Oregon Public Broadcasting

 The feds say it's going to cost nearly 40 percent more to bore a huge tunnel into Yucca Mountain in Nevada.  That's where Washington State plans to ship its most dangerous radioactive waste. Correspondent Anna King reports.

$96.2 billion dollars. That’s how much the federal government estimates it will now cost to build and run a deep storage site at Yucca Mountain for 150 years.

The reasons for the increase?

There is a lot more radioactive waste to store and inflation has driven up construction costs.

Hanford watchdogs says the cost increase is just one more reason that the state should have another plan if Yucca Mountain falls through.

Jane Hedges is with Washington’s Department of Ecology. She says questions at Yucca do not change the mission at Hanford.

Jane Hedges: "We’re moving ahead to make sure our waste is in a safe configuration so that it can be disposed of properly."

Hedges says that means converting radioactive sludge into more stable glass logs.