RICHLAND, Wash. (AP) - The U.S. Department of Energy evacuated
about 50 workers from an area of the Hanford nuclear reservation
Friday afternoon after discovering a liquid radioactive waste leak.
The leak was discovered in an aboveground waste transfer line at
the tank farm in the 200 West area of the south-central Washington
site. That's where contractor CH2M Hill Hanford Group Incorporated
has been unearthing long-buried containers of waste.
The leak measured about 15 to 18 feet in diameter.
Environmental monitoring picked up the traces of radioactivity
Friday morning. At about 11 a.m., workers were ordered to remain in
place as a precaution. By 3:30 p.m. they were being moved out of
the area, according to department spokeswoman Kim Ballinger.
Ballinger says surveys of the area confirmed no hazard to
employees.
Authorities say they believed the leak started and stopped
sometime Thursday night, and that no employees were in the area at the
time. Ballinger says the contaminated ground was contained to keep
the leak from spreading and officials were determining how best to
clean the area.
Typically, Ballinger says many more than 50 workers would have
been on hand, but many had today off work.