Radioactive Leak Labeled Minor Broken Pipe At WSU Center Repaired; Official Sees No Health Hazard
Washington State University officials don’t know how long mildly radioactive water had been spilling into the ground from a broken pipe near the northeast edge of campus. On Friday, WSU and state health officials said the leak has been repaired and tests show the tainted water posed no harm to people or the environment.
“This is a minor environmental contamination,” said Bruce Busby of the Department of Health, who was at the spill site Friday.
“There isn’t a health hazard here. We’re just happy they are cleaning it up as diligently as they are right now.”
The hilly area adjacent to the university’s Nuclear Radiation Center was sectioned off with red tape. Contaminated dirt was being collected in plastic bags and barrels.
Solutions with low-level radioactive isotopes are used by WSU plant and animal scientists for research. Radiation safety technicians collect the solutions for disposal, flushing the dirty water into the university sewer system. That system then feeds into the city of Pullman’s treatment plant.
But the water has instead been draining into the ground, about 30 feet from the building housing the small reactor.
A WSU custodian noticed water flowing down the embankment earlier this week. The reactor was temporarily shut down while crews found the source of the leak and made temporary repairs.
“We are not sure when the line broke or how long the water has really been there,” said WSU Director of Environmental Health and Safety Dwight Hagihara. “They are doing removal of the wet soil now. They will do more testing and, if necessary, we may do more excavation.”
A temporary hose has been hooked up to the reactor’s cooling tower so chemically-treated water drains directly into the sewer system.
WSU has experienced radioactive contamination before, but never outside a building.
Last April, the university shut down two research labs after low-level contamination was detected. That incident is still under investigation.
In 1996, radiation safety office employees accidentally left unlabeled plutonium in an unlocked room in the radiation center without notifying employees working nearby.
That resulted in an internal investigation and 37-page report to the state Department of Health detailing several handling violations.
The research reactor, opened in 1961, is one of the few facilities of its kind in the country. Federal and WSU researchers working there analyze samples and produce radioactive isotopes used by scientists.