Five workers suffered chemical burns Wednesday at Oak Ridge National Laboratories in Tennessee

December 8, 1999
Web posted at: 1:25 p.m. EST (1825 GMT)

OAK RIDGE, Tennessee (CNN) -- A chemical spill caused a flash fire at a foundry on the grounds of the Oak Ridge nuclear weapons complex, injuring 10 workers, including three hospitalized with burns.

The other seven were evaluated and treated on site for less serious burns or smoke inhalation, Oak Ridge officials said. One required further treatment for asthma and anxiety.

Federal officials said there was no explosion and that no nuclear materials were involved.

U.S. Energy Department spokesman David Page described the spill as a "chemical reaction, not an explosion." It happened in a foundry that processes chemicals used in manufacture of components for nuclear weapons, Page said.

The non-radioactive chemicals that spilled -- sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide -- are industrial solvents that might be likened to a heavy-duty drain cleaner, such as Drano, he told CNN.

Depleted uranium, which is non-explosive with very low levels of radioactivity, is kept at the plant, he said.

While the building's 51 other workers were evacuated, operations continued at hundreds of other facilities at the nuclear weapons complex.

Three of the workers were taken to Oak Ridge Methodist Medical Center for treatment. The most seriously injured, burned over 7 percent of his body, was transported to Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Firefighters went to the scene to help in the cleanup.

The uranium enrichment plant that is part of the Y-12 complex at the nuclear weapons center was shut down for two days in early November, when federal inspectors determined during a safety rehearsal that management controls were inadequate.