No contamination, no injuries in small fire at waste processing center

Note: This story was updated at 9:03 a.m.

No radiological or hazardous materials were released and no one was injured in a small fire at a waste processing center late Sunday night, federal officials said.

An alert was declared at about 11:45 p.m. Sunday after a fire alarm and sprinkler system activated in Room 327 at Building 7880, which is part of the TRU Waste Processing Center, the U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office reported on its Facebook page. An “alert” is an event that has occurred at a building on a DOE site in Oak Ridge.

When Oak Ridge National Laboratory Fire Department personnel arrived, they observed smoke in Room 327 and reported the fire had been extinguished.

“All personnel on duty at the facility are accounted for,” the Oak Ridge Office said. “There are no injuries. Monitoring inside and outside the building disclosed no release of radiological or other hazardous materials, and the situation has been stabilized.”

The TRU Waste Processing Center is managed by the Oak Ridge Emergency Management Site Office and operated by Wastren Advantage Inc.

The Oak Ridge Office said ORNL Fire Department personnel and radiological technicians have since re-entered the facility and confirmed evidence of a small fire.

The emergency response was terminated at 4:46 a.m. Monday after officials determined the building was in a safe and stable condition.

“Facility personnel will continue their efforts to determine the cause of the incident,” the Oak Ridge Office said. “The incident is not expected to impact operations at the TRU Waste Processing Center.”