![Fernald Production-era Aerial](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/Fernald_Production-era_Aerial.jpg)
The Fernald Feed Materials Production Center (commonly referred to simply as Fernald or later NLO) is a
Superfund
Superfund is a United States federal environmental remediation program established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). The program is administered by the United States Environmental Pro ...
site located within
Crosby Township in
Hamilton County, Ohio
Hamilton County is located in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 830,639, making it the third-most populous county in Ohio. The county seat and largest city is Cincinnati. The county i ...
, as well as
Ross Township in
Butler County, Ohio
Butler County is a county located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 390,357. Its county seat is Hamilton. It is named for General Richard Butler, who died in 1791 during St. Clair' ...
.
It was a
uranium
Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weak ...
processing facility located near the rural town of
New Baltimore, about 20 miles (32 km) northwest of
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
, which fabricated
uranium fuel cores for the U.S.
nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bom ...
s
production complex from 1951 to 1989. During that time, the plant produced 170,000 metric tons uranium (MTU) of metal products and 35,000 MTU of intermediate compounds, such as
uranium trioxide
Uranium trioxide (UO3), also called uranyl oxide, uranium(VI) oxide, and uranic oxide, is the hexavalent oxide of uranium. The solid may be obtained by heating uranyl nitrate to 400 °C. Its most commonly encountered polymorph, γ-UO3, is a ...
and
uranium tetrafluoride
Uranium tetrafluoride is the inorganic compound with the formula UF4. It is a green solid with an insignificant vapor pressure and low solubility in water. Uranium in its tetravalent ( uranous) state is important in various technological process ...
.
Fernald came under criticism in 1984 when it was learned that the plant was releasing millions of pounds of uranium dust into the atmosphere, causing major
radioactive contamination
Radioactive contamination, also called radiological pollution, is the deposition of, or presence of radioactive substances on surfaces or within solids, liquids, or gases (including the human body), where their presence is unintended or undesirab ...
of the surrounding areas. News about the plant's operations led to the 1989 closure of nearby
Fort Scott Camp, then the oldest
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
summer camp in the country.
History
In 1948 the
Atomic Energy Commission, predecessor to the
U.S. Department of Energy, established "a large scale integrated facility for the production of fabricated uranium fuel cores by chemical and metallurgical techniques." The plant was known as the Feed Materials Production Center since the uranium fuel cores it produced were the 'feed' for the AEC's plutonium production reactors.
[
National Lead Company of Ohio, Contract Operator of the Feed Materials Production Center for the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. The Feed Materials Production Center. NCLO-950. n. d.
]
These nuclear reactors were located at
Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Oak Ridge is a city in Anderson and Roane counties in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Tennessee, about west of downtown Knoxville. Oak Ridge's population was 31,402 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Knoxville Metropolitan Area. Oak ...
, the
Savannah River Site
The Savannah River Site (SRS) is a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) reservation in the United States in the state of South Carolina, located on land in Aiken, Allendale, and Barnwell counties adjacent to the Savannah River, southeast of August ...
in South Carolina and at
Hanford in the state of Washington. The uranium metal produced was in the form of derbies, ingots, billets and fuel cores.
The FMPC also served as the country's central repository for another radioactive metal,
thorium
Thorium is a weakly radioactive metallic chemical element with the symbol Th and atomic number 90. Thorium is silvery and tarnishes black when it is exposed to air, forming thorium dioxide; it is moderately soft and malleable and has a high me ...
.
The plant was located in the rural town of Fernald, which is about 20 miles (32 km) northwest of
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
, and occupies 1,050 acres (425 hectares). This location was chosen because it was between the uranium ore delivery ports of
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
and
, and it was accessible to the other main AEC sites. In addition, the site was close to Cincinnati's large labor force, the landscape was level making the site's construction easy, it was isolated, which provided safety and security, and it was located 30 to 50 feet above a large water
aquifer
An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing, permeable rock, rock fractures, or unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt). Groundwater from aquifers can be extracted using a water well. Aquifers vary greatly in their characterist ...
