Given the nature of the work at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant, much of it involving uranium that doesn’t require a lot of shielding, there’s an abundance of 55-gallon drums used for storage and transport. And, based on a review of recent occurrence reports at Y-12 and incident summaries by staff of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, bad things occasionally happen when you put a bunch of stuff in a drum, put a lid on it and let it sit for a while.
According to a late-August report by safety board staffers assigned to Y-12, the plant shift superintendent authorized “emergency work” to deal with the discovery of several pressurized drums at Building 9215. And, during an effort to vent those drums, some Fire Department personnel — who fortunately had donned HAZMAT suits and respiratory equipment — got sprayed with a “viscous material.” Again, fortunately, the protective gear did its job, and a subsequent survey determined that they had not become contaminated with radioactivity. Continue reading →