Y-12 Nuclear Material Shipping Error Involved Uranium, NNSA Says

The National Nuclear Security Administration has acknowledged that a July shipment of an excess amount of special nuclear material from the Y-12 site to a commercial facility was uranium, but a spokesman refused to specify the enrichment level or other details of the substance. “We can confirm it was uranium,” said Steven Wyatt, a spokesman for NNSA’s Production Office. “We are not specifying the type of special nuclear material.” He also confirmed that the shipment to an unidentified private facility licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission violated some Department of Transportation regulations for transporting hazardous materials. “The shipment was not compliant with some of DOT’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety and Hazardous Material regulations,” Wyatt said in an email response to questions. “Y-12 representatives have been in contact with DOE and are cooperating with their findings.” He said the recipient site was authorized to receive such nuclear material, but he would not name the commercial facility or its location.

 

After the mistake in the July shipment was discovered, specialists from Oak Ridge reportedly went to the site and secured the material for return to Y-12, but the federal agency has not provided details of the timing. How much uranium was involved also remains a mystery. Any shipments of special nuclear materials have strict protocols and security requirements. Wyatt noted: He noted: “Upon a thorough investigation, it has been concluded that the direct cause of the event was human error. Personnel mistakenly placed more material into containers than intended.”