It's been a toxic few weeks at the Hanford nuclear reservation in Eastern Washington. Not that this is exactly news — Hanford is the most radioactive site in North America and is always toxic. But what is news is how dangerous and negligent the remediation efforts at Hanford continue to be.

Washington state wants a federal judge to issue an injunction requiring the Department of Energy and its contractor to take steps to protect workers at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. The Tri-City Herald reports that from January through July, Hanford workers reported suspicious smells or symptoms that indicate exposure to chemical vapors.

Residents of the Fukushima area and the rest of Japan will experience more than 10,000 excess cancer deaths as a result of radiation exposure from the triple-reactor meltdown that took place on March 11, 2011, according to a new report from Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) and International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW).

Fire poses one of the greatest risks to nuclear power safety. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) estimates that the risk of reactor meltdown due to fire is about 50 percent—roughly equal to all other risk factors combined.

An engineer who was fired after raising safety concerns about a nuclear power plant that was under construction will receive back wages and compensatory damages, after an investigation by OSHA.