DOE Staying Quiet on Whether or Not DUF6 Accident Will be Subject of Enforcement Investigation

The Department of Energy is so far staying quiet on whether or not a formal enforcement investigation will be launched into an accident that occurred at the Portsmouth depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF6) conversion plant in late March that exposed two workers to dangerous chemicals. DOE has not answered multiple questions submitted over the past two weeks as to whether the Department’s Office of Enforcement has launched an investigation into the accident, or intends to do so. Such an investigation could lead to financial penalties for the plant’s managing contractor, B&W Conversion Services, LLC, and would come as DOE is moving forward with a recompete of the contract to manage the Portsmouth plant and its sister plant at DOE’s Paducah site.

The accident at the Portsmouth DUF6 plant occurred as operators were performing post-maintenance testing. Two employees were splashed with potassium hydroxide, and one was required to be airlifted to a hospital for treatment. DOE has said that worker has since been released to return to work, but conversion operations at the plant continue to be on hold as corrective actions are put in place. “Maintenance work and limited system operations have resumed at the Portsmouth DUF6 conversion plant on a phased basis following senior management reviews to ensure safe controlled performance. Additional reviews to clarify hazards and risk level are in progress with further staff training on procedural changes expected leading to eventual resumption of conversion operations,” BWCS said in a written response April 30.

The Portsmouth accident is not the only incident likely to raise eyebrows that has occurred at the DUF6 plants in recent weeks. According to a DOE occurrence report posted online last week, the Facility Manager at the Paducah plant suffered a self-inflicted bone fracture to his hand after becoming “frustrated” following a meeting with plant operators. “The Facility Manager became frustrated. While alone at his desk and upon reflection of the previous conversation the FM struck his hand on his desk and experienced pain in his right hand. Management did not provide sufficient training and support to help the FM address the situation in a more positive manner,” the DOE report states. BWCS did not respond to a request for comment on the Paducah incident late last week.