Date: 2 June 1952

Location: Argonne National Laboratory, Illinois, USA

Type of event: criticality accident with uranium particles in plastic

Description:

A criticality excursion occurred in an experimental apparatus using uranium-235 oxide. The uranium oxide was in small particles (most 10 microns in diameter, some 40 microns in diameter) embedded in polystyrene plastic; a total of 6.8 kg of U-235 was involved. These fuel strips were combined with zirconium strips in a water-containing tank. Contrary to operating procedures, a control rod was being replaced while the tank was filled to the normal level with water. A criticality excursion occurred, heating the fuel sufficiently to cause bubble formation near the larger uranium oxide particles. This bubble formation forced most of the water out of the core, terminating the excursion within 0.6 seconds. Most of the 3 megajoule energy release occurred in a period of about 0.02 seconds. Doses to four individuals were 136, 127, 60, and 9 rad.

Consequences: 2 injuries? (136, 127 rad).

References:

• McLaughlin, Thomas P., Shean P. Monahan, Norman L. Pruvost, Vladimir V. Frolov, Boris G. Ryazanov, and Victor I. Sviridov, May 2000, A Review of Criticality Accidents, 2000 Revision, Los Alamos National Laboratory (Los Alamos, NM), on line at CSRIC [http://www.csirc.net/docs/reports/la-13638.pdf].
• Mould, R. F., 2000, Chernobyl Record: The Definitive History of the Chernobyl Catastrophe, Institute of Physics Publ. (Bristol, UK).

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Last modified 14 September 2005.
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