Staff Reports
WC Monitor
11/20/2015
Winds that gusted up to 70 mph this week at the Hanford Site in Washington state spread very small amounts of radioactive contamination to within 40 feet of a public highway. Washington Closure Hanford has had problems with contamination spreading from the 618-10 Burial Ground trenches since June 2014, but this is the closest contamination has been found to Route 4, the main Hanford highway to the Wye Barricade. The burial ground is 6 miles north of Richland. Multiple specks of sand with radioactive contamination were found outside the trenches after the windstorm Tuesday, but most was closer to the burial ground.
“The levels do not pose a risk to the public or the workers cleaning it up,” said Washington Closure spokesman Peter Bengtson. But it is not acceptable to find radioactive material where it is not supposed to be, he said. The contaminated specks were being shoveled into bags for disposal. The burial ground is surveyed daily, but the level of concern increases after a windstorm, according to Bengtson. Fixative had been applied to the dirt in the burial ground in advance of the storm, which proved stronger than expected. Workers were scheduled to continue surveying for contamination near the burial ground Friday. A lessons learned report will be prepared and processes improved with the goal of preventing a reoccurrence, Bengtson said.
In June 2014, small pieces of contaminated plastic spread outside the area of the burial ground posted for radiological material, according to a weekly site report from the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board staff. A few weeks later four small pieces of plastic were found outside the burial ground’s boundary fence after a windstorm. Another contamination spread was reported this past summer, with the Department of Energy issuing Washington Closure a letter of concern in July. It asked for information on actions being taken to improve contamination control.
