TN Incident

[LNMolino@AOL.COM]

http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/local_news/article/0,1406,KNS_347_2889809,00.html



Officials with the U.S. Department of Energy and Bechtel Jacobs, along

with state authorities, worked Saturday to determine how to treat a

state highway that was contaminated with radioactive waste Friday

afternoon.



Extensive surveys of Highway 95 in Roane County that were completed

early Saturday morning found that that road surface was contaminated

with the radioactive isotope strontium-90 "in several places,"

according to the DOE.



"A recovery plan to address the removal of this contamination is being

developed and is being coordinated with the State of Tennessee," said

a DOE statement.



The road remains closed indefinitely.



DOE spokesman Steve Wyatt has said that remedial action on the spill

may require that a section of the road surface be removed and properly

disposed of and that the section be repaved.



...



The incident began Thursday afternoon when employees at the

environmental waste management disposal facility discovered a truck

that was transporting radioactive waste from the New Hydrofracture

Facility had leaked.



Local authorities were contacted and Highway 95 was shut down between

Bethel Valley Road and Beaver Creak Road as DOE officials were joined

by radioactive material specialists from the Tennessee Department of

Environment and Conservation to scan the roadway for possible

contamination.



The combined team of 25 people used portable radiation detection

devices to meticulously scan the blacktop.



Authorities soon discovered some leakage about 200 yards from the

Bethel Valley intersection, and more testing throughout the night

produced other spots where the silvery metal substance had leaked onto

the roadway.

-- 



Louis N. Molino, Sr., CET

FF/NREMT-B/FSI/EMSI

LNMolino@aol.com

979-690-3607 (Home Office)



"A Texan with a Jersey Attitude"



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