Seattle: Cesium Leak at Harborview Medical Center
June 22nd, 2019Via: Capital Hill Seattle Blog:
Quickly, an estimated 2,800 curies of cesium-137 spread into the irradiator, the “chamber,” the loading dock and a 100-feet radius around the loading dock, plus the first three floors and one stair of the R&T building, resulting in “widespread contamination.”
The leak happened at 9.30 PM and was discovered during a regular and procedural wipe-down, meant to see if any material had been released.
A 911 call, from the on-scene Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) coordinator, came in about an hour later, at 10:25 PM. The message: there has been a “radiation leak from a blood irradiator,” a draft report from the Seattle Fire Department notes.
Quickly, the Seattle Fire Department Hazardous Materials Response Team (HAZMAT team) speeds to the scene. When they get there, tape has already been hung to cordon off both entrances to the parking area.
