Another LANL fire article

["Phil V. Egidi" <7pe@ornl.gov>]

Radsters,
I found this article last night:

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2000/may2000/fire-m19.shtml


Please note I have no idea who this organization is or what it stands for, 
I just found the article.

here is an excerpt:

<Snip>

Of particular concern is the possibility of radioactive contamination fr*m
                     damage to the Los Alamos National Laboratory. While 
government
                     officials have assured the public that no radioactive 
materials were
                     burned, many questions remain unanswered. The blaze 
apparently did
                     not penetrate the reinforced concrete bunkers where 
radioactive
                     materials are stored, but these structures are not the 
only source of
                     possible radioactive contamination. The security of 
other radioactive
                     materials in various dumps and waste sites is unclear.

                     Over the six decades of the lab's operation, 
radioactivity has leaked in
                     unknown quantities into the water and vegetation 
surrounding the facility.
                     In the vicinity of the lab there are thought to be 
millions of cubic feet of
                     waste containing remnants of uranium, plutonium and 
tritium. It is quite
                     possible that high winds from the wildfire sweeping 
across radioactively
                     contaminated brush and soil could send bursts of 
radiation into the air.
                     The smoke cloud rising fr*m the fire blew across New 
Mexico and
                     several adjacent states, home to millions of people.

                     The government has been forced to admit that the 
ferocity of the fire has
                     hindered them fr*m determining which waste sites were 
actually burned
                     in the blaze. An independent monitoring system at the 
lab fell silent during
                     two days of the fire, transmitting no data. Finally, 
on Monday, May 15,
                     federal and state officials expanded air sampling, 
allowing for
                     measurements of radioactivity within two hours. Tests 
were also under
                     way to determine the presence of 100 different 
chemical substances in
                     the air, with results to be made available within 
three days, instead of the
                     usual week.

                     The Los Alamos fire raises serious questions about 
governmental
                     regulation and safeguards. At present, there are no 
permanent monitoring
                     systems at US nuclear storage sites to measure the 
emission of
                     radioactivity, toxic chemicals and hydrocarbons in the 
event of an
                     accident.

<SNIP>

Have a nice day,
Phil Egidi
ORNL/GJ
7pe@ornl.gov
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