NRC May Fine Air Force $102,500 for Not Reporting Radioactive Spill

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has proposed fining the Air Force $102,500 for alleged violations associated with the spilling of a radioactive powder at a base in Ohio, officials said Thursday.

Jan Strasma of the agency said it is the first time the commission has proposed a fine against a military service.

Strasma said the penalty is being sought for willful failure to report within 24 hours the spill at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, and for the internal exposure of an individual to the powder.

Patti Turner of the Air Force surgeon general’s office said the commission’s action is being reviewed and will be answered within 30 days but would not comment further.

No one was injured by the spilled americium-241, but a radiological safety officer at the base said tests showed that one person had inhaled a small quantity of it.

The radioactive powder leaked from an unlabeled barrel at the base in September, 1986, while four workers were taking inventory in a storage building. The powder is not considered dangerous to touch, but experts say it can cause cancer if swallowed or inhaled.

The workers washed themselves under a spigot at a Boy Scout camp on the base. Air Force officials said tests found no contamination there, but, as a precaution, they offered to test hundreds of Boy Scouts who had used the camp.

The powder allegedly was accepted for storage at the base from a jeweler who had used it to change the color of diamonds. It cost nearly $1 million to clean up the spill.

Prosecutors in Ohio have been investigating whether there was an attempt to cover up the mishap.