Workers who were ordered to take cover June 8 at the Hanford Site’s Plutonium Finishing Plant are being offered bioassay testing for radioactive contamination.
“We have seen no preliminary data to suggest potential exposures exceed levels requiring a bioassay,” according to a memo distributed Friday to employees working on the plant cleanup. But rather than relying solely on air and other sample results, “we believe each employee should have their potential exposure evaluated so they have that peace of mind,” the CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Co. memo said.
Some workers received kits for the bioassays Friday and others were told the kits would be delivered to their homes in the next several days. Results will take up to eight weeks.
On Thursday morning, an air monitor detected low levels of airborne radioactive contamination as open-air demolition continued on the plant’s Plutonium Reclamation Facility. Workers took cover indoors for more than three hours. Some spots of radioactive contamination were found outside the demolition zone, including on sidewalks, on a respirator station, and near a vehicle access gate.
“The airborne excursion was short in duration, and the take cover that we were put under minimized the potential exposure,” the memo said. Collection and analysis of air sample data continued at the end of last week, along with additional surveys at the Plutonium Finishing Plant complex.
