Y-12 Secret nuclear warhead related facility has had an exposure of a hazardous material: Silence as to what the hazardous material is, or the extent of the leak!
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Did you ever hear of Y-12, seen above, no?
It’s a highly guarded nuclear warhead related facility in Oak bridge. State of TennesseeĀ US.
The facility has had an exposure of a hazardous material but theyrefuse to say what the hazardous materialis is, or the extent of the leak!
On Oct. 30, Y-12 production officials were notified that an air sample taken eight days earlier in Beta-2E – an area of the plant where nuclear warhead parts are assembled and dismantled – had revealed contamination above the action level for a “material of industrial hygiene concern.”
The hazardous material was detected by a worker’s personal air monitor, but it remains a mystery – at least publicly.
Plant officials won’t identify it or say anything about it.
“We are not at liberty to discuss details regarding the work done or the materials used in this particular area,” Ellen Boatner, a spokeswoman at the nuclear weapons plant, said in response to questions.
Although she declined to say what the material was, the spokeswoman confirmed what it wasn’t. “It was not Fogbank,” Boatner said when asked directly about Fogbank – a classified material that is produced at Y-12 for use in some thermonuclear warheads, including the W76 (Trident II).
Over the years, there has been much speculation about Fogbank’s makeup and use in nuclear warheads, and some reports suggest it is extremely hazardous.
According to the Y-12 occurrence report, which was filed Nov. 4, air-monitoring samples gathered from other workers in the area didn’t show any traces of material of concern.
“Workers were wearing fully encapsulated suits with a supplied air system, however, there is no respiratory protection factor assigned to the suit due to its design,” the report stated.
The occurrence report said follow-up smear samples were taken inside the surface of the suit worn by the affected worker and of the work area – including the area where protective suits are stored. Boatner said the additional sampling did not indicate that the worker actually experienced any exposure to the secret material.
However, detection of this material by a personal air monitor was a rare event, according to the Y-12 occurrence report that was filed with the Department of Energy.
“The operation in progress (at Beta-2E) is an ongoing operation for which routine sampling has been conducted for many years,” the report stated.
“This is the first sample for this operation in the past 15 years that exceeded the action level.”
It’s not yet clear what caused the elevated reading of the material, which Boatner acknowledged is not radioactive.
She said follow-up activities in the work area and other, nearby work areas did not show anything unusual, so the cause of the elevated level on the personal air monitor is unknown.
“We are continuing to investigate possibilities,” she said. Source
