A small fire ignited but did not last long last month at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state, according to a report from the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board.
The small blaze occurred at an area associated with heating up melter No. 1 at the Waste Treatment Immobilization Plant built by Bechtel, according to the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) staff report dated Aug. 11 and posted on the board’s website late last week.
“A small fire occurred in the melter #1 discharge plenum,” according to the report. Plenums collect and distribute fluid.
After encountering an unexpected condition with a metal plate, workers left the area to discuss what to do next, according to the DNFSB report.
“They left the area to evaluate a path forward, leaving the plate resting on the wooden brackets, which were also in contact with the hot metal of the pour spout, according to DNFSB. “About two hours later, the melter #1 operator noted a small flame while monitoring the area on a camera.”
The Hanford Fire Department was called but the fire “had self-extinguished prior to their arrival,” according to the report.
The melters will be used to superheat low-level radioactive tank waste as part of solidifying the waste in a more stable glass form. Managers are doing a cause analysis to hopefully prevent similar future events.
