Lockheed Martin Nuclear Safety Violations (Oak Ridge, TN)

Date: 08/28/2000 (Date of Fine)

Misconduct Type: Labor

Enforcement Agency: Energy

Contracting Party: Energy

Court Type: Administrative

Amount: $1,045,000

Disposition: Fine

Synopsis: Lockheed Martin Energy Systems was fined by the Department of Energy for multiple violations of nuclear safety requirements at its site in Oak Ridge, TN. These violations included: (1) The December 8, 1999, explosion of sodium potassium liquid metal in the Alpha 5 Facility that resulted in injury to 11 workers. The contractor failed to identify and mitigate the explosive hazards associated with this material, despite a number of opportunities to do so.; (2) Violations of criticality safety requirements and work process controls which resulted in a DOE-ordered operational stand down on November 5, 1999, and curtailment of fissile material movements in Building 9212 on December 14, 1999; (3) Significant deficiencies in the design, procurement and fabrication of the Hydrogen Fluoride Supply System, a critical system required for resumption of enriched uranium operations. The investigation identified failures with virtually every phase of the project; and (4) Numerous examples of violations occurring during the period July 1998 to December 1999 involving failure to adhere to Operational Safety Requirements and other Authorization Basis requirements.

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Excerpt from DOE Press Release:

• Significant deficiencies in the design, procurement and fabrication of the Hydrogen Fluoride Supply System, a critical system required for resumption of enriched uranium operations. The investigation identified failures with virtually every phase of the project including vendor qualification, configuration management, vendor oversight, tube and supply line welding, inspection and acceptance testing of welds and system components, system turnover and operations; and

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