Truck Spills Load of Radioactive Waste
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RICHLAND, Wash. — A truck hauling low-level radioactive waste overturned Thursday and spilled its load near the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, but experts said there was no danger.
Six steel boxes carrying a mixture of radioactive dirt, laboratory trash, paper and solidified oil fell from the rig shortly after 5:30 a.m. when the vehicle hit a guard rail and turned on its right side, Richland Police Chief Dave Lewis said.
Police said several of the boxes broke open and their contents spilled over an area of about 100 square feet near the plant entrance in the north part of the central Washington town.
Officers quickly cordoned off the area while a Department of Energy emergency response team from Hanford determined the extent of contamination, Lewis said.
The driver of the truck, Jonathan L. Smith, 25, of Harriman, Tenn., was treated for minor cuts and abrasions and released, a Kadlac Medical Center nursing supervisor said. The cause of the accident has not been determined.
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