Stronium 90 Leak in Knoxville

There was a Stronium-90 leak from a dump truck in Knoxville on Saturday. A dump truck carrying the material was from Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Oak Ridge is involved in nuclear research for military, energy and other uses. Stronium-90 "is a by-product of the fission of uranium and plutonium in nuclear reactors, and in nuclear weapons. Strontium-90 is found in waste from nuclear reactors. It can also contaminate reactor parts and fluids. Large amounts of Sr-90 were produced during atmospheric nuclear weapons tests conducted in the 1950s and 1960s and dispersed worldwide (EPA)." Stronium-90 has a half life of 29 years and concentrates in the bone like calcium. It is particularly dangerous for children and increases the risk of bone deformation and cancer. DOE and The Bechtel Jacobs Company took three hours to respond to the event, close the road, and start operations to control the event. (5/15/04 WVLT, Knoxville, Tests Confirm Contamination of Hwy. 95}

The video report sounds like ther is little hazard because it absorbed into the porous surface of the road - so no hazard to vehicles driving over the road (WVLT video report).

Ok, this would seem to be big news, but thus far isn't getting much play. Here we have dump trucks hauling nuclear waste. To where? For what? Is this a safe process? And a leaky dump truck at that?

Stronium-90 can be absorbed by contact, breathing, or ingesting it. It seeps into ground water. If you got to Tests Confirm Contamination of Hwy. 95, you can play the TV news report of the incident. It is claimed in the report that there was no urgency to close the Highway 95 because there was little threat to vehicles passing over it. Why? Because of the "porous road surface."

Wait a minute. Enough of the material leaked out of the truck for them to notice it was missing. How much exactly leaked, and over how great a distance? Wouldn't it be both picked up by passing vehicles as well as made airborne and dispersed by them?

The EPA site says that it is best to determine possible contamination by humans as soon as possible as 70-90% passes out of the system relatively quickly. There were no reports from WLTV that any action was being taken other than closing Highway 95, and determining levels of contamination.

One would think that dump trucks might not be the safest way to transport nuclear material - either for environmental or national security reasons.

+++ Below are the reports from WVLT and some deeper information on Bechtel+++

Side Info on Bechtel
Bechtel apparently has a contract with ORNL, or with the transport of nuclear materials. Bechtel is a major Defense Contractor also operating in Iraq.

"Bechtel Corporation (Bechtel Group) is the largest civil engineering company in the world. With headquarters in San Francisco, Bechtel ranks as the 6th-largest dompany in the United States. As of 2002, Bechtel had 47,000 employees working on 900 projects with $11.6 billion in revenue Bechtel Corporation)."

George Schultz sits on the Board of Bechtel. He was Secretary of State (1982 to 89, and Secretary of the Treasury from 1972 to 1974. He served as Nixon's Secretary of Labor from 1969 -70, and then as Director of the Office of Management and Budget from 1972-74. He is a member of the board for Charles Schwab, and a member of the Committee for the Liberation of Iraq (George Schultz). This committee has close links to the Project for a New American Century (yes them), and the American Enterpirse Institute - both sources of foreign policy input for the current administration (Committee for the Liberation of Iraq).

WVLT print reports

5/15/04 WVLT, Knoxville, Tests Confirm Contamination of Hwy. 95
Officials of the U.S. Department of Energy, the State of Tennessee and Bechtel Jacobs Company are continuing to respond Saturday to the incident involving the leakage of radioactive contaminated water onto Highway 95 north of Bethel Valley Road and south of Bear Creek Road on Friday.

Surveys of the road's surface were completed around 3:00am Saturday morning. Tests confirm the road's surface is contaminated in several places.

A recovery plan to address the removal of the contamination is being developed and is being coordinated with the State of Tennessee. State and local officials are continuing to monitor the situation at the site and Highway 95 remains closed.

A Citizen Hotline is open and available to the public. If you have concerns or traveled in the area of Highway 95 north of Bethel Valley Road to the intersection of Bear Creek Road on Friday, you should call 362-8600 with any questions.

5/15/04 11:27am

5/16/04 WVLT, Knoxville, Delayed Response Brings Investigation The Department of Energy and contractor Bechtel Jacobs are still not saying why it took nearly five hours to shut down an Oak Ridge highway, contaminated by radioactive material.

High 95 between Bethel Valley and Bear Creek Roads will remain closed the rest of the weekend, as crews continue digging up and repaving parts of the road that were contaminated.

Photos show radioactive material dripped out the back of a dump truck, Friday, around 11:00am, but the Department of Energy didn't contact TEMA about the emergency until almost four hours later.

The delayed alert has led to an immediate investigation by the DOE and TEMA, but that's all anyone will say. no one is willing to provide a real explanation why it took so long for TEMA to be informed and Highway 95 to be shut down.

"We don't know, we'll have to look back and see what time that we were called, and what time every other organization was called," said Roane County spokesperson Scott Stout.

Meanwhile, Bechtel Jacobs will continue conducting vehicle inspections for any car or truck that drove through the area after the leak, before Highway 95 was hut down.

Just go to Portal 3, on Manhattan Boulevard in the East Tennessee Technology Park between 1:00 and 4:00pm, Sunday afternoon.

5/16/04 1:11am

Posted by rowan at May 16, 2004 9:33 AM | TrackBack | [eMail this article!] |