PNO-III-98-058A, on 981214,update of Fire in Process Made. Insp Exit Meeting,Open to Public,Will Be Scheduled in Early Jan.Certificate Holder,Us Enrichment Corp,Continuing Its Investigation of Fire,Including Determination of Causes

PNO-III-98-058A:on 981214,update of Fire in Process Made. Insp Exit Meeting,Open to Public,Will Be Scheduled in Early Jan.Certificate Holder,Us Enrichment Corp,Continuing Its Investigation of Fire,Including Determination of Causes

ML20198A475
Person / Time
Site:	Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant
Issue date:	12/15/1998
From:	Hiland P, Reidinger T NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION III)
To:
References
PNO-III-98-058A, PNO-III-98-58A, NUDOCS 9812170004
Download: ML20198A475 (2)

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, December 15, 1998 PRELIMINARY NOTIFICATION OF EVENT OR UNUSUAL OCCURRENCE PNO-III-98-058A 1

This preliminary. notification constitutes EARLY notice of events of POSSIBLE

safety.or public . interest ' significance. The information is as initially received without verification or evaluation, and is basically all that is j

known by Region III staff (Lisle, Illinois) on this date.

Facility Licensee Emergency Classification Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant Notification of Unusual Event j t Piketen,0hio Alert ,

l

Dockets: 07007002 Site Area Emergency l General Emergency

X Not Applicable

(

Subject:

FIRE IN PROCESS BUILDING-UPDATE l

On December 14, 1998, the NRC Augmented Inspection Team (AIT) completed' ,

its onsite review of the fire which occurred December 9 in Process )

Building 326. An inspection exit meeting, open to the public, will be '

scheduled in early January.

The fire began about 6:10 a.m. (ET) in a gaseous purge system cell in the j

. process building. This portion of the gaseous diffusion system is used to

, remove extraneous gases from the system. These gases include nitrogen, oxygen. and freon, along with a small concentration of uranium hexafluoride. Operators shut off the flow of process gas into the cell.

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! The fire appeared to result from an unexpected over heating of metal components, possibly due to a mechanical failure. The heated metal could ignite the uranium hexafluoride in a hot metal reaction. The resulting '

' temperatures are sufficient to sustain the metal-gas reaction. As a result of the event, several components in the cell were breached  ;

re%asing a small amount of uranium hexafluoride inside the process '

building. Environmental surveys showed no evidence of a release outside l the immediate area of the process building. I About 8,000 gallons of oil used for motor lubrication and hydraulic control equipment spilled during the event. A small portion of the d spilled oil, immediately adjacent to the cell. subsequently ignited.

The site fire brigade extinguished the fire after about 90 minutes. A portion of the sprinkler system, located outside the process cell, also ,

initiated. Two operators suffered smoke inhalation, and two fire fighters I were injured when they slipped on the spilled oil. The injuries were l minor and the individual were treated and released from the onsite medical facility. There were no injuries associated with the small l release of uranium hexafluoride. '

' The certificate holder, U.S. Enrichment Corporation is continuing its ,

investigation of the fire, including a determinatica of the root causes. l This type of fire was addressed in the facility's safety analysis.

The State of Ohio will be informed of this updated information. The information in this preliminary notification has been reviewed with the o certificate holder. y1

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981217o004 9e1215 () I E I h 99-oS8 PDR i t )

a

, PNO-III-98-058A '

o U.S: Enrithment Corporation and the NRC issued news releases at the time of the fire.

This information is current as of 5:00 p.m. (ET) on December 15, 1998.

Contact:

Pat Hiland Tim Reidinger (630)829-9603 (630)829-9816 e

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