Determing How Much Nuclear Radiation Workers Were Exposed to
Workers are nervous as they wait to find out how much radiation they were exposed to at a New Mexico nuclear waste dump.
Preliminary tests have found that 13 workers who were working above ground the night of the leak inhaled radioactive particles. Those results were announced Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Energy and the contractor that runs the Waste Isolation Pilot Project near Carlsbad.
At Thursday’s news conference, officials emphasized that all radiation readings at the site have been at low levels, and it would be too soon to speculate about any potential health effects.
Officials haven’t said exactly what the levels were in the area where the employees were working the night of Feb. 14, when an alert went off indicating a leak in the repository a half mile below. More tests are being ordered on the workers as well as some employees who were at the site the next day.
