Report of Minor Radiation Leak at Test Site Was Delayed for 2 Days
Energy Department officials Tuesday blamed a weapons laboratory and a Nevada Test Site contractor for a delay in reporting a minor radiation leak to state officials.
Nevada Gov. Bob Miller blasted the federal agency for not notifying the state earlier of the leak. But Department of Energy spokesman Chris West said the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory and Reynolds Electrical & Engineering Co. waited two days before notifying the agency about the seepage that began Saturday morning.
“We think we should have been notified by the contractor and the laboratory a little sooner,” West said.
In the incident, described by the agency as minor, krypton and xenon gases were released from a crack in the earth generated by a Dec. 8 detonation of a British nuclear test weapon.
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