Rupture of Model 48Y UF/sub 6/ cylinder and release of uranium hexafluoride, Sequoyah Fuels Facility, Gore, Oklahoma, January 4, 1986. Volume 1

Technical Report · Sat Feb 01 00:00:00 EST 1986

OSTI ID:6129426

At 11:30 a.m. on January 4, 1986, a Model 48Y UF/sub 6/ cylinder filled with uranium hexafluoride (UF/sub 6/) ruptured while it was being heated in a steam chest at the Sequoyah Fuels Conversion Facility near Gore, Oklahoma. One worker died because he inhaled hydrogen fluoride fumes, a reaction product of UF/sub 6/ and airborne moisture. Several other workers were injured by the fumes, but none seriously. Much of the facility complex and some offsite areas to the south were contaminated with hydrogen fluoride and a second reaction product, uranyl fluoride. The interval of release was approximately 40 minutes. The cylinder, which had been overfilled, ruptured while it was being heated because of the expansion of UF/sub 6/ as it changed from the solid to the liquid phase. The maximum safe capacity for the cylinder is 27,560 pounds of product. Evidence indicates that it was filled with an amount exceeding this limit. 18 figs.

• Research Organization: Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC (USA). Augmented Investigation Team
• OSTI ID: 6129426
• Report Number(s): NUREG-1179-Vol.1; ON: TI86901089
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
CONTAINERS
RUPTURES
SEQUOYAH UF6 PRODUCTION PLANT
RADIATION ACCIDENTS
URANIUM HEXAFLUORIDE
MELTING
HUMAN FACTORS
HYDROFLUORIC ACID
PERSONNEL
URANYL FLUORIDES
US NRC
ACCIDENTS
ACTINIDE COMPOUNDS
FAILURES
FLUORIDES
FLUORINE COMPOUNDS
HALIDES
HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
INDUSTRIAL PLANTS
INORGANIC ACIDS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS
URANIUM COMPOUNDS
URANIUM FLUORIDES
URANYL COMPOUNDS
US AEC
US DOE
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS
050400* - Nuclear Fuels- Feed Processing
054000 - Nuclear Fuels- Health & Safety