January 21, 2015

DOE Office of Enforcement to Investigate ORNL Radiological Release

By ExchangeMonitor

The Department of Energy’s Office of Enforcement is planning to investigate an incident at Oak Ridge National Laboratory that left seven workers exposed to radiation while working on a project for the Y-12 National Security Complex. In a Jan. 16 letter to ORNL Director Thom Mason, Steven Simonson, the director of the Office of Enforcement, said the investigation into the “facts and circumstances associated with the unexpected airborne contamination release” could include a site visit at a date to be determined and interviews with contractor personnel.

The incident occurred Aug. 25 at ORNL’s Building 3525 during size reduction of uranium metal alloy items. ORNL officials previously said the incident took place in an enclosure in Building 3525, not shielded hot cells in the building that can be used for remote work on radiological items. ORNL Deputy Director Jeff Smith said during the fall that the doses involved were “minor” and below the 500 millirem level required for reporting to the Department of Energy.

ORNL spokesman David Keim told NS&D Monitor yesterday that the lab’s review of the incident was complete and it was taking actions to prevent a recurrence, but he was unable to provide a copy of the review. “While the doses were well below the level that requires us to report them to the Department of Energy, we reported it and conducted a thorough evaluation,” he said. “We never want to have an unplanned radiological exposure. We just received this letter, so we’re reviewing it to be sure we respond appropriately.”

Comments are closed.