LANL reports two more radiation contamination incidents in Jan.

Mar. 11—SANTA FE — Two more radiation contamination incidents potentially involving glove boxes have been reported at Los Alamos National Laboratory's plutonium facility, according to a February report from the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board.

The incidents in January are separate from a Jan. 7 event in which four workers were contaminated, according to a LANL spokesperson.

In one of the more recent incidents, a worker taking their hands out of the glove box, a device for protecting those working with plutonium, identified contamination on a protective glove. Officials were unable to find a breach in the glove box glove.

In the other incident, a worker detected contamination on personal protective equipment after exiting the glove box and "radiological control technicians identified contamination on the worker's face," the report said.

The worker was successfully decontaminated.

An automatic transfer device was found to be inoperable and repair was expedited.

Workers in both incidents said there were weaknesses in required techniques for exiting gloves and continued training on the techniques had been previously instituted.

"The safety of our workforce remains our foremost priority," a LANL spokesman said in a statement.

"Glove boxes are mechanical devices, and it is of the utmost importance to ensure workers have access to the best training and safety procedures possible when they use them. We are dedicated to learning from every event and continually improving our training and the technology we use to ensure safety."