BWX Technologies and the Virginia Department of Labor and Health are still investigating the circumstances that led to the death of a company worker in a sudden and brief fire two weeks ago at the company’s Lynchburg, Va., plant.
“The flash fire occurred in an isolated area of the facility and no other personnel were injured,” the BWXT spokesperson wrote in an email. “This incident did not involve any release of radioactive material and there was no risk to the public or the environment.”
BWX Technologies self-reported the fatal event to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on June 19, according to a notice the federal agency published on Monday. The sudden fire in the Lynchburg facility, which among other things is licensed to fabricate highly enriched uranium fuel, flared up at about 10:15 a.m. on June 19, the company spokesperson said. The cause remains under investigation.
The flames in the facility’s Supercompactor Room burned out before an emergency response team arrived on the scene, according to the report the company filed with the NRC. The worker was found on the floor, and was pronounced dead at the sceie by the emergency team’s paramedics. In the report, BWX Technologies said “[t]here was no release of radioactive material above 1 DAC [Derived-Air-Concentration]” in the area after the accident.
A commission spokesperson said Tuesday a resident NRC inspector at the Lynchburg site visited the scene of the incident as soon as allowed by officials with the federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA).
“We continue to evaluate the circumstances of the accident for any NRC-licensed implications, but there were no radiological materials involved and no NRC reactive inspection was required,” the commission spokesperson wrote in an email Tuesday.
Representatives of the Virginia Department of Labor and Health and the Campbell County Sheriff’s Department did not immediately reply to voice messages left by Weapons Complex Morning Briefing on Tuesday.
The Sheriff’s office started its own investigation on the day of the fire, according to BWX Technologies’ report to the NRC.
Editor’s note 07/01/2020, 12:26 p.m. Eastern time. The story was corrected to show that OSHA is investigating the incident.
