An employee for the Energy Department’s Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico returned to work after suffering cuts from broken glass caused by a chemical reaction, a DOE spokesperson confirmed Friday.
“A small chemical reaction occurred on September 14th which was contained in a chemical hood at Technical Area 35. No radioactive material was involved, and no contamination occurred,” the spokesperson said.
Technical Area 35 is used for nuclear materials research and is one of the more restricted sections at Los Alamos.
The worker, who was wearing protective gear, suffered lacerations mostly on the hands, due to broken glassware. After being treated at the Los Alamos Medical Center and later at the University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque, the employee was released and is back to work, according to the DOE spokesperson.
The laboratory is investigating the cause of the chemical reaction, and is reviewing all applicable processes and procedures associated with this type of work at the facility, the spokesperson said.
The DOE laboratory declined to reveal the age or gender of the Los Alamos employee.
The incident was first reported Sept. 24 by the Albuquerque Journal. After the accident, the New Mexico Environment Department authorized detonation of two 50-milliliter containers of the same “unstable High Explosive crystalized material” that caused the worker’s injuries, the newspaper reported.
Destruction of the explosive material was completed Sept. 14, according to the report.
Meanwhile, the Energy Department on Thursday pledged another five years of grant funding for NMED to continue providing independent environmental monitoring and oversight of DOE work at Los Alamos and the Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque.
The department, in a press release, did not reveal the dollar value of the five-year grant, which kicks today in with the new federal fiscal year. The funding will help NMED protect the health, safety, and environment for New Mexico residents, DOE said.
