An explosion at the world’s largest uranium enrichment plant has hospitalized over 100 people and killed one 65-year-old man.
The incident occurred Friday at the Ural Electrochemical Combine in central Russia’s Ural mountains.
'More than 100 people hospitalized and one killed after explosion at uranium enrichment plant in Russia's Urals region.'#nuclear #NuclearEnergy #Russia https://t.co/BcrtQr1PXj
— Dr Paul Dorfman (@dorfman_p) July 15, 2023
The factory reportedly said a cylinder holding depleted uranium hexafluoride “depressurized” at about 9 a.m. local time.
One dead in accident at world’s biggest uranium enrichment planthttps://t.co/MQxACCjLYq pic.twitter.com/eBwLakbzVr
— RT (@RT_com) July 14, 2023
RT reports:
An accident at a nuclear enrichment facility in Russia’s Sverdlovsk Region has left one worker dead, the plant’s administration said on Friday.
A cylinder containing depleted uranium tails ruptured after a pressurization failure at the Urals Electrochemical Plant (UECP), owned by Russian state nuclear energy firm Rosatom.
ADVERTISEMENTUECP, which is the largest uranium enricher in the world, described the incident as a “local” one, and stressed that the danger has been contained within the affected section.
A plant technician, aged 65, died after suffering a “fatal mechanical trauma,” the statement said.
All other staff who were in the section at the time the cylinder burst were evacuated and sent to hospital for medical checkups. Most have since been released and are “out of danger,” UECP said.
Local news outlet E1 reportedly said ‘the situation is local in nature’ and ‘it is dangerous only in the production area,’ according to the Daily Mail.
Cylinder with depleted uranium hexafluoride exploded at the Ural Electrochemical Plant, killing one
Russian Nuclear things corporation Rosatom says that "incident at uranium enrichment plant near Yekaterinburg posses no danger to population"
https://t.co/9PIJge6xZ5— Liveuamap (@Liveuamap) July 14, 2023
Daily Mail reports:
A major clean-up operation is underway in the plant, said reports.
An investigation is also underway into the uranium plant ‘explosion’.
‘There is no danger of any kind for residents of the city of Novouralsk or the staff of the plant,’ said the plant’s deputy production manager, Yuri Mineyev.
He said that the factory was working normally.
ADVERTISEMENTThe incident comes at a time when Russian strategic facilities have been hit by sabotage attacks.
When uranium is enriched, depleted uranium hexafluoride is formed.
The Russians said it ‘does not pose a radiation hazard – its radioactivity is less than that of natural uranium’.
The plant provides 48 per cent of uranium enrichment separation capacity in Russia.
Urals Electrochemical Combine says it enriches uranium for use in nuclear power plants and is the largest of its kind in the world.
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