Kansas Nuclear Contamination Lab Unstaffed

A Kansas laboratory responsible for testing for contamination in the event of an accident at the state’s only nuclear power plant hasn’t been staffed for several weeks after its final two employees left in September.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment says an Iowa lab is testing routine samples from the Wolf Creek nuclear plant, and that Kansas has several other agencies that would respond if there were an emergency.

Five people worked at KDHE’s Radiochemistry Section in 2014 but two left before the end of the year. By July staffing was down to the two who left last month.

KDHE says public health isn’t endangered and the agency’s ability to carry out its responsibilities doesn’t rely on any individual department or worker.

Associated Press information from: The Topeka Capital-Journal