Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, June 3, 1990 TAG: 9006030043
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: GOLDEN, COLO. LENGTH: Medium
At issue: Whether enough plutonium has accumulated to lead to "criticality" - the point at which a nuclear reaction becomes self-sustaining and can release deadly radiation.
Phil Warner, general manager at Rocky Flats for plant operator EG&G Inc., said the plutonium in the air ducts poses no threat, but state officials and environmentalists want the plutonium removed from the air ducts before plutonium processing resumes at the plant.
Energy Secretary James Watkins suspended plutonium operations at Rocky Flats in November and said they could resume only when safety problems are solved. Rocky Flats, 16 miles northwest of Denver, has been operating since 1953.
The plutonium, discovered in the air ducts earlier this year, got into them over many years because filters that were supposed to catch the plutonium sometimes failed to work and sometimes were removed after becoming clogged, officials said.
EG&G scientists have said that, in a worst-case scenario, the plutonium in the air ducts "could release neutrons that could injure or kill within 10 feet," Warner said.
Witnesses to nuclear criticality elsewhere say that when the nuclear reactions occurred, they saw a blue flash followed by oven-like heat.
Workers within the deadly 10-to-15-foot radius are bombarded with neutrons and gamma radiation. Their skin reddens and severe nausea sets in quickly. In extreme cases, the victim becomes comatose within 20 minutes and death follows in a few hours or days.
The plutonium accumulation is the latest in a chain of problems that began in June 1989, when the FBI and Environmental Protection Agency raided Rocky Flats, looking for evidence of illegal disposal of hazardous wastes. A federal grand jury is examining evidence gathered during that raid but has not issued indictments.
Late last year, the Energy Department replaced Rockwell International as the plant operator as the controversy over hazardous waste disposal at the plant heated up. EG&G took over Jan. 1.
EG&G has completed its external radiation measurements of the air ducts, said Doug Croucher, director of nuclear safety for EG&G-Rocky Flats.
Samples from two of the ducts have been sent to the government's Los Alamos laboratory in New Mexico to determine what form the plutonium is in, and if there are other hazardous substances present.
Victor Stello Jr., the Energy Department's deputy assistant secretary for facilities, said if the plutonium is in an easily removable form, such as dust, it may be vacuumed out. In other cases, the entire duct could be removed and replaced.
Gov. Roy Romer, other elected officials and environmentalists are concerned the plant will be restarted too soon.
Energy Department inspections planned in late June and July could lead to resumption of production by fall.
Romer wants the air-duct problem resolved before production is resumed, and he has asked Colorado's congressional delegation to hold hearings on whether the suspension of production at Rocky Flats has jeopardized the nation's security.
Critics also fear what would happen if fire would hit in the plutonium-contaminated ducts, as it did in the plant's plating laboratory two weeks ago. The blaze caused more than $100,000 in damage, but no one was injured.
by CNB