35 Workers Being Tested for Plutonium Exposure

FERNALD, Ohio — Officials at a uranium processing plant said Thursday that 35 workers may have been exposed to unsafe levels of highly radioactive plutonium and are being tested to see if they were contaminated.

“We have no reason to believe there are any problems, but we won’t know for sure until the tests are completed,” plant manager Bruce Boswell said.

The workers at the plant owned by the Energy Department and operated by Westinghouse were in an area where 11 barrels of uranium waste were opened Wednesday night and found to contain too much plutonium. Officials said nothing spilled from the barrels and that the workers were in a well-ventilated area.