U.S. Brought Radioactive Element to Plant
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OAK RIDGE, Tenn. — The federal government said Tuesday that 5,600 tons of uranium contaminated with trace amounts of the more radioactive element plutonium were brought here in the 1950s and ‘60s for weapons fuel production.
The impact on workers and the environment is unknown, but officials at the Department of Energy promised to investigate.
The revelation followed a lawsuit accusing the DOE of silently exposing workers to plutonium over decades at DOE’s uranium enrichment plant in Paducah, Ky. The Washington Post reported that the plutonium eventually contaminated the grounds and spilled into nearby streams and a wildlife refuge.
Energy Secretary Bill Richardson has ordered a medical review of current and past Paducah workers.
The amount of contaminated uranium at Oak Ridge’s K-25 site represented a small portion of the roughly 40,000 tons of uranium used at the facility from the 1950s to the 1970s, DOE spokesman Steven Wyatt said.
Some workers at Oak Ridge fear they were unwittingly exposed to more radiation than they realized.
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