Monitors check for radiation release after waste site blast
UPDATE 11/20/18: Air monitoring systems have been set up to check for low-level nuclear radiation and other harmful contaminants following a powerful weekend blast at a hazardous waste site in Idaho that killed a worker, destroyed one building and damaged others.
Albert Crawshaw of the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality says the monitors were installed Tuesday at the US Ecology site about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Boise. Results were not yet available.
US Ecology takes in low-level radioactive waste, but Crawshaw says none of the material was believed to be near the explosion on Saturday.
The company also takes in contaminants such as arsenic, lead, zinc, cadmium and other metals.
Officials say it’s not clear what caused the explosion.
Crawshaw says an inspector is examining buildings damaged in the blast to determine if they’re safe to enter.
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UPDATE: Federal investigators have started looking into a weekend explosion at a hazardous waste site south of Boise, Idaho, that killed one worker and injured three others.
The explosion occurred Saturday morning at a US Ecology site about 50 miles south of Boise, and heavily damaged a building.
The company said in a press release Sunday that investigators from the Environmental Protection Agency and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration were on the scene, along with company officials.
US Ecology says 48-year-old Monte “Alex” Green of Grand View, Idaho, died of his injuries from the explosion.
The company says three other workers received treatment for non-life threatening injuries.
The company takes in contaminants such as arsenic, lead and other hazardous metals and converts them to non-hazardous residues.
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Officials say one person is missing and three others are being treated for non-life threatening injuries in local hospitals following an explosion at a hazardous waste site in southwestern Idaho.
A company called U.S. Ecology says the explosion occurred at about 9:30 a.m. Saturday inside one of the buildings at the facility about 50 miles south of Boise.
Emergency officials say the building is used to process powdered magnesium products. Officials say a series of chemical reactions followed the explosion.
Owyhee County Public Information Officer Angela Barkell says there’s no threat to the public, and emergency crews, including a hazardous materials team, is at the site.
Names of the person missing and those who were injured haven’t been released.
