SPOKANE, Wash. — The Latest on a radiation alarm at a former plutonium production site in Washington state. (all times local): 1:30 p.m.
A cleanup contractor says the release of radiation that triggered an alarm at a former plutonium production site in Washington state was so low that it did not pose a threat to human health.
Contractor CH2M Hill said radiation was detected Thursday at low levels outside a building being demolished at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation.
About 350 workers were ordered to take cover after the alarm sounded at the shuttered Plutonium Finishing Plant. The order was lifted less than four hours later.
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Will the Washington Post and other media bother to do any follow-up on this issue, to see if the levels were indeed “too low” to harm health? “The order was lifted less than four hours later” could also have been written, “The order was lifted more than four hours later.” On what basis is the writer choosing “less”? Will anyone bother to look into the National Academy of Sciences BEIR VII report, which states that there is no level below which exposure can be said to have no ill effect?