A Department of Energy Savannah River Site contractor and a safety watchdog are looking at an early May mishap where a crane boom struck a powerline along an access road in the saltstone area of the complex.
The incident was laid out in two separate Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) staff reports. BWXT-led Savannah River Mission Completion “declared a company-wide crane movement standdown until all the details of the event could be determined,” according to the original report dated May 8.
The DNFSB report said while moving a mobile crane down an access road the crane operator and a group of spotters “noticed a pop near the boom of the crane and saw a power pole moving. The foreman identified that the boom of the crane had struck a powerline.”
The crane was soon freed from the powerline. But a review of the incident later revealed required paperwork on crane movement had not been filled out in advance.
“This would have required the review of a travel map/sketch, the crane operator to walk down the travel path, and identification of all overhead power lines in the travel path,” DNFSB said in the May 8 report. Likewise, the report said the rigging crew lacked sufficient handheld lighting to properly “illuminate potential obstructions” in the dark.
“Saltstone personnel performed an issue investigation,” into the accident, DNFSB staff said in its May 15 report. “Facility management is in the process of developing corrective actions to prevent reoccurrence.”
The DOE did not immediately comment as of 4 p.m. Tuesday afternoon.