RICHLAND, Wash. March 25 — Three workers at the Hanford nuclear site were taken to a hospital Thursday after noticing a mysterious "sweet smell" near underground tanks holding radioactive waste.
The three initially declined medical evaluation, but co-workers called 911 when one of them developed a nosebleed, according to Erik Olds, spokesman for the Energy Department's Office of River Protection.
The worker with the nosebleed was taken by ambulance to Kadlec Medical Center in Richland. The other two also were being evaluated at the hospital, Olds said. Their conditions were not immediately known.
The workers are monitors for radioactivity or chemical vapors during the cleanup of the vast site that once made plutonium for nuclear weapons.
Several investigations are under way to determine if Hanford workers are being exposed to toxic vapors from 177 underground tanks, which hold about 53 million gallons of radioactive waste from weapons production.
Last week, six workers sought medical attention after being exposed to tank vapors. They later returned to work.
The Energy Department and the contractor handling tank waste cleanup have said the vapors are not dangerous.
For 40 years, the 586-square-mile site in south-central Washington made plutonium for the nation's nuclear weapons. Cleanup costs are expected to total $50 billion to $60 billion, with the work to be finished by 2035.