Alissa Tabirian
NS&D Monitor
6/5/2015
Oak Ridge National Laboratory managing contractor UT-Battelle has reached an agreement with the Department of Energy to pay $112,500 and complete a set of corrective actions following an investigation of radiation exposure among seven workers at a lab facility last August. The DOE Office of Enforcement announced this week that the contractor agreed to a Consent Order issued last month.
The agreement settles the investigation of the radiological release that occurred during a classified project conducted by UT-Battelle at the Y-12 National Security Complex. Highly enriched uranium shipped from Y-12 to ORNL “for size reduction and repackaging” became airborne, and seven workers received an “acute occupational inhalation uptake” below the regulatory limit, according to the consent order. The highest exposure level was a 230 millirem dose of what was predominantly uranium-234. The notice identifies “inaccurate assumptions and conclusions about the material, failure to stop work or modify hazard controls when encountering unexpected removable contamination, and inadequate event response” as factors causing the incident. UT-Battelle identified “the incorrect dismissal of the potential for airborne contamination” as the primary cause.
DOE expressed “high confidence” in UT-Battelle’s corrective actions and the agreement identifies the contractor’s response as “extensive and appropriate.” The notice outlines UT-Battelle’s prior commitment to an action plan that includes personnel training programs for re-entry into contaminated areas, policy changes and an independent review of its corrective actions. In addition to honoring this commitment, UT-Battelle is expected to pay the DOE $112,500 this month. ORNL spokesman David Keim said this week, “Fortunately, no workers were injured, and we thoroughly evaluated the incident to better ensure the safety of ORNL staff going forward.”