, which supplied the water needed for uranium metal processing. From 1951 to 1989 Fernald converted uranium ore into metal, and then fabricated this metal into target elements for nuclear reactors. Annual production rates ranged from a high in 1960 of 10,000 metric tons to a low in 1975 of 1,230 metric tons. Refining uranium metal was a process requiring a series of chemical and metallurgical conversions that occurred in nine specialized plants at the site.
Workers at the site were represented by the Fernald Atomic Trades and Labor Council.
Contamination
Releases from the Fernald site to the surrounding area resulted in exposure to community residents included ionizing radiation, soluble and insoluble forms of uranium, and various other hazardous chemicals. The
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency, under the Department of Health and Human Services, and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgi ...
(CDC) has conducted a historical exposure characterization and developed dose estimation models through the Fernald Dose Reconstruction Project, with an endpoint of developing an algorithm to estimate doses to individual persons who lived within the exposure assessment domain (the area within a ten kilometer radius from the center of the plant site). In addition to radioactive materials, many other non-radiological toxic substances were present in the production area as materials, by-products or products. Workers were exposed to chlorinated and non-chlorinated solvents, metals and metal salts, and nuisance dusts. Community residents may have been exposed to these substances through ground water pathways, soil contamination, and air dispersion of emissions from the site.
Medical surveillance
Two separate medical surveillance programs, for former workers and community residents, have been funded by settlements of class action litigation against
National Lead of Ohio, a contractor for the
Department of Energy A Ministry of Energy or Department of Energy is a government department in some countries that typically oversees the production of fuel and electricity; in the United States, however, it manages nuclear weapons development and conducts energy-rel ...
. These Fernald Settlement Funds are administered by a US Federal Court, which maintains oversight of the Fernald Medical Monitoring Programs. The Fernald (Residents) Medical Monitoring Program (FMMP) is a voluntary ongoing medical surveillance program for community residents living within five miles of the perimeter of the Fernald site, and the Fernald Workers Medical Monitoring Program (FWMMP) is a program for former workers who were employed when National Lead of Ohio was the contractor. Activities of the medical monitoring programs include both periodic medical examinations and diagnostic testing and yearly questionnaire data collection. In January 2007, there were 9,764 persons enrolled in the FMMP and 2716 former workers enrolled in the FWMMP. The FMMP has an extensive computer database available for research studies. Samples of whole blood, serum, plasma and urine were obtained from all FMMP participants at the time of the initial examination, and over 100,000 one-ml aliquots of these biospecimens have been stored at −80 °C since then.
Death of Dave Bocks
In June 1984, 39-year-old pipe fitter, David "Dave" Bocks disappeared on shift and was reported missing. A witness reported seeing Bocks and a supervisor inside of a vehicle at about 4:00 AM with the windows rolled up on a hot night having a serious discussion. At 5:00 AM, the witness reported seeing Bocks and speaking with him, who stated he was putting up his tools and headed toward Plant 4. His remains were later discovered inside a uranium processing furnace located in Plant 6; a sudden 28-degree drop in furnace temperature (which was kept at a constant 1350 degrees F) had been recorded at 5:15 AM during the night of Bocks' disappearance. The investigations found insufficient evidence that foul play was involved. However, some, including Bocks' family, believed that he was murdered by one or more coworkers who suspected him of being a whistleblower in the 1984 nuclear emissions scandal.
Production facilities
Plant 1
The production process at the Fernald Feed Materials Production Center begins at Plant 1, also known as the Sampling Plant. The principal function of the Sampling Plant was to obtain representative samples of the large quantities of incoming ore concentrates. This plant was divided into two main processing lines, one for Q-11 and one for INX. Q-11 was the term used to refer to
radium
Radium is a chemical element with the symbol Ra and atomic number 88. It is the sixth element in group 2 of the periodic table, also known as the alkaline earth metals. Pure radium is silvery-white, but it readily reacts with nitrogen (rather t ...
bearing ores primarily mined in the Belgian Congo while INX was a non-radium concentrate. The problem with handling radium bearing ores was that one of radium's daughter particles is
radon
Radon is a chemical element with the symbol Rn and atomic number 86. It is a radioactive, colourless, odourless, tasteless noble gas. It occurs naturally in minute quantities as an intermediate step in the normal radioactive decay chains through ...
