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United States II:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Y-12 Plant Operator Releases Results of Investigation Into FireFrom Wednesday, July 30, 2003 issue.
The operator of the U.S. Energy Department’s Y-12 nuclear weapons plant in Oak Ridge, Tenn., said yesterday that a mixture of calcium, water and depleted uranium was responsible for an April 15 fire at the plant, according to the Associated Press (see GSN, May 22).
The mixture created steam and heat during an experiment conducted in a sealed glove box, which resulted in excess pressure and caused an explosion, plant operator BWXT said. The explosion allowed air to enter the glove box, which resulted in the uranium spontaneously igniting, the company said (Associated Press, July 30).
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