Members of Congress representing states or communities adjacent to former nuclear weapons production sites have made another plea to restore cleanup funds in the fiscal year 2009 budget.

The bipartisan effort was led by Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash., as chairman of the Nuclear Cleanup Caucus. He and 36 other lawmakers sent a letter to the leadership of the House Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee this week asking for help in restoring money for nuclear cleanup funding at Hanford and other sites next year.

They're asking for $6.6 billion, which is down from peak funding of $7.3 billion in fiscal 2005.

The sun was shining and the air was congratulatory at Washington State University Tri-Cities on Thursday as more than 200 people turned out for the dedication of the new Bioproducts, Sciences and Engineering Laboratory.

The $24.8 million building was finished in March and is a joint project of WSU Tri-Cities and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

The 57,000-square-foot lab will be home to WSU's Center for Bioproducts and Bioenergy, and will be used by WSU faculty and staff and PNNL researchers to develop and commercialize biofuels and bioproducts.

The Department of Energy has named Stacy Charboneau as assistant manager for tank farms at Hanford's Office of River Protection.

She will be responsible for the continued safe storage and removal of 53 million gallons of chemical and radioactive waste from 170 underground tanks. She is transferring from the DOE Hanford Richland Operations Office, where she was deputy assistant manager for river corridor cleanup.

She has worked at Hanford since 1994 and previously worked for the Department of Defense. She has a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and a master's in engineering management.