Welcome to Heart of America Northwest, The Public's Voice for Hanford Cleanup! We are a 16,000 member citizens' group providing comprehensive advocacy through research, grassroots organizing, legal and lobbying efforts in the Northwest and nationally for:

• timely and thorough cleanup of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation;
• protecting the Northwest and Columbia River from the threat of using Hanford as a national radioactive and radioactive hazardous waste dump;
• a safe and clean energy future to reduce global warming without creating more nuclear waste.

The New York Times quoted Heart of America Northwest in a July 11, 2010 article about Hanford, "A New Analysis Triples U.S. Plutonium Waste Figures."  Our testimony to President Obama's Blue Ribbon Commission was also featured on the NY Times Green Blog! 

July 22: On the blog: "Hanford & Yucca Mountain add heat to the Senate race"

In January 2010, Heart of America Northwest was featured in a CNN national news report!  CNN's Patrick Oppmann interviewed Executive Director Gerry Pollet on federal stimulus dollars and Hanford cleanup.  Check it out:

Our website is designed to give you the information and resources to help you to:

• understand Hanford & the current challenges there;
• be an effective advocate;
• comment on Hanford and nuclear waste issues;
• and get involved!

Hanford is the most contaminated area in the Western hemisphere. Today radioactive and toxic contamination flows into the Columbia River, which flows through Hanford for fifty miles, at levels as high as 1,500 times the federal Drinking Water Standard. Over a million gallons of deadly liquid High-Level Nuclear Waste has leaked from tanks at Hanford, and over 1.7 trillion  gallons of these deadly wastes was dumped into the soil. The contamination is spreading towards the River faster than the federal Energy Department (USDOE) claimed was possible.

Heart of America Northwest believes in “Clean-Up First!” - requiring the massive amounts of existing wastes to be brought into compliance and cleaned up before allowing USDOE to dump more waste at Hanford. Please read on, and do not hesitate to call or send us any questions or suggestions. Please join us and sign up to receive email action alerts and to volunteer (we can use volunteers anywhere in the Northwest).

Yakama Nation & Heart of America Northwest sue over Hanford waste landfill (7.14.2010)
The Yakama Nation & Heart of America Northwest are co-plaintiffs on a lawsuit against Washington Department of Ecology over violations of the Model Toxics Control Act in relation to the commerical low-level radioactive waste dump in central Hanford.

A Watchdog's Warning on Nuclear Waste - NY Times Green Blog (7.12.2010)
The NY Times' Green Blog, which covers environment and energy issues, featured a post on Heart of America Northwest's testimony to President Obama's Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future about Hanford's wastes and lessons about reprocessing nuclear waste.

A New Analysis Triples U.S. Plutonium Waste Figures - NY Times (7.11.2010)
"The amount of plutonium buried at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington State is nearly three times what the federal government previously reported, a new analysis indicates, suggesting that a cleanup to protect future generations will be far more challenging than planners had assumed."  This article quotes Gerry Pollet, Executive Director of Heart of America Northwest!

Heart of America Northwest's Executive Director on "The Water Spot"
This hour-long interview with Heart of America Northwest's Executive Director, Gerry Pollet, details many Hanford issues, including the Tank Closure & Waste Management Environmental Impact Statement.  The show originally aired on "The Water Spot," Tualatin Valley Cable, on April 1, 2010.