Think of the Paper work! - Sewer Leak at WSU

[Mike Grissom <mikeg@SLAC.Stanford.EDU>]

Radsafers,

An item of possible interest relating to a spill at
a university (forwarded by a graduate and former
employee of same!):

>Date: Mon, 10 Aug 1998 22:25:53 -0700
>Subject: Think of the Paper work!
>
>This is where I used to work a few decades ago.
>
>***************************************************** 
>WSU NEWS OF THE DAY 
>
>WSU REPORTS LOW LEVEL RADIATION SPILL 
>
>PULLMAN, Wash. -- Washington State University has reported to the state
>health department and federal nuclear regulatory officials that low
>levels of radioactive waste solutions have leaked from a broken sewer
>pipe near the university's Nuclear Radiation Center. The leak was
>detected Wednesday when a reactor technician saw a small stream of water
>seeping from an embankment about 30 feet from the reactor building. The
>source of the water was determined and the leak stopped. Detector
>readings showed the presence of low level radiation. 
>
>The release poses no threat to the environment or individuals working at
>the radiation center or passing the site, said Dwight Hagihara, director
>of WSU Environmental Health and Safety Services. The radioactivity comes
>from solutions containing low level radioactive isotopes used by plant
>and animal scientists to conduct research on biological systems. The
>solutions are collected by radiation safety technicians and, in
>accordance with practices approved by the state health department,
>flushed into the university's sanitary sewer system. The diluted
>solutions are eventually processed by the city sewage treatment plant. 
>
>Radiation safety workers are removing contaminated dirt at the point of
>the release and putting it in plastic bags which will be sent to an
>approved disposal site. Repair or replacement of the clay sewer line
>will be completed as soon as possible, Hagihara said. The cause of the
>break in the line is undetermined.
>
>Operations of the reactor were temporarily suspended while crews were
>determining the source of the leak and making temporary repairs. The
>research reactor, opened in 1961, is one of the few university
>facilities of its kind in the country. It produces the radioactive
>isotopes used by scientists and conducts sample analysis. 
>
>For the complete stories on WSU News of the Day, please see the
>comprehensive News Index at:
>
> http://www.wsu.edu/NIS/1998NewsIndex.html


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