning by October 15th.\u201d\n\nLater, DOE released a statement in response claiming they are \u201ccommitted to beginning operations by October 15th\u201d at the DFLAW facility. Senator Murray responded in part, \u201cI need to see real evidence that this administration is moving forward on our decades-long effort to turn nuclear waste into glass at Hanford. I also need an explanation for the conflicting information I have gotten from the Department over the last 48 hours\u2014and I need the Deputy Secretary to sign off on key documents so the completion of hot commissioning at the Waste Treatment Plant can move forward.\u201d Senator Murray\u2019s staff followed up with DOE on when they would sign the required paperwork to move forward\u2014DOE finally signed the paperwork on September 17th.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:32:54Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.murray.senate.gov/senator-murray-celebrates-key-milestone-nuclear-waste-officially-being-turned-into-glass-at-hanford/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.8455013632774353, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}