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Honeywell Receives NRC Citation in Response to October Leak

Honeywell Plant in Metropolis, Ill.
file photo
Honeywell Plant in Metropolis, Ill.

Nearly six months after a radioactive leak at the Honeywell facility in Metropolis, the company has received a violation notice from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

The government agency says facility workers failed to declare a formal alert and notify the NRC after a small uranium hexafluoride leak last October.

No UF6 escaped the premises that night.

The plant won’t face any fines because it has worked to prevent another incident and has had no previous trouble with the NRC. Region II Administrator Victor McCree said in a release that the incident's overall low risk prompted a relatively lenient NRC response.

"Had the leak been more severe, there could have been a hazardous environment beyond the site boundary and potential exposure to the public," McCree said.

Honeywell spokesman Peter Dalpe says the facility’s sped up emergency classification procedures going forward.

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