Vial Triggers Partial Evacuation At Hanford Explosive Powder To Stay Put For Now; Doe Says It Poses No Immediate Threat
A vial containing an explosive powder will remain inside a former nuclear weapons production laboratory on the Hanford Nuclear Reservation for now, emergency officials said Wednesday night.
A portion of the huge reservation and of the nearby Columbia River was evacuated Wednesday afternoon after the vial was discovered in a crawl space in the basement of the 327 Building.
The vial, labeled picric acid and containing about 2 ounces of powder, does not pose an immediate danger and officials want more time to study how to safely remove it.
“We will develop a plan and then act,” said Judy Graybeal, a spokeswoman for Fluor Daniel Hanford, which operates the building for the U.S. Department of Energy.
The vial was found next to a second container that turned out to be empty, Graybeal said.
“The explosive potential is described as less than a stick of dynamite,” the DOE said in a news release.
Although picric acid is not radioactive, the building does contain radioactive materials left over from the production of nuclear weapons, the Energy Department said.
The acid vial is on the other side of a concrete wall from a pool of water containing some spent nuclear fuel chips and elements, said Hanford spokesman Keith Taylor. He estimated the thickness of the wall at 3 feet.
The building has 34 canisters holding pieces of irradiated fuel from Hanford’s N Reactor, which made plutonium. Most of the canisters are in the pool under 16 feet of water. But eight are in racks above the water.
“The picric acid material poses no threat to the canisters,” the DOE said.
Two chemists entered the building Wednesday night and determined the acid was stable and not likely to explode, Graybeal said.
The plan for dealing with the acid likely will involve adding liquid to the powder, which will prevent it from exploding, she said.
The building will be closed today, although other operations in Hanford’s 300 Area are expected to be normal, she said.
The picric acid vial was discovered in a small pail Wednesday afternoon as workers were inspecting the building prior to working on steam pipes.
xxxx WHAT IS IT? Picric acid is a poisonous, yellow, crystalline acid used in making dyes and explosives. It is a severe explosion risk when shocked or heated, and is toxic when absorbed through the skin. The vial at Hanford contained about 2 ounces.