B&W tells regulators of possible uranium hazard situation

By: Bryan Gentry | New Era Progress
Published: July 17, 2009

A trace of uranium found in a container of oil Wednesday night prompted several hours of concern at the Babcock & Wilcox facility on Mt. Athos Road.

The company notified the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that it had found uranium and it was unknown whether it posed a hazard. A few hours later the company declared the situation safe.

The incident triggered an alert, the lowest emergency level the NRC has. It began around 7:45 p.m., according to an NRC event report.

Roger Hannah, spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said a B&W employee saw what appeared to be metal or uranium in a container of oil. The oil had been used in a saw that cuts fuel components. There were 54 liters of oil in the receptacle, according to the event report.

The B&W facility in Campbell County handles highly enriched uranium used in nuclear fuel. It can cause “criticalities,” or strong bursts of radiation, when there is enough uranium present in a container that keeps the particles close together.

“When they first found this … they didn’t know the exact amount in there at that point,” Hannah said. Also, the oil container did not have safety measures designed for holding uranium. The company declared an alert.

The commission’s resident inspector assigned to the B&W site reported to the scene Wednesday night, according to the event report.

B&W activated its Emergency Operations Center. Also, the NRC staffed a response center at its Atlanta office to monitor the situation, according to a news release.

About 25 employees responded to the situation, and assisted in its resolution, media spokeswoman Carla Parks said in an e-mail Thursday.

At 12:35 a.m. on Thursday, B&W declared that the situation was safe. There was not enough uranium in the container to risk a criticality, the event report said.

In a statement, Parks said, “at no time was there a release of radioactive material involving the incident, nor was there imminent danger posed to the employees, the public or the environment.”

The company planned to remove the oil and uranium from the container Thursday, Parks said, adding she expected the removal to be completed today.

The NRC is considering ways to respond to the situation, including the possibility of a special inspection at the plant, Hannah said.

Parks said the company is “in the process of performing a thorough investigation and identifying corrective action.”