Re: Hanford Explosion

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@ix.netcom.com>]

This is how the AP addressed the incident:

Teams investigate explosion at defunct nuclear plant
Boston Globe

RICHLAND, Wash. (AP) - Investigators wearing protective suits on
Thursday looked into how a chemical tank that was not supposed to be
volatile exploded at a defunct plutonium processing plant at the
nation's most contaminated nuclear site. 

No one was injured and no radiation or chemicals were released in the
Wednesday night explosion at the Plutonium Reclamation Facility
building at the Hanford nuclear reservation, Hanford Manager Lloyd
Piper said Thursday. 

The cause of the blast was unknown, but sabotage has been ruled out.
``Our preliminary evidence just doesn't indicate that is a
possibility,'' said Energy Department spokesman Keith Taylor. 

The explosion occurred in a 1,570-liter metal tank containing
hydroxylamine nitrate, an oxidant similar to salt that is not supposed
to be volatile. 

``It was a limited quantity of material. We don't have any large
inventories of it,'' Piper said. 

The explosion blew the lid off the tank, rupturing a fire sprinkler
line that flooded the fourth-floor room and flowed down an elevator
shaft to a parking lot before water and electricity to the building
were shut off, Piper said. 

There was no fire and the building's radiation containment and
ventilation systems remained intact, he said. 

Filters in ventilation stacks were checked and showed no signs of
radiation or chemical contamination, he said. 

Nine workers were taken to a hospital as a precaution after reporting
a metallic taste in their mouths. Some complained of sore throats or
headaches. They were examined and released. 

The Energy Department declared a site alert late Wednesday, but
rescinded it and told employees to report to work at their regular
times on Thursday. 

Piper said he had appointed a team of experts to investigate how the
explosion occurred and to review procedures for storing chemicals on
the sprawling, 560-square-mile nuclear reservation in south-central
Washington state. 

The room where the blast occurred formerly was used to mix and store
chemicals used in the plutonium recycling process, but contained no
radioactive materials, Piper said. 

The 1940s-era building had not been used for years, and was
decontaminated last year in preparation for decommissioning, spokesman
Joe Flynn said. 

The Plutonium Reclamation Facility building, which is part of the
Plutonium Finishing Plant complex, was once used to recover plutonium
from waste materials produced at Hanford. 

Hanford produced weapons-grade plutonium beginning with the Manhattan
Project of World War II and continuing until the late 1980s. The
reservation is considered the nation's most contaminated nuclear site
and contains more than half the nation's nuclear weapons wastes. 

Cleanup is expected to take decades and cost tens of billions of
dollars. 
--------------

UPI addressed it as:

OLYMPIA, Wash. (UPI) -- The state Emergency Operations Center was 
activated for about four hours because of an explosion at the
Plutonium Reclamation Facility at the Hanford Nuclear Power Plant. 
 Officials say there was no release of nuclear material.  
 The facility is run by the U.S. Department of Energy, and the state 
opened the emergency center as a precaution, operations center
spokeswoman Penelope Christopherson said. 
 Officials say the incident occurred shortly before 8 p.m. PDT  
Wednesday. 
 State emergency personnel were dispatched to the center near Richland
but recalled a few hours later. 
 Christopherson says the Department of Energy is investigating the 
incident. 

------------------
Sandy Perle
Technical Director
ICN Dosimetry Division
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Office: (800) 548-5100 x2306 
Fax:    (714) 668-3149
  
mailto:sandyfl@ix.netcom.com
mailto:sperle@icnpharm.com

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