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Safety board wants briefing on Y-12 uranium reactions

Posted at 6:57 pm December 14, 2022
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The sign at the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2017. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A federal safety board has asked for a report and briefing after 15 exothermic (heat-producing) reactions of uranium materials were reported at the Y-12 National Security Complex between 2016 and 2021.

The report and briefing have been requested by the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, which wants a response from the National Nuclear Safety Administration. The NNSA is part of the U.S. Department of Energy and oversees the nation’s nuclear weapons work, including at Y-12.

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Filed Under: Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, Front Page News, National Nuclear Security Administration, Premium Content, Slider, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy, Y-12, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: chemical reactivity, Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, direct chip melt, DNFSB, electrorefining, enriched uranium, exothermic reaction, Kathryn King, National Nuclear Security Administration, NNSA, NNSA Production Office, NPO, pyrophoric event, spontaneous ignition, Steven Wyatt, thermal reaction, U.S. Department of Energy, uranium processing facility, Y-12 National Security Complex

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