The Oak Ridge nuclear weapons plant is using as many as 30 radioactive waste containers on a road leading to one of its facilities to block lanes and limit access to sensitive areas of the facility.
According to the Knoxville News Sentinel, the containers themselves are not necessarily contaminated with radioactive waste but some of the containers do contain radioactive material. Some of the materials included in the containers are lab coats, paper towels and filters.
The contractor for the plant says is is saving $1.5 million by using the radioactive waste containers as a traffic barrier and that the safety staff for the facility monitors the boxes to make sure there is no leakage. A spokesman for the Oak Ridge facility noted that the containers are safe, cost-effective and a readily available for use as a temporary traffic barrier.
Some drivers have been concerned about the stickers on the traffic barriers noting the radioactive material.
