Run of the Mill: Uranium Fire at Y-12

By Lindsay Potter

On February 23, a fire broke out in a highly enriched uranium processing building at the Y-12 nuclear weapons manufacturing facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The fire was contained, all 200 workers evacuated, and reports say there was no spread of radioactive contamination. Built in 1943 as part of the Manhattan Project, the risk of uranium fires is anticipated as the facility deteriorates and accumulates large stockpiles of unstable and poorly stored uranium. Lest this sound alarming, from 1997 to 2006, at least 22 fires and explosions were recorded at the site, averaging two a year and more than any other facility in the federal nuclear complex — just business as usual. — USA Today, WABI TV, Feb. 22, 2023; report by Robert Alvarez, Oct. 9, 2006