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Tests Show Workers At Hanford Nuclear Facility Inhaled Radioactive Plutonium (king5.com)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from King 5, a local news station for Seattle, Washington: On June 8 approximately 350 Hanford workers were ordered to "take cover" after alarms designed to detect elevated levels of airborne radioactive contamination went off. It was quickly determined that radioactive particles had been swept out of a containment zone at the plutonium finishing plant (PFP) demolition site. The work is considered the most hazardous demolition project on the entire nuclear reservation. At the time Hanford officials called the safety measure "precautionary." Officials from the U.S. Dept. of Energy, which owns Hanford, and the contractor in charge of the demolition, CH2M Hill, downplayed the seriousness of the event with statements including, it appeared "workers were not at risk", "(the alarm went off) in an area where contamination is expected" and there was "no evidence radioactive particles had been inhaled" by anyone.

The KING 5 Investigators have discovered those statements are incorrect. An internal CH2M Hill email sent to their employees on July 21 was obtained by KING. It states that 301 (test kits) have been issued to employees and of the first 65 workers tested, a "small number of employees" showed positive results for "internal exposures" (by radioactive plutonium). Sources tell KING the "small number of employees" is twelve. Twelve people out of 65 is 20 percent. Still outstanding are 236 tests. A communication specialist with CH2M Hill sent a statement that more positive results are expected. "We expect additional positive results because analytical tests like a bioassay can detect radiological contamination at levels far lower than what field monitoring can detect," said Destry Henderson of CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Company.

1 of 158 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Could be worse by Orgasmatron · · Score: 3, Funny

    No, no! This is an official Mdsolar Anti-Nuke Story(tm). You are not allowed to bring facts or data into the discussion. You are not allowed to mention hormesis. You must bow down before LNT. You must, like the doctors in the article, speak in vague generalities - "Well gosh, radiation is invisible and scary. Forget the data, anything at all could happen if you get some in your body!"

    I've come to recognize that Nuclear Derangement Syndrome was a practice run. The symptoms are identical to the new trendy disease: Trump Derangement Syndrome.

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