Posted 7/05/2004 12:56:00 PM by Douglas

There's never going to be any good news that follows a statement like this:

A radiological investigation report released to the Environmental Protection Agency reveals details about some little-known radiological incidents at the Pantex Plant.

Uh oh. This is the kind of thing that you're just better off not knowing.

• 1961 - Plutonium was released inside a "Gravel Gertie" assembly cell during an unspecified manufacturing incident.
• 1979 - Rainwater collected in an unsealed underground concrete storage container in the Nuclear Weapons Accident Residue site.
• 1986 - Depleted uranium was released when exhaust fans were turned on and off several times following a test detonation.
• 1989 - A valve malfunction in a tritium gas container released the container's contents inside a weapons assembly cell. A portion of the tritium gas was vented immediately from the area into the atmosphere. About two hours after the incident, Pantex officials decided to vent the remaining tritium to prevent buildup in remaining buildings. Most of the tritium released was dispersed into the atmosphere.

In a word, oops.