Aging Pantex system poses threat

A nuclear watchdog agency is raising safety concerns about the Pantex Plant’s aging fire protection system, citing the potential threat of a fire and accidental high-explosive blast that could disperse plutonium and other nuclear materials into the air.

In a Feb. 25 report, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, a congressional watchdog agency that oversees safety at U.S. nuclear weapons facilities, asks the National Nuclear Security Administration to prepare a report within 90 days to address fixing the problem.

“Continued failures, if not addressed, could lead to non-availability of the fire protection systems during normal operations and accident conditions involving special nuclear material,” the report said. “Thus failures of the fire protection system pose a risk to worker and public health and safety.”

When activated, the plant’s deluge systems are designed to pump thousands of gallons into assembly cells or other weapons facilities, snuffing out the threat of fire or explosion.

More at http://amarillo.com/news/2013-03-05/nuke-agency-aging-pantex-fire-protection-poses-safety-threat .