On July 12, 2019, at approximately 0152 EDT operations personnel in the
Uranium Recycle and Recovery area of the plant reported an incident. Production packaged wet recoverable material on July 12 (3rd shift) into a closed drum at the designated drum loading station, performed the required assay measurement and placed the drum into storage. Shortly afterward, the drum pressurized forcing the lid off and some contents to disperse into the immediate vicinity. The drum contents were smoldering, smoke was observed and the smoke detector activated. Dry paper in the drum created a small fire, which was promptly extinguished without use of a water hose or a fire extinguisher. A small portion of the drums content was impacted. The drum was then separated from other stored material. There were no personnel injuries. Health Physics monitored the area with no airborne results approaching radiological limits and no personnel were affected.
The drum contained production-related contaminated wet recoverable material (e.g., mop heads, filters, and rags) and laboratory waste. The assay results showed a Uranium 235 content of 71.45 Grams. This quantity of material meets the reporting threshold noted above.
Immediate Corrective Actions.
Loading operations of wet recoverable material have been suspending pending further evaluation. Operations checked the other drums in the area with heat monitoring equipment and no additional heat generation issues were identified. This incident has been entered into the facility's corrective action program.
This incident had no impact on the health and safety of the employees, the public or the environment.
The licensee notified the
South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control and will be notifying the NRC Region II office.