Los Alamos National Laboratory workers evacuated a section of the plutonium facility in December after a newly installed glove box used for handling radioactive materials released “unexpectedly high levels” of airborne toxins, a government watchdog reported.
, The Santa Fe New Mexican | santafenewmexican.com
A portable oxygen-monitoring device triggered an alarm while a crew was testing a nitrogen system for a new sealed compartment with attached gloves, one of many work stations being overhauled or replaced as the lab gears up to produce 30 plutonium cores a year that can detonate warheads.
Workers left the room, and a hazmat team entered the area and measured the airborne contamination — then backed out of the room when they detected “unexpectedly high levels of volatile organic compounds” or VOCs, according to the Defense Nuclear Facility Safety Board’s Dec. 22 report.
Employees evacuated the facility’s wing until the area was deemed safe to return, the report said.
It was the third week in a row in December a safety incident occurred at the lab involving a glove box.
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