No indication of leak at US nuclear plant, says official

Employees told to ‘secure ventilation’ and refrain from ‘eating or drinking’

LOS ANGELES: There is no indication so far that any radioactive material has leaked from a tunnel that collapsed on Tuesday at a nuclear facility in the US state of Washington, federal officials said.

"There is no indication of a release of contamination at this point," a statement by the US Department of Energy said. "Responders are getting closer to the area where the soil has subsided for further visual inspection."



Hundreds of workers at the nuclear site were ordered to take cover following the incident.

Employees at the Hanford Site plant, located about 275km southeast of downtown Seattle, were sent an alert by management in early morning telling them to "secure ventilation" and refrain from "eating or drinking".