02/05/2003

Rob Kauder
KREM 2 News

& Associated Press

RICHLAND, Wash. - A radiation alarm sounded Wednesday afternoon at the K East Basin at the Hanford nuclear reservation, forcing an onsite lockdown but initial findings indicate it's a false alarm, according to the Depertment of Energy.

However, employees in the 100 area are remaining on site until final sample tests are finished.

The alert reached the second of four levels of severity, according to Mark Clemens with the Washington State Office of Emergency Management.

Clemens confirmed that the alarms were in response to air monitoring.The alert set off sirens in an area around the Columbia River from the White Bluff area to Vernita Bridge. The sirens are designed to get people to move away from the area near the river, Clemens said.

"This is pretty rare. It's unusual to get this high," Clemens said of the air readings.

When the alarms sounded, employees in both the 100-K and 100-N ares were instructed to take cover in their facilities, according to a DOE news release. Health officials, meanwhile, conducted surveys around the area. Initial reports Wednesday afternoon indicated there were no personnel contaminated and no release of radiation into the atmosphere.

An analysis of the air filters inside the K East facility where the alarms sounded show there were no elevated levels of radioactivity.

As part of its emergency plan for this type of situation, Benton County officials initiated an evacuation of the Columbia River from White Bluffs to the Vernita Bridge.

The state's Emergency Operations Center, as well as local counties in the Tri-Cities area, were activated to help coordinate the response to the alert. Officials from several agencies including the military, health, transportation and the State Patrol were standing by to help in a state-level response if it had been necessary.

During the alert, the EOC informed Governor Locke of the situation.

About the K Basins

The K Basins are two large pools of water where corroded spent nuclear fuel is stored, and workers were in the process of transferring some of that fuel from the east basin to the west basin when the alarm sounded. The K East Reactor is located apporixmately 40 miles north of Richland.

The K Basins at Hanford hold 2,100 metric tons of spent fuel, including four tons of plutonium.

The K East Basin has leaked radioactive water and sludge into the soil previously, threatening the Columbia River upstream from Oregon. The basin lies just 400 yards away from the river.

More Info on Hanford

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