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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.
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.
...but the toxicity of Pu itself that'll getcha.
The *first* reaction when these events occur is to lie and initiate a cover-up, followed by down-played reports from "officials".
This happens **EVERY** time.
See - 3 Mile Island, Chernobyl, Fukushima, Hanford, etc. etc. etc And the list goes on.
THERE IS ALWAYS A LIE AND A COVER UP... EVERY SINGLE TIME.
I bet these workers are so incredibly glad nuclear power is such a clean source of energy.
Fascism: An authoritarian and nationalistic right-wing system of government and social organization. See also: NAZI's
X-ray vision's not as appealing as it was in the 1950s because there are so many obese American women now, so they should probably hope for the ability to keep over tall buildings instead.
Twelve people out of 65 is 20 percent.
18.5%, if you round up, mathlete.
Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.
Ernest Hemingway
How likely is it that this anonymous reader is mdsolar?
The summary and the articles leave out some pretty important information. How much radiation were workers exposed to?
There's one part where CH2M Hill claimed less than you would receive during a chest x-ray, but then it quotes someone else who claims that claim is BS.
These workers that have been identified as possibly exposed should have a "Whole body scan" that will be the gold standard. My prayers go out to them and their families.
I hope this caused some synapses to fire.
That would be me and three cities, Hanford is next door to us. Local Paper on event http://www.tri-cityherald.com/...
The margin of error at that sample size is larger than the difference you're complaining about.
"Radioactive" Plutonium?
Is there any other kind?
The industrial accident is tragic but the "spin" is worse because it can lead to poor precautions and more accidents.
The point here is not about using nukes or not (the stuff exists and has to be dealt with), it's about the lying sacks of shit who hurt everyone by doing so - even their own cause.
Nuke fanboys, if you want to know why we don't have reactors everywhere it's due to these lying sacks of shit making it so an entire industry is not trusted and not the powerless hippies you keep blaming.
If you're going to get a dose, there are a lot worse ways it could happen. The only thing to watch is a whole lung exposure might be low but the pulmonary macrophage in your lungs concentrate the dose as they clean up the particulates.
I've been in those buildings and worked on that cleanup. Compared to some of the routine doses workers used to get in the old days that wasn't all that large. If you adjust the cancer rate for age, Hanford workers have a lower cancer rate than the broader population.
That's our life, the big wheel of shit. - The Fat Man, Blue Tango Salvage
The title should have read;
Tests Show Workers At Hanford Nuclear Facility Inhaled Plutonium, (which is Radioactive)
There is no non-radioactive plutonium. (Just gota love double negatives!) In someways, it should have listed the exact isotope, like Pu-239. Some plutonium isotopes produce difference levels of radiation, like Pu-238. That's used in RTGs, nuclear batteries. Though to be fair, I have no clue which isotope, (if any), is less bad to breath.
Lady Galadriel
If you haven't looked at Wikipedia's "Hanford Site" page, you are in for an education.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
>
This started the concern of the reactors in this area, not so much the isotopes but the heat plumes.
"A huge volume of water from the Columbia River was required to dissipate the heat produced by Hanford's nuclear reactors. From 1944 to 1971, pump systems drew cooling water from the river and, after treating this water for use by the reactors, returned it to the river. Before its release into the river, the used water was held in large tanks known as retention basins for up to six hours. Longer-lived isotopes were not affected by this retention, and several terabecquerels entered the river every day. "
Clearly we should just impose harsh discipline on the affected workers for knowingly stealing hazardous nuclear materials from their job site.
Won't actually solve any problems; but should reduce the number of reports of problems.
That's too bad. But even if those twelve people all die, it will be fewer than those that are killed by coal. According to one study, a single coal power plant kills more people in one week. And dying due to lung disease is a shitty way to go. Wikipedia on mortality associated with coal power plants: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
A cat can't teach a dog to bark.
would they?
I did a calculation several years back based on environmental levels of Plutonium and it came out to a few million atoms of Pu are passed every time you go to the bathroom. It's all in the dosage. Essentially everybody is contaminated from the above ground nuclear bomb testing days.
Radioactive Plutonium?!
You don't say!
Ever seen non-radioactive plutonium?