CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : LIVERMORE : Nuclear Lab Reports Leak of Plutonium

A tiny spill of plutonium occurred in the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory plutonium building as a result of a small leak in a rubber glove. Officials said the incident was not related to Tuesday’s earthquake, and no injuries were reported. The quantity spilled was microscopically small and detectable only by sensitive radiation detectors, a spokesman for the laboratory said. Four workers in the room were screened. Two were found to have slightly contaminated hands, while one was found to have slightly contaminated hair. All were decontaminated, the spokesman said. The material spilled was plutonium-238, an isotope used for nuclear batteries.