Previous leaks have public worried about moving forward
There isn’t the chance for a nuclear meltdown in Niskayuna, but community members are concerned about radiation leaks as work continues at Knolls Atomic Power Labs.
The U.S. Department of Energy, URS Corporation and CH2M Hill discussed plans to continue cleanup of the KAPL site of radioactive material on Thursday, March 17, at Niskayuna Town Hall, while addressing the leak last year that affected nearby land and the Mohawk River. Many in attendance were wary about moving forward with the removal of materials on the site, despite project officials’ efforts to quell concerns.
The water discharge that went to the Mohawk River also had a small amount of radioactivity. For perspective, the amount of radioactivity in that water was equal to about two household smoke detectors, said Steven Feinberg, project director for the DOE. `After those events, a couple items were done [URS] stabilized the immediate work area, URS issued a corrective action plan to prevent reoccurrence and DOE initiated an accident investigation.`
Cheryl Cabbil, senior vice president for URS, said the plan for demolition was to remove the external site facilities, which didn’t have radioactive material, but the demolition crew went beyond the planned work and removed three process vessels. Cabbil stressed this wasn’t the planned work, but after demolition crews removed the vessels, the crew began to cut up one of the vessels.
`Our design was to remove those intact and dispose of them in a very disciplined manner,` said Cabbil. `As our personnel were exiting the work area around noon time [they] discovered contamination on shoes of four workers as they were exiting the area. We did a thorough survey of those individuals and other individuals working in the area and found no further clothing or skin contamination.`
After contamination was found off site, Feinberg acknowledged information on the spill took too long to get to the surrounding municipalities, and he said the reporting process has been corrected. Media reports originally informed residents and officials about the spill before they were notified officially.
The first person to ask a question, Niskayuna resident Tom Donohue, a former worker at KAPL, wanted to know who he should contact if a similar leak happens again.
`If there is another screw up, who is in charge, and who do I come to?` asked Donohue.
Jim Hunter, another former KAPL worker for 29 years and Niskayuna resident, said there are more important problems to focus on.
`I don’t get the impression that these people have ever encountered a problem like this before,` said Hunter. `There is one going on in Japan right now, and these are the ones that we have to be concerned about we shouldn’t be spending money on this kind of crap. Work on the important problems ` the problems that kill people.`
Feinberg was unable to answer whether plutonium had actually entered the Mohawk River. The plant had processed the toxic substance along with uranium.
During the presentation, officials presented a map of the site and explained that airborne radioactive leaks were found primarily around the facility and didn’t pose any immediate threat to residents.
Seth Hanft, a board member for Niskayuna Baseball, wanted assurance the nearby fields east of KAPL weren’t affected. After asking if the fields were surveyed, with Feinberg believing they hadn’t been, he asked for the DOE to assure residents their children were not affected.
`We have 700 children that play baseball, and to me it seems prudent,` said Hanft about surveying the field. `We would be pretty happy to know that we are not playing on contaminated places, and we would think it would be a sign of good faith on your part to put our fears to rest. Again, I’m not a scientist, so if my fears are irrational than so be it.`
Feinberg said DOE could do the study on the fields since residents appear concerned.
After the Mohawk River incident last fall, CH2M Hill was brought in to assist in the cleanup efforts of contaminants and make sure the proper safety enhancements and measures were being observed.
While URS was paid for the demolition and site clean up, after the leaks they lost funding, and David Lowe, chief engineer for CH2M, said URS is doing the cleanup effort only for professional pride and will lose money.“
