Seventeen workers exposed to radiation at Idaho lab?

The accident at the Idaho National Laboratory occurred inside a facility used
for remotely handling, processing and examining spent nuclear fuel, radioactive
waste and other irradiated materials, the lab said in a series of
statements.

The so-called Materials and Fuels Complex is located near the edge of the
sprawling 890-square-mile laboratory site in the high desert in eastern Idaho
about 38 miles from the city of Idaho Falls.

But the lab's latest bulletin on the mishap said there was no evidence of a
release of radiation outside the facility, and "there is no risk to the public
or environment."

At least 17 employees were working inside a decommissioned research reactor
when "a container was opened for normal, scheduled work, resulting in low-level
worker exposure to plutonium," the statement said.