$82K Fine for Hanford Safety Violations
YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) - A contractor hired to help clean up the highly contaminated Hanford nuclear reservation will be fined $82,500 for safety violations that led to employees being exposed to radioactivity, the Department of Energy announced Friday.
CH2M Hill Hanford Group is the primary contractor responsible for retrieving hazardous and radioactive waste from 177 underground tanks at the site. The toxic stew was left from decades of plutonium production for nuclear weapons.
The preliminary notice of violation issued Friday listed violations associated with two events that the department said exposed employees to radioactivity but not in excess of regulatory limits.
On Sept. 21, 2005, workers removing equipment used to retrieve waste from one of the tanks were contaminated with highly radioactive waste while disconnecting a pressurized hose. Workers again were exposed to radioactivity March 6 while removing a camera from another tank.
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http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/nat-gen/2006/nov/17/111706325.html
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