: an invisible radioactive gas.
Q-11 was received in 55-gallon drums. The drums were deheaded before processing and were conveyed through a thawing tunnel, which also provided surge capacity of deheaded drums. The drums were lifted to the top of the building by a skip hoist where they were emptied into a surge hopper that feeds the magnetic separator and jaw crusher. From the jaw crusher, the one-half inch material passes through a rotary drum dryer to a system of conveyors, which conveys the material to a surge hopper that feeds the ring roll mill. The particle size output from the mill was controlled to about 100 mesh by an air classifier mounted directly on the mill. The undersized material was blown to a cyclone separator that was mounted directly above the first Gallagher sampler. The three Gallagher samplers in series each took a 10% cut of the stream fed to it, producing a sample approximately 0.1% of the original lot size. The main stream was conveyed to a drumming station where it was packaged in 55-gallon or 30-gallon drums for use in the Refinery. The official weight was taken at this point.
The INX line was similar to the Q-11 line except that the thawing tunnel has been omitted and a hammer mill and bucket elevator replaces the jaw crusher, rotary dryer, ring roll mill, air classifier, and cyclone separator.
In addition to sampling incoming ores this plant reconditions 30 and 55 gallon drums used to transport and store radioactive materials onsite. It also contains a safe-geometry digestion system used to process
enriched uranium
Enriched uranium is a type of uranium in which the percent composition of uranium-235 (written 235U) has been increased through the process of isotope separation. Naturally occurring uranium is composed of three major isotopes: uranium-238 (238 ...
materials assaying up to 5%
235U. This digester was so named because the piping was of such a diameter and distance between pipes making a criticality incident nigh impossible.
Plant 2/3
Plant 2/3 was known as the Ore Refinery & Denitration Plant. It was called Plant 2/3 because two separate functions occur in the same building. Here uranium values were recovered from feed materials (i.e., ores, concentrates and residues) and were converted to concentrated
uranium trioxide
Uranium trioxide (UO3), also called uranyl oxide, uranium(VI) oxide, and uranic oxide, is the hexavalent oxide of uranium. The solid may be obtained by heating uranyl nitrate to 400 °C. Its most commonly encountered polymorph, γ-UO3, is a ...
, also called orange salt. In addition to uranium, the Refinery was capable of extracting and purifying a number of different materials. The Ore Refinery consists of three major process areas designated digestion (Plant 2), extraction and denitration (Plant 3). Support areas include
nitric acid
Nitric acid is the inorganic compound with the formula . It is a highly corrosive mineral acid. The compound is colorless, but older samples tend to be yellow cast due to decomposition into oxides of nitrogen. Most commercially available nitri ...
recovery, raffinate treatment and refinery sump. The digestion, extraction, and raffinate areas included 'hot' and 'cold' sides. To provide radiation protection from the radium-bearing Q-11 ore
he "hot" material concrete shielding was provided around appropriate process equipment and the 'hot' side of each area was enclosed by concrete walls.
The principal function of Plant 2/3 was uranium purification and conversion of uranium bearing materials into uranium trioxide (UO3), or orange oxide. There are three principal forms of uranium residues, each having a separate processing route for putting the uranium into solution. Uranium oxides are dissolved in 6000 gallon vats of pure nitric acid in the Oxide Digester (also known as the west metal dissolver), miscellaneous residues that required filtration were dissolved in the Slag Leach Digester, and metals were dissolved in the Metal Dissolver. If the ore was poured too rapidly into the nitric acid vats a condition known as a "boilover" results. The reaction generates so much gas that it becomes a foam and boils over the sides of the vat. Many workers were told to not step in any puddles on the floor as they were probably nitric acid left from one of these "boilover" incidents. The site employed their own cobblers just to repair work boots that had been exposed to too much acid. Another hazard was the
nitrogen dioxide
Nitrogen dioxide is a chemical compound with the formula . It is one of several nitrogen oxides. is an intermediate in the industrial synthesis of nitric acid, millions of tons of which are produced each year for use primarily in the producti ...
