HANFORD, Wash. (AP) – A contractor in Washington state is expected to avoid federal penalties for the airborne spread of radioactive particles.

The Tri-City Herald reported Monday that the U.S. Department of Energy does not intend to fine CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Company in Hanford for five violations connected to contamination.

The agency says it will not fine CH2M because its possible incentive pay was already docked by $1 million in fiscal 2017 and $1.8 million in fiscal 2018.

The agency says radioactive contamination was found at the site 189 miles (about 304 kilometers) southeast of Seattle in December 2017 near administrative buildings, on employee and government cars, and in trailers where workers ate.

Officials say tests found 42 workers inhaled or ingested small amounts of radioactive material and that contamination continued into 2018.

Information from: Tri-City Herald, http://www.tri-cityherald.com

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