Dec. 7, 2010
Huntington Uranium Plant Demolition Contract Contains Precautions and Uncertainties
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Reporter
Huntington, WV (HNN) – The March 29, 1978 demolition contract for the Reduction Pilot Plant (a.k.a. Huntington Pilot Plant) contained hazard precautions and flexibility for discoveries.
At the time of the contract, acknowledgment of only three contaminants was given to Cleveland Wrecking, the demolition contractor: Nickel Carbonyl, uranium and asbestos.
“There are three principal materials in the plant which will require personnel protection through the use of supplied air respirators and half-face respirators,” the contract stated.
Referred to as a “government owned facility constructed in 1951, expanded in 1952 and shut down in early 1963,” the document indicated that “certain pieces of process equipment were thoroughly purged and cleaned when the plant was shut down in 1963 and will again be purged prior to demolition, it is felt that these requirements are needed to guard against the remote possibility that excessive levels of contaminants may be encountered.”
The contract indicated that equipment and piping “in which substances were processed” could contain contamination and outlined color coded warnings. Carbonyl contamination was feared during “cutting” dismantling operations. Uranium contamination was feared during “cutting operations” and instances where “dust” may be present.
Representatives of the U.S. Department of Energy were to have provided “supervision, instructions and monitoring” pertaining to uranium and carbonyl contamination. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) was listed as the “owner” along with its former inceptions – United States Energy Research and Development Administration and United States Atomic Energy Commission.
Interestingly , elaborated upon precautions pertained more to asbestos than the other elements. For instance, Goodyear Atomic (Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Piketon, Ohio) provided laundry service for soiled coveralls.
“Soiled coveralls should be collected from your employees at least weekly and placed in water soluble plastic bags. Seal the bags to prevent the escape of any dust and insert the plastic bags in a cloth laundry bag.”
The “soiled coveralls” were to be delivered to Goodyear Atomic (GAT) on the same trucks that transported scrap. The coverall bags were to be in the “truck cab not in the trailer.”
(Editor’s Note: The “scrap” was destined for burial in a “classified” section of the Piketon facility.)
THE UNEXPECTED
Besides precautions such as vacuuming of structural steel under the grating (with an Invincible Portable Model 415-A, 3 Phase, 60 cycle, Drawing 1530, Dust Bag 2267) precautions were stated to minimize “spillage and dispersal of radioactive dust” (anticipated during dismantling of a “residue section” in a confined area of the Process Building with the possibility of using “plastic shrouds”).
The Reduction Pilot Plant (HPP), a former secret facility, processed uranium and recycled barrier materials from at least three gaseous diffusion plants --- Oak Ridge, Paducah , and Portsmouth.
As studies have progressed, the facility has been determined to have contained additional radioactive contaminants, mainly due to the recycling from the diffusion plants. The recycled materials themselves had at the time unknown additional contaminants absorbed from their initial use(s). When these materials were “separated” and/or “cleaned” at the Huntington facility, the equipment at the Huntington plant gained exposure to the barrier radioactive materials.
Currently, former construction workers are asked to participate in free medical tests provided by the building and trades union in Portsmouth, Ohio.
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Huntington Uranium Plant Demolition Contract Contains Precautions and Uncertainties
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Reporter
Huntington, WV (HNN) – The March 29, 1978 demolition contract for the Reduction Pilot Plant (a.k.a. Huntington Pilot Plant) contained hazard precautions and flexibility for discoveries.
At the time of the contract, acknowledgment of only three contaminants was given to Cleveland Wrecking, the demolition contractor: Nickel Carbonyl, uranium and asbestos.
“There are three principal materials in the plant which will require personnel protection through the use of supplied air respirators and half-face respirators,” the contract stated.
Referred to as a “government owned facility constructed in 1951, expanded in 1952 and shut down in early 1963,” the document indicated that “certain pieces of process equipment were thoroughly purged and cleaned when the plant was shut down in 1963 and will again be purged prior to demolition, it is felt that these requirements are needed to guard against the remote possibility that excessive levels of contaminants may be encountered.”
The contract indicated that equipment and piping “in which substances were processed” could contain contamination and outlined color coded warnings. Carbonyl contamination was feared during “cutting” dismantling operations. Uranium contamination was feared during “cutting operations” and instances where “dust” may be present.
Representatives of the U.S. Department of Energy were to have provided “supervision, instructions and monitoring” pertaining to uranium and carbonyl contamination. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) was listed as the “owner” along with its former inceptions – United States Energy Research and Development Administration and United States Atomic Energy Commission.
Interestingly , elaborated upon precautions pertained more to asbestos than the other elements. For instance, Goodyear Atomic (Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Piketon, Ohio) provided laundry service for soiled coveralls.
“Soiled coveralls should be collected from your employees at least weekly and placed in water soluble plastic bags. Seal the bags to prevent the escape of any dust and insert the plastic bags in a cloth laundry bag.”
The “soiled coveralls” were to be delivered to Goodyear Atomic (GAT) on the same trucks that transported scrap. The coverall bags were to be in the “truck cab not in the trailer.”
(Editor’s Note: The “scrap” was destined for burial in a “classified” section of the Piketon facility.)
THE UNEXPECTED
Besides precautions such as vacuuming of structural steel under the grating (with an Invincible Portable Model 415-A, 3 Phase, 60 cycle, Drawing 1530, Dust Bag 2267) precautions were stated to minimize “spillage and dispersal of radioactive dust” (anticipated during dismantling of a “residue section” in a confined area of the Process Building with the possibility of using “plastic shrouds”).
The Reduction Pilot Plant (HPP), a former secret facility, processed uranium and recycled barrier materials from at least three gaseous diffusion plants --- Oak Ridge, Paducah , and Portsmouth.
As studies have progressed, the facility has been determined to have contained additional radioactive contaminants, mainly due to the recycling from the diffusion plants. The recycled materials themselves had at the time unknown additional contaminants absorbed from their initial use(s). When these materials were “separated” and/or “cleaned” at the Huntington facility, the equipment at the Huntington plant gained exposure to the barrier radioactive materials.
Currently, former construction workers are asked to participate in free medical tests provided by the building and trades union in Portsmouth, Ohio.
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