Washington state monitors found radioactive contamination from troubled Hanford demolition project

Monitors at the federal Hanford Nuclear site found plutonium and americium contamination up to 10 miles from a troubled demolition project that was suspended in December due to concerns about the spread of radioactive particles.

The monitoring last year was conducted in the federal nuclear site by the state Department of Health, which notified the federal Energy Department of the findings in December.

The state monitoring picked up signs of radioactive americium and plutonium particles from the demolition of the Plutonium Finishing Plant that appear to have spread over a far larger zone of the federal site than initially thought.

“We don’t want to see contamination outside the work-control zone, and this was in areas that you didn’t expect to see it. It was surprising,” said John Martell, manager of the radioactive air emissions section of the state health department.

Read more: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/environment/wa-state-monitors-found-radioactive-contamination-from-troubled-hanford-demolition-project/