A barrel of radioactively contaminated material at a Westinghouse Electric facility in Columbia, S.C., briefly ignited early Friday after becoming pressurized and popping off its lid, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission reported.
The drum held mop heads, filters, and rags designated as “wet recoverable material,” along with laboratory waste, according to an NRC event notification report posted Monday. The material was associated with uranium fuel fabrication operations at the Columbia plant, the agency said.
An “unexpected chemical reaction caused the barrel to pressurize and the lid blew off” at 1:52 a.m. Friday, NRC spokesman Joey Ledford said Monday. Acid in the barrel might have reacted with other materials, he said, noting that the agency is continuing to review the incident.
Some material in the barrel was ejected, the NRC report says. There was a small fire involving dry paper in the vessel, which caused a smoke detector to activate.
Personnel tipped the barrel over and dispersed the contents, Ledford said: The fire “pretty much extinguished itself.”
“The materials had been packaged for uranium recovery and incineration. The fire was quickly extinguished by plant personnel, with no impact on people, the environment or the plant,” Westinghouse said in a prepared statement Monday. “The safety of our employees and community is our highest priority. Air samples taken within the area confirmed no impact to plant personnel, the public or the environment.”
An NRC inspector is expected to visit the facility in the next few days to follow up.
Ledford said Westinghouse has already taken several corrective measures, including using a different type of waste drum lid that ventilates itself to prevent pressurization. Westinghouse added that its steps would include revised segregation controls to prevent mixing of potentially combustible materials and revised monitoring of heat buildup. A comprehensive evaluation of the incident is also planned.
