The Nation - News from Dec. 26, 1986

Plutonium production plants at the Hanford nuclear reservation that have been closed since October may not reopen as soon as anticipated, says a U.S. Department of Energy spokesman. Rockwell Hanford Operations planned to restart the Plutonium-Uranium Extraction Plant on Jan. 17, but department spokesman Tom Bauman said: “We have not set any date and we won’t until Rockwell completes the requirements we have set for startup.” Every major facility on the south-central Washington reservation is either temporarily closed or slated for closure because of safety concerns.