RICHLAND, Wash. (AP) — An eight-person crew at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation was exposed to low levels of radioactivity last month while removing an exit sign dating back from 1953.
The Tri-City Herald reports (http://bit.ly/AqNtXN) that lab results so far show the tritium capsules that broke near the workers had very low levels of the radioactive isotope.
Washington Closure Hanford says tritium was commonly used in illuminated signs of that era. The sign had been covered with a newer sign and workers didn’t realize the capsules were there.
Bioassays were collected from everyone in the eight-person crew as a precaution. Ten other workers in the area also requested bioassays.
In the seven bioassays of crew members completed, less than 1 millirem of radiation exposure was detected.
