AP News, October 23rd, 2007
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has launched a special inspection at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's research reactor after a report showed a worker there may have been exposed to a surprisingly high dose of radiation, a spokesman said Monday.
On Oct. 17, the university, in Cambridge, reported that one of the reactor's operators had a radiation measurement of four rems for the period between July 1 and Sept. 30, NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan said.
That accounts for 80 percent of the total radiation that a worker can be safely exposed to during an entire year, Sheehan said by telephone from King of Prussia, Pa.
"In the case of this worker, they've promptly removed him from any radiation activities and he'll remain out of the radiation area pending resolution of this matter," Sheehan said. "That's the appropriate step until they learn more about what could have caused this."
All other employees' radiation exposure measurements for the same time period were normal, MIT spokeswoman Patti Richards said in a statement. The school notified its own safety officials and the federal commission, she said.
Three NRC inspectors on Monday began work at the reactor — the nation's second-largest university reactor — to determine whether the reading was accurate, Sheehan said.
They will also review reactor procedures, examine MIT's response and reconstruct events that could have triggered a high exposure.
The special inspection is expected to be completed in two to three weeks and a report will be issued and made public approximately 30 days after that, the commission said in a statement.
Research reactors like MIT's are much smaller than commercial reactors.
