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Fire at Idaho National Nuclear Laboratory

Fire reported at nuclear research lab in Idaho, SALMON, Idaho Nov 12, 2011  (Reuters) – A sodium fire was reported on Friday at a U.S. nuclear research laboratory in Idaho but all workers had been moved to safety and there was no risk to the public, the lab said.

The fire was reported at the Materials and Fuels Complex at the Idaho National Laboratory, a sprawling Department of Energy site in the high desert of eastern Idaho about 40 miles from Idaho Falls…. The lab said fire crews had responded to the building, which is owned and operated by the private Idaho Cleanup Project, and that state, county and tribal officials had been notified.

The Idaho Cleanup Project is a private company contracted with the Department of Energy to clean up waste at the site  On Tuesday, at least six workers were contaminated by low-level plutonium radiation and 11 others were exposed following a mishap at the lab, the lab has said.

Some 6,000 employees and contractors work at the Idaho National Laboratory, the Energy Department’s leading facility for nuclear reactor technology. It opened in 1949 as a national reactor testing station… http://in.reuters.com/article/2011/11/11/idINIndia-60481720111111

November 13, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | incidents