Federal officials say there are no injuries at a nuclear facility in eastern Idaho following the release of radioactive material from a ruptured 55-gallon barrel inside a containment structure.
The U.S. Department of Energy in a statement Thursday says the breach occurred late Wednesday at the 890-square-mile site that includes the Idaho National Laboratory.
Officials say the Idaho National Laboratory Fire Department responded to a fire alarm late Wednesday at the structure at the Idaho Cleanup Project's Radioactive Waste Management Complex.
The agency says the facility is designed with high-efficiency filters, and no contamination has been detected outside.
Workers have been preparing stored waste at the isolated desert site about 55 miles (89 kilometers) west of Idaho Falls for shipment to a storage facility in New Mexico.
(by Associated Press)
