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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Off-site contamination at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Conference ·
OSTI ID:45339
 [1]
  1. Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)
An upgrade of the radioactive liquid waste system at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) had been underway for the past several years. One of the upgrades involves the construction of a Monitoring and Control Station (MCS) which will receive waste from an analytical chemistry building prior to the waste being discharged to the main waste processing area. The MCS was located in a radiologically clean area adjacent to the analytical chemistry facility and no monitoring of personnel was necessary. On December 29, 1992, workers became contaminated and left the site prior to the discovery of the contamination. This paper outlines the actions surrounding this event including: the discovery of contamination; actions taken to minimize the spread of contamination; fears of employees; public relations; and lessons learned.
Research Organization:
USDOE Assistant Secretary for Environment, Safety, and Health, Washington, DC (United States). Office of Health; USDOE Nevada Field Office, Las Vegas, NV (United States)
OSTI ID:
45339
Report Number(s):
CONF-9304128--; ON: DE95004507
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English