A Review of Criticality Accidents A Review of Criticality Accidents
A Review of Criticality Accidents A Review of Criticality Accidents A Review of Criticality Accidents A Review of Criticality Accidents
CONTENTS FOREWORD .................................................................................................................................. v PREFACE ..................................................................................................................................... vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................................. ix TABLE OF CONTENTS...............................................................................................................xi LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................... xv LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................................... xix ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................... 1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1 I. PROCESS ACCIDENTS........................................................................................................... 2 A. ACCIDENT DESCRIPTIONS ............................................................................................ 2 1. Mayak Production Association, 15 March 1953 ........................................................... 7 2. Mayak Production Association, 21 April 1957 ............................................................. 9 3. Mayak Production Association, 2 January 1958 ......................................................... 11 4. Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant, 16 June 1958........................................................................... 13 5. Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, 30 December 1958 ............................................... 16 6. Idaho Chemical Processing Plant, 16 October 1959 ................................................... 18 7. Mayak Production Association, 5 December 1960 ..................................................... 19 8. Idaho Chemical Processing Plant, 25 January 1961 .................................................... 22 9. Siberian Chemical Combine, 14 July 1961 ................................................................. 23 10. Hanford Works, 7 April 1962 ...................................................................................... 27 11. Mayak Production Association, 7 September 1962 ..................................................... 28 12. Siberian Chemical Combine, 30 January 1963 ........................................................... 30 13. Siberian Chemical Combine, 2 December 1963 ......................................................... 31 14. United Nuclear Fuels Recovery Plant, 24 July 1964 ................................................... 33 15. Electrostal Machine Building Plant, 3 November 1965 .............................................. 35 16. Mayak Production Association, 16 December 1965 ................................................... 37 17. Mayak Production Association, 10 December 1968 ................................................... 40 18. Windscale Works, 24 August 1970 .............................................................................. 43 19. Idaho Chemical Processing Plant, 17 October 1978 ................................................... 45 20. Siberian Chemical Combine, 13 December 1978 ....................................................... 47 21. Novosibirsk Chemical Concentration Plant, 15 May 1997 ......................................... 50 22. JCO Fuel Fabrication Plant, 30 September 1999 ........................................................ 53 B. PHYSICAL AND NEUTRONIC CHARACTERISTICS FOR THE PROCESS FACILITY CRITICALITY ACCIDENTS ........................................................................ 57 Accident Reconstruction.................................................................................................... 57 Geometry ........................................................................................................................... 57 Material.............................................................................................................................. 59 Discussion.......................................................................................................................... 59 Conclusions ....................................................................................................................... 60 Fission Yields ..................................................................................................................... 61 xi
C. OBSERVATIONS AND LESSONS LEARNED FROM PROCESS CRITICALITY ACCIDENTS .................................................................................................................... 64 Observations ..................................................................................................................... 64 Lessons Learned ............................................................................................................... 65 Lessons of Operational Importance .................................................................................. 65 Lessons of Supervisory, Managerial, and Regulatory Importance ................................... 66 Conclusions ...................................................................................................................... 67 II. REACTOR AND CRITICAL EXPERIMENT ACCIDENTS ................................................ 68 A. FISSILE SOLUTION SYSTEMS .................................................................................... 70 1. Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, December 1949 ................................................... 70 2. Hanford Works, 16 November 1951 ........................................................................... 70 3. Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 26 May 1954 .......................................................... 71 4. Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 1 February 1956 ..................................................... 72 5. Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 30 January 1968 ..................................................... 73 B. BARE AND REFLECTED METAL ASSEMBLIES ....................................................... 74 1. Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, 21 August 1945.................................................. 74 2. Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, 21 May 1946 ....................................................... 74 3. Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, 1 February 1951 .................................................. 77 4. Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, 18 April 1952 ...................................................... 78 5. Sarov (Arzamas-16), 9 April 1953 ............................................................................. 78 6. Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, 3 February 1954 .................................................. 80 7. Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, 12 February 1957 ................................................ 80 8. Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, 17 June 1960 ....................................................... 83 9. Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 10 November 1961 ................................................. 84 10. Sarov (Arzamas-16), 11 March 1963 ......................................................................... 84 11. Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, 26 March 1963 ...................................................... 86 12. White Sands Missile Range, 28 May 1965................................................................. 86 13. Chelyabinsk-70, 5 April 1968 ..................................................................................... 87 14. Aberdeen Proving Ground, 6 September 1968 ........................................................... 89 15. Sarov (Arzamas-16), 17 June 1997 ............................................................................ 89 C. MODERATED METAL OR OXIDE SYSTEMS ............................................................ 93 xii 1. Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, 6 June 1945 ......................................................... 93 2. Chalk River Laboratory, late 1940s or early 1950s .................................................... 94 3. Argonne National Laboratory, 2 June 1952 ................................................................ 94 4. Chalk River Laboratory, Atomic Energy of Canada, Ltd., 12 December 1952 .......... 95 5. National Reactor Testing Station, 22 July 1954 ......................................................... 95 6. Boris Kidrich Institute, 15 October 1958 ................................................................... 96 7. Centre dÉtudes Nucleaires de Saclay, France, 15 March 1960 .................................. 97 8. National Reactor Testing Station, 3 January 1961...................................................... 97 9. National Reactor Testing Station, 5 November 1962 ................................................. 98 10. Mol, Belgium, 30 December 1965 ............................................................................. 98 11. Kurchatov Institute, 15 February 1971 ....................................................................... 99 12. Kurchatov Institute, 26 May 1971 ............................................................................ 101 13. The RA-2 Facility, 23 September 1983 .................................................................... 103
- Page 1 and 2: LA-13638 Approved for public releas
- Page 3 and 4: A Review of Criticality Accidents 2
- Page 5 and 6: PREFACE This document is the second
- Page 7: Tom Jones was invaluable in generat
- Page 11 and 12: FIGURES 1. Chronology of process cr
- Page 13 and 14: 51. MSKS and assembly involved in t
- Page 15 and 16: A REVIEW OF CRITICALITY ACCIDENTS A
- Page 17 and 18: 3 Black Sea Baltic Sea Obninsk Norw
- Page 19 and 20: North Atlantic Ocean Irish Sea Wind
- Page 21 and 22: 1. Mayak Production Association, 15
- Page 23 and 24: time of the accident. However, the
- Page 25 and 26: determined by a radiation control p
- Page 27 and 28: consequences of this accident, the
- Page 29 and 30: Figure 10. Drum in which the 1958 Y
- Page 31 and 32: The entire plutonium process area h
- Page 33 and 34: 7. Mayak Production Association, 5
- Page 35 and 36: During the next shift, radiation sa
- Page 37 and 38: 9. Siberian Chemical Combine, 14 Ju
- Page 39 and 40: The accident investigation determin
- Page 41 and 42: 10. Hanford Works, 7 April 1962 18,
- Page 43 and 44: heater and stirrer were turned off
- Page 45 and 46: vessel 64-A was added. The dissolut
- Page 47 and 48: additional reflection afforded by t
- Page 49 and 50: 15. Electrostal Machine Building Pl
- Page 51 and 52: 16. Mayak Production Association, 1
- Page 53 and 54: ased on a radiation survey, that th
- Page 55 and 56: 0.5 m 0.5 m 0.5 m 0.5 m 3.0 m 1.4 m
- Page 57 and 58: The investigation identified severa
C. OBSERVATIONS AND LESSONS LEARNED FROM PROCESS CRITICALITY<br />
ACCIDENTS .................................................................................................................... 64<br />
Observations ..................................................................................................................... 64<br />
Lessons Learned ............................................................................................................... 65<br />
Lessons <strong>of</strong> Operational Importance .................................................................................. 65<br />
Lessons <strong>of</strong> Supervisory, Managerial, and Regulatory Importance ................................... 66<br />
Conclusions ...................................................................................................................... 67<br />
II. REACTOR AND CRITICAL EXPERIMENT ACCIDENTS ................................................ 68<br />
A. FISSILE SOLUTION SYSTEMS .................................................................................... 70<br />
1. Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, December 1949 ................................................... 70<br />
2. Hanford Works, 16 November 1951 ........................................................................... 70<br />
3. Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 26 May 1954 .......................................................... 71<br />
4. Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 1 February 1956 ..................................................... 72<br />
5. Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 30 January 1968 ..................................................... 73<br />
B. BARE AND REFLECTED METAL ASSEMBLIES ....................................................... 74<br />
1. Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, 21 August 1945.................................................. 74<br />
2. Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, 21 May 1946 ....................................................... 74<br />
3. Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, 1 February 1951 .................................................. 77<br />
4. Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, 18 April 1952 ...................................................... 78<br />
5. Sarov (Arzamas-16), 9 April 1953 ............................................................................. 78<br />
6. Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, 3 February 1954 .................................................. 80<br />
7. Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, 12 February 1957 ................................................ 80<br />
8. Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, 17 June 1960 ....................................................... 83<br />
9. Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 10 November 1961 ................................................. 84<br />
10. Sarov (Arzamas-16), 11 March 1963 ......................................................................... 84<br />
11. Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, 26 March 1963 ...................................................... 86<br />
12. White Sands Missile Range, 28 May 1965................................................................. 86<br />
13. Chelyabinsk-70, 5 April 1968 ..................................................................................... 87<br />
14. Aberdeen Proving Ground, 6 September 1968 ........................................................... 89<br />
15. Sarov (Arzamas-16), 17 June 1997 ............................................................................ 89<br />
C. MODERATED METAL OR OXIDE SYSTEMS ............................................................ 93<br />
xii<br />
1. Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, 6 June 1945 ......................................................... 93<br />
2. Chalk River Laboratory, late 1940s or early 1950s .................................................... 94<br />
3. Argonne National Laboratory, 2 June 1952 ................................................................ 94<br />
4. Chalk River Laboratory, Atomic Energy <strong>of</strong> Canada, Ltd., 12 December 1952 .......... 95<br />
5. National Reactor Testing Station, 22 July 1954 ......................................................... 95<br />
6. Boris Kidrich Institute, 15 October 1958 ................................................................... 96<br />
7. Centre dÉtudes Nucleaires de Saclay, France, 15 March 1960 .................................. 97<br />
8. National Reactor Testing Station, 3 January 1961...................................................... 97<br />
9. National Reactor Testing Station, 5 November 1962 ................................................. 98<br />
10. Mol, Belgium, 30 December 1965 ............................................................................. 98<br />
11. Kurchatov Institute, 15 February 1971 ....................................................................... 99<br />
12. Kurchatov Institute, 26 May 1971 ............................................................................ 101<br />
13. The RA-2 Facility, 23 September 1983 .................................................................... 103
Change language