fumes coming off the nitric acid vats. There were so many fumes that on high humidity days during the summer there appeared to be an orange cloud encasing this building and anyone just walking past would experience a sensation as if he had wandered into a swarm of bees.
The resulting "UNH" (
uranium nitrate hexahydrate) material pumped out of the vats was then processed through extraction to purify the solution. The UNH solution was passed through a multistage liquid-liquid counter current tower with
tributyl phosphate
Tributyl phosphate, known commonly as TBP, is an organophosphorus compound with the chemical formula (CH3CH2CH2CH2O)3PO. This colourless, odorless liquid finds some applications as an extractant and a plasticizer. It is an ester of phosphoric ac ...
and
kerosene
Kerosene, paraffin, or lamp oil is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from petroleum. It is widely used as a fuel in aviation as well as households. Its name derives from el, κηρός (''keros'') meaning "wax", and was regi ...
to extract the uranyl nitrate. The impurities exit the tower as the raffinate stream for further processing. The extract solution was passed through another counter current
extraction tower to re-extract the uranyl nitrate from the kerosene into
deionized water
Purified water is water that has been mechanically filtered or processed to remove impurities and make it suitable for use. Distilled water was, formerly, the most common form of purified water, but, in recent years, water is more frequently puri ...
. The kerosene was then processed through a wash to be recycled back through the extraction process. The resulting UNH solution was now ready for further concentrating and thermal denitration.
The UNH solution was concentrated through a process known as "boildown". In this process, heat was applied to the solution from steam coils inside the boildown tanks. The water was removed through evaporation, thus concentrating the solution. The solution was concentrated from 90 grams uranium per liter to 1300 grams uranium per liter in two stages.
The concentrated solution now in 250 gallon batches was further heated, in a process known as Pot Denitration, to thermally denitrate the UNH to
uranium trioxide
Uranium trioxide (UO3), also called uranyl oxide, uranium(VI) oxide, and uranic oxide, is the hexavalent oxide of uranium. The solid may be obtained by heating uranyl nitrate to 400 °C. Its most commonly encountered polymorph, γ-UO3, is a ...
. The uranium trioxide material was then pneumatically removed from the denitration pots and packaged out in hoppers with a capacity of 3.6 metric tons or 55 gallon drums. This pneumatic transfer of the product was known as Gulping.
Plant 4
The Green Salt Plant, the common name for Plant 4, produced "green salt" (
uranium tetrafluoride
Uranium tetrafluoride is the inorganic compound with the formula UF4. It is a green solid with an insignificant vapor pressure and low solubility in water. Uranium in its tetravalent ( uranous) state is important in various technological process ...
) from UO
3. Green salt was the key intermediate compound in the overall process of producing uranium metal. This plant contains 12 banks of furnaces for the conversion of uranium trioxide to uranium tetrafluoride. Each bank consists of four furnaces in series. The first furnace was constructed of stainless steel for the hydrogen
reduction of orange oxide to
uranium dioxide
Uranium dioxide or uranium(IV) oxide (), also known as urania or uranous oxide, is an oxide of uranium, and is a black, radioactive, crystalline powder that naturally occurs in the mineral uraninite. It is used in nuclear fuel rods in nuclear rea ...
, by the reaction: UO
3 + H
2 → UO
2 + H
2O. The UO
2 was then fed directly to the first of the next three furnaces in series. These furnaces were constructed of
Inconel
Inconel is a registered trademark of Special Metals Corporation for a family of austenitic nickel-chromium-based superalloys.
