Delays and rising costs are plaguing cleanup of the Hanford nuclear reservation plant in south-central Washington, a site that generated more than half of the plutonium for the nation's nuclear weapons arsenal, according to a federal audit.

The site is the nation's most contaminated nuclear site, and the U.S. Department of Energy is managing its cleanup.

Demolition of 60 buildings of the Plutonium Finishing Plant is a high priority, and the $639 million contract was awarded to the CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Co. The work needs to be complete by 2013, though the contract runs to 2016.

But DOE's Office of Inspector General says in its audit that project costs for the demolition have grown from $528 million to $718 million, and the work is behind schedule. The project received an added $330 million in federal stimulus money to speed up the work to no effect.

The added cost likely came from higher labor costs and improvements asked of the contractor to ensure worker safety, the report says.

"Cleanup of the plutonium finishing plant is a complex project, and the safety of our workers remains a priority," said Geoff Tyree, spokesman for the Energy Department's Richland Operations office. "The contractor has done the right thing by carefully addressing safety concerns" (Shannon Dininny, AP/Washington Post, Nov. 15). -- GV