A worker at the Hanford Fire Station has tested positive for internal radioactive contamination at a very low level.
The exposure occurred after breathing equipment used at the nuclear reservation’s Plutonium Finishing Plant was sent to the station for storage, according to the Department of Energy.
Of 150 workers at the Hanford Fire Department, 104 have requested tests of their bodily fluid to determine if they also may have been exposed.
In December, contamination was found in cooling systems used within protective suits worn by Plutonium Finishing Plant workers that have high levels of radioactive contaminants.
Eleven of the same kinds of cooling systems had been sent off Hanford for mechanical work, and they were tracked down to sites in Kennewick, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh.
Others were routinely stored by the Hanford Fire Department when they were not in use. Bioassay testing was offered to any worker who could have potentially come in contact with the equipment, called vortex coolers, according to the Department of Energy.
Preliminary results of bioassays for nine fire department employees have been completed, with eight negative and one positive result, said Erik Olds, chief of staff for the DOE Richland Operations Office.
The positive result was for one of two workers who worked most closely with the vortex coolers, which are serviced and repaired at the fire station. The other worker had a negative result.