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Radioactive Documents
Radioactive Documents Found in Md.
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) - Researchers who are reclassifying millions of
records at the
National Archives facility here have discovered that some of the documents
are radioactive.
Officials say the contamination is limited to a few boxes.
The contaminated documents were found in January when a researcher who was
reviewing
50-year-old notes about radiation noticed gray dust and an envelope
containing what
appeared to be metal fragments.
Tests by the Archive's conservation laboratory identified the substance as
uranium.
The facility's 50 employees were doused in a special wash
and checked for radioactivity. They now keep a device on
hand that can detect radiation.
The radioactive records were among 1.2 billion pieces of paper from
laboratories
nationwide that are being reviewed as part of President Clinton's 1995
order to declassify
documents older than 25 years. The contaminated boxes could have come from
any one of
several laboratories.
The Energy Department plans to conduct a sweep of the College Park archives
by the end
of the year. Meanwhile, researchers have been told to look out for anything
suspicious.
``We've notified all our reviewers to be careful,'' said Roger K. Heusser,
director of the
declassification project for the Department of Energy. ``Most of these
records are letters
and reports in file folders. If you do see a packet of powder, it's pretty
evident there is
something unusual in there.''
Donald P. Mercado
Radiation Safety Officer
Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Missiles & Space - Sunnyvale Operations
O/EK-20, B/101
1111 Lockheed Martin Way
Sunnyvale, CA 94089
Ph. (408) 742-0759
Fax (408) 742-0611
Email: Don.mercado@lmco.com
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