Irradiation Firm Pleads Innocent to Charges It Covered Up N.J. Spill

A California-based irradiation company and two executives have pleaded innocent to charges that they covered up a spill of radiation-contaminated water at a New Jersey plant by instructing employees to flush it down drains.

Federal authorities said when the indictment was handed up in June that there was no current danger to the community surrounding the Dover plant.

But they said it could not be determined whether the 1982 spill posed a health risk at the time because they were uncertain of the amount of water released.

The pleas were entered Wednesday before U.S. District Judge Herbert J. Stern by International Nutronics Inc. of San Jose, Calif.; Eugene T. O’Sullivan, 60, of San Jose, a company vice president and corporation radiation safety officer, and Bruce J. Thomas, 33, of Somerville, plant manager and radiation safety officer.

Released on Bonds

The defendants were released on $25,000 personal recognizance bonds.

“The indictment is a total waste of the government’s time and money,” said Clifford Weininger, an attorney for Thomas.

The indictment alleged that the company, which has since filed for bankruptcy protection, directed employees to alter the way they wore their radiation detection badges so the devices would record lower dosages of exposure.

The plant irradiated organic products such as liver meal for dog food to destroy bacteria, and certain semi-precious gems to enhance their color, said federal authorities.

The defendants were charged with conspiracy, concealing the spill, mail fraud and wire fraud in trying to hide the spill from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

The indictment also alleged that they failed to notify the NRC within 24 hours of the spill and that it would cost more than $2,000 in property damage and the loss of more than one day of operation.

Plant Closing Down

The company has been closing down the Dover plant for 2 1/2 years for economic and other reasons.

Federal authorities said the spill occurred when a filter pump connected to a pool of water containing the cobalt used in irradiation was allowed to run unsupervised overnight--in violation of NRC regulations.

That caused radioactive water to spill onto the floor, the authorities said.

Employees then were instructed to carry the contaminated water in buckets and pour it down bathroom drains, federal authorities said.

The company then delayed an NRC inspection and tried to conceal the spill, according to the indictment. The NRC learned about it a year later when several employees spoke up.

The company agreed to discontinue irradiation processes and submit a plan on how the pool would be decontaminated, NRC officials said.

The spill required a $2-million clean-up effort, some of which was paid for by the company, according to federal authorities.

Filed for Bankruptcy

During the arraignment, company attorney George Parker said International Nutronics filed in California for protection under federal bankruptcy laws to give the company a chance to reorganize.

He said the bankruptcy petition, submitted three days after the indictment, was filed because of the charges and because a company from which it leased cobalt 60 took back the substance after International Nutronics defaulted on an agreement. He did not elaborate.

Weininger said the discharge of the water down the drain did not cause a problem because the sewer system is sealed and that NRC regulations do not prohibit such action.

“There was no criminal intent,” he added.

Weininger said the spill did not cause any health problems among employees.

James Weinberg, O’Sullivan’s attorney, said the plant was not operating at the time of the spill and therefore did not need to report the incident.

He also said that at the time, the cleanup did not amount to more than $2,000, the level at which an incident must be reported.

Weinberg added that it was not clear the contaminated water had reached a level that required reporting.