Radiation Measurements Facility
The Radiation Measurements Facility (Building 4029) was used between 1959 and 1974 for the storage and use of radioactive sources to calibrate radiation detection instruments for the SRE and other reactor tests. In March, 1964, a radium source was dropped in a storage thimble; the plastic secondary encapsulation cracked and a small amount of radium contaminated the inside of the thimble. No contamination escaped and the thimble was re-sealed.
All of the sources were removed by April, 1974, and the facility has since been used for temporary storage of non-radioactive materials.
Building Cleanup
In 1987 a characterization survey confirmed the contamination at Building 4029 was limited to the aforementioned storage thimble. The contaminated thimble was later removed and disposed of in October, 1989 during D&D of the facility. A final survey was performed by Rocketdyne in 1990. The Oak Ridge Institute of Science and Education (ORISE) and the California Department of Health Services (DHS) then performed verification surveys in 1992 and 1995 respectively, that confirmed that no residual contamination remained. The DHS concurred with release for unrestricted use in 1995. A final decommissioning report was prepared in March 1996. In April 1997 a certification docket was prepared. The DOE released the facility for unrestricted use in 1997 and published the decision in the Federal Register. In January 2000, the EPA performed a document review and validation survey confirming the conclusions of prior surveys.
Historical Site Assessment - 4029