Ineffective hazardous chemical management and chemical safety training processes precipitated a chemical waste drum fire at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) a year after an explosion at the site, according to a Feb. 22 enforcement letter from the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Enterprise Assessments to NNSS managing contractor National Security Technologies (NSTec).
The fire on June 24, 2015, resulted from improper hazardous chemical storage at the Nonproliferation Test and Evaluation Complex’s West Storage Pad, the location of the explosion a year earlier of a drum containing isopropyl alcohol that injured two workers, the letter said. The fire involved drums containing potassium nitrate and potassium chlorate that were exposed to the sun and excessively high temperatures, it said, noting that “both chemicals are known to thermally decompose when exposed to heat and are incompatible with combustible materials.”
The investigation that followed a 2014 explosion incident identified weaknesses in safe chemical management and legacy chemical disposition, concerns that were raised again after the 2015 fire. “Both events resulted from improper storage of hazardous chemicals and a lack of understanding regarding storage and environmental factors that affect chemical stability,” the letter said. “These deficiencies unnecessarily exposed NSTec workers to chemical and physical hazards during material handling, storage, and disposal activities.”
The department called for greater NSTec management attention to hazard control and training compliance and said the EA Office of Enforcement will monitor NSTec’s hazardous chemical management efforts at the site. The Office of Enterprise Assessments did not impose any requirements or other enforcement activity on NSTec in the letter.
