File photo. The front of the entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge. (ADAM BRIMER/NEWS SENTINEL)OAK RIDGE, Tenn. - An Energy Department inspector general's report is critical of the Y-12 National Security Complex's response after small vials of bomb-grade uranium almost left the plant on a laundry truck.
The Friday report says the Oak Ridge facility took corrective actions after the January 2014 incident but didn't address all the issues. For example, there was a delay in notifying the plant shift superintendent.
A safety violation was issued because workers did not follow plant procedure. That requires workers to establish at least a 15-foot boundary around the samples, make no attempt to correct the situation and notify Nuclear Criticality Safety.
The government's contractor at Y-12 at the time was B&W Y-12 - a partnership of Babcock & Wilcox and Bechtel National.