Hanford workers take cover after burial ground incident

Workers at the Hanford Burial Ground were briefly ordered to take cover Thursday morning, after a drum possibly containing radioactive waste began smoking after reacting with oxygen at the 618-10 area.

Jerry Holloway, spokesman for Washington Closure Hanford, confirmed there was an incident at the burial ground about six miles north of Richland. The take-cover order affected about 130 workers and lasted for about 90 minutes.

Holloway characterized the incident as a “reaction,” rather than an explosion. The possibility of reactions is anticipated whenever a drum is opened, he said.

The affected drum had been removed from the ground early Thursday and placed in a special containment area designed to prevent reactions in individual drums from spreading.

The reaction ended on its own, Holloway said.

Workers, including the Hanford Fire Department, covered the drum with soil and returned it to its trench for subsequent disposal. Other drums in the storage area were also reburied as a precaution.

Initial surveys indicate no release of hazardous material, Holloway said. There will be additional surveys.

Washington Closure Hanford was praised just this week for its successful mission to process 80 waste-filled, vertically buried pipes at the 6.5-acre 618-10 Burial Ground.

Between 1954 and 1963, the area received radioactive laboratory waste, which was deposited in a series of vertical pipes about six miles north of Richland.

The contractor processed 80 of the 95 pipes exceeding the original goal of processing 28.

For the project, Washington Closure Hanford ringed the original pipes with larger diameter pipes, then augured through the contents. The mix of waste and soil is then removed for proper disposal.

The remaining 14 pipes will require a different disposal method because they are encased in thicker steel.

This story was originally published August 11, 2016 at 3:53 PM with the headline "Hanford workers take cover after burial ground incident."