UNEXPECTED CONTAMINATION TEMPORARILY STOPS SOME WTP WORK

Bechtel National suspended activities at some portions of the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant yesterday after the discovery of unexpected contaminated soil. Craft work was suspended at the WTP’s Pretreatment and High-Level Waste facilities after “low levels” of contaminated soil was found inside the HLW Facility, according to a message sent to employees. No “detectable levels of contamination” were found on workers, according to Bechtel National. “The contaminated soil was found beneath a bird nest in the HLW facility. There are no sources of contaminated material within the WTP boundary, so the source of the material is elsewhere,” the message says.

Bechtel National spokesman Todd Nelson said late yesterday that the source of the contaminated material is still unknown. “All we can really say is that we’re not the source. It’s not from within the WTP site boundary, so at this point, we would just be speculating,” he told WC Monitor. The extent of the contamination has been “localized” and access to affected areas has been restricted, according to Bechtel National. All WTP workers are expected to report to work as normal today.