Feds Fine Lynchburg Co for Nuclear Incident

(From the Danville Register Bee 01/27/2008)

Commission proposes fine for incident at Lynchburg site

By Bryan Gentry
Media General News Service
January 25, 2008


The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has determined that the Babcock & Wilcox Company did not adequately test a uranium handling procedure that posed potential to cause a "nuclear criticality" in the Lynchburg-based plant last July.
According to an NRC news release, a specialized vacuum cleaner designed to handle nuclear material spilled a solution of high-enriched uranium into an attached plastic bag used for contamination control.
The commission proposed a $32,500 fine against BWX Technologies, which was the name of the company at the time of the incident.
A nuclear criticality occurs when enough high-enriched uranium comes together to cause a chemical reaction, resulting in a short burst or sustained release of radiation.
A criticality did not occur in the July event, and the commission's investigation determined that the concentration of uranium, and the amount of solution that spilled, was low enough that the risk of the spill had been minimal.
However, the commission found that the company had insufficient controls to ensure that uranium solutions in the vacuum cleaners remained below acceptable levels.