FIVE LLRW DRUMS FALL OFF TRUCK ON THE WAY FROM HANFORD TO PERMA-FIX FACILITY

Five drums holding low-level radioactive waste fell off a flatbed truck in the center of Hanford Monday morning. The 55-gallon drums were among 74 on the truck that were being shipped from the Effluent Treatment Facility at Hanford to Perma-Fix Northwest’s plant just off Hanford. The truck was in the 200 East Area, where the public is not allowed, when it stopped at a railroad crossing and the drums fell off, according to CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Co. Radiological surveys showed that none of the drums broke and no contaminated material was released to the environment, according to CH2M Hill. The Effluent Treatment Facility receives contaminated waste water from Hanford activities and the material in the drums was solid waste left from the water treatment. CH2M Hill was continuing to investigate the incident Monday afternoon.