Los Angeles, United States: Hundreds of workers at a nuclear site in the US state of Washington were ordered to take cover on Tuesday after a tunnel filled with contaminated material collapsed near the facility, federal officials said.
Employees at the Hanford Site plant, located about 170 miles (275 kilometers) southeast of downtown Seattle, were sent an alert by management in early morning telling them to "secure ventilation" and refrain from "eating or drinking."
The Hanford nuclear site was used to produce plutonium for the bomb that brought an end to World War II.
Its last reactor closed down in 1987 but millions of gallons of leftover waste are contained in tanks at the site.
A statement by the US Department of Energy said personnel at the facility were evacuated and workers in potentially affected areas had gone indoors.
"There are concerns about subsidence in the soil covering railroad tunnels near a former chemical processing facility," the statement said. "The tunnels contain contaminated materials."
It said it had activated an emergency operation at the plant at 8:26 am, shortly after an alert was declared.
There were no reports of injury and officials at the plant could not be immediately reached for comment.
There was speculation that road work near the tunnel caused it to collapse.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Employees at the Hanford Site plant, located about 170 miles (275 kilometers) southeast of downtown Seattle, were sent an alert by management in early morning telling them to "secure ventilation" and refrain from "eating or drinking."
The Hanford nuclear site was used to produce plutonium for the bomb that brought an end to World War II.
A statement by the US Department of Energy said personnel at the facility were evacuated and workers in potentially affected areas had gone indoors.
Advertisement
It said it had activated an emergency operation at the plant at 8:26 am, shortly after an alert was declared.
Advertisement
There was speculation that road work near the tunnel caused it to collapse.
Advertisement
COMMENTS
Advertisement
Ex India Star Picks India XI For 1st T20I vs Sri Lanka, Leaves Out Recent 'Player Of The Series' This US Teen Has Been Accepted At 20 Colleges, All 8 Ivy League Schools Ravindra Jadeja Out Of Team India's ODI Plans, Says Report. These 2 Stars Preferred At Olympics Opening Ceremony, Drag Parody Of 'The Last Supper' Draws Flak Centre Fact-Checks Mamata Banerjee's Mic-Off Claim, She Hits Back Kamala Harris Cuts Down Donald Trump's Lead Sharply, Show Latest Polls UK Police Arrest Two Men After Assault On Anti-Facism Protester 5 Children Among 8 Killed After Car Falls Into Gorge In J&K's Anantnag Rape accused, Missing For 5 Months, Arrested In J&K's Ramban: Police Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.