Saturday, December 28, 2002
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Potential hazards found at test site

Explosives not stored, labeled properly

WASHINGTON -- Safety inspectors discovered high explosives at the Nevada Test Site improperly labeled and some stored near combustible material, posing potential dangers to workers, according to a government report released Friday.

Energy Department inspectors found some explosives stored without proper shelf-life labeling that would give handlers information about the materials' age and stability.

Kathy Carlson, the National Nuclear Security Administration's Nevada operations manager, said some corrective actions have been taken since the inspection occurred early this year, and others are planned.

DOE's explosives safety manual recommends "storage review dates" be assigned to every bulk explosive in storage because their components can degrade during prolonged storage, "and the hazard of handling and using them may increase significantly."

"However, during the inspection we identified explosives inventories that did not include shelf-life information, or posted shelf-life information as 'unknown,' " the auditors said in a 13-page report issued by DOE Inspector General Gregory Friedman.

More than 15,000 pounds of explosives are stored at the test site, including C-4 plastic explosives and trinitrotoluene, or TNT. The material is used in experiments, according to a spokeswoman for the National Nuclear Security Administration, the DOE agency that manages the site.

Inspectors also found explosives storage problems at the DOE facility in Oak Ridge, Tenn., which keeps about 90 pounds of demolition material, blasting caps and TNT.

At the Nevada Test Site, auditors also found a potential hazard in that combustible packing material, wooden pallets and containers were being kept in the same storage magazines as high explosives and detonation cords.

The material, including lumber used to stack incoming shipments in one facility, was kept inside to protect it from the elements, inspectors were told. "We are concerned that these materials provide additional combustion sources that create an additional and easily preventable hazard," the auditors said.

Inspectors examined storage facilities operated by test site contractors Wackenhut Services Inc., Bechtel Nevada, the University of California and the Pentagon's Defense Threat Reduction Agency.

The safety check also found that while the University of California and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency conducted periodic tests of lightning monitors and protection for their storage facilities, Bechtel Nevada and Wackenhut did not.

Carlson said a management team is standardizing procedures for explosives handling and storage that should be completed by March.