7/27/2011 Emergency alert issued at Kentucky Uranium enrichment facility

Date: 7/27/2011

A failed gasket caused a toxic gas leak at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant near Paducah, Kentucky. The non-radiological chlorine trifluoride (ClF3) gas was released on Wednesday 7/27/2011 04:15 AM CDT when an "Alert" level (second lowest severity on a four tier scale) emergency event was issued by USEC (United States Enrichment Corporation) who runs the Uranium enrichment plant near Paducah, Kentucky.[1] The emergency status lasted several hours before being terminated by the USEC. For the full text of the NRC event notification report read here.


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Sources:
[1] Industrial gas leak prompts onsite alert at PGDP
[2] NRC Event notification Report #47099, Nuclear Regulatory Commission