Inconel alloys are oxidation-corrosion-resistant materials well suited for service in extreme environments subjected t ...
for the hydrofluorination of uranium dioxide to green salt. The reaction was: UO
2 + 4HF → UF
4 + 2H
2O.
Orange oxide was received from the Refinery in five-ton mobile hoppers, which were mounted on seal hoppers to feed the reduction furnace at a rate of approximately 375 pounds per hour for producing metal grade UF
4. The powder was agitated and carried through the reduction furnace by a ribbon flight screw.
Dissociated ammonia was metered to the reduction reactors and passed counter-currently to the bed of uranium oxide within the chemical reactor. The off-gases from the reduction reactors were passed to a hydrogen burner where the excess hydrogen was burned and then passed through a dust collector to remove any entrained uranium dioxide that might have been present. The UO
2 in the reduction furnace passed through a seal hopper and a feed screw to the first of the three hydrofluorination furnaces. The bed of UO
2 was moved through the hydrofluorination furnace by ribbon flight screws and contacted counter-currently by
hydrofluoric acid
Hydrofluoric acid is a Solution (chemistry), solution of hydrogen fluoride (HF) in water. Solutions of HF are colourless, acidic and highly Corrosive substance, corrosive. It is used to make most fluorine-containing compounds; examples include th ...
vapors. The UF
4 was removed from the third furnace and conveyed to a packaging station where the product was packaged in 10-gallon pails for use in the Metal Plant, or in 5-ton containers for shipment to the cascades. The off-gases containing water vapor formed in the reaction and excess hydrofluoric acid was removed from the first furnace and were sent to hydrofluoric acid recovery. The gases first passed to a partial condenser that removed all of the water in the form of 70% aqueous hydrofluoric acid. The remainder of the gases was then passed to a total condenser, which condenses the remainder of the acid as
anhydrous
A substance is anhydrous if it contains no water. Many processes in chemistry can be impeded by the presence of water; therefore, it is important that water-free reagents and techniques are used. In practice, however, it is very difficult to achie ...
hydrofluoric acid. The gases at this point contain only the nitrogen from seals and purge gases and small amounts of hydrofluoric acid that did not condense in the total condenser. These were passed through
potassium hydroxide
Potassium hydroxide is an inorganic compound with the formula K OH, and is commonly called caustic potash.
Along with sodium hydroxide (NaOH), KOH is a prototypical strong base. It has many industrial and niche applications, most of which exp ...
scrubbers to remove the last traces of acid and then discharged to the atmosphere.
Plant 5
Plant 5, the Metals Production Plant main process equipment consisted of eleven jolters, five filling machines, forty-four reduction furnaces, two breakout stations in the Reduction Area and twenty-eight vacuum casting furnaces in the Recast Area.
The conversion of UF to metal was accomplished by the
thermite
Thermite () is a pyrotechnic composition of metal powder and metal oxide. When ignited by heat or chemical reaction, thermite undergoes an exothermic reduction-oxidation (redox) reaction. Most varieties are not explosive, but can create brie ...
reduction of green salt with
magnesium
Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 of the periodic ta ...
in a refractory lined steel reaction vessel. 450 pounds of green salt were blended with approximately 72 pounds of magnesium. The resulting mixture was uniformly packed into the reduction "bomb", which has previously been lined with refractory slag in a jolting apparatus. Following these steps, the bomb was capped with refractory, sealed, and placed in one of 49 electric muffle furnaces. The furnace temperature was raised to approximately 1,225 °F and after about four hours the thermite type reduction reaction occurs: UF
4 + 2Mg → 2MgF
2 + U (metal). The charge was then allowed to separate and cool in the furnace for 10 minutes, after which it was removed and cooled to room temperature. Finally, the solidified uranium metal (derby) was separated from the slag and liner materials in a sequence of manual and mechanical operations that take place at the breakout station. The yields expected from this operation were about 95%. There are many documented explosions of these furnaces due to improperly packed refractory lining or a magnesium flare. Whatever the cause, the building would fill with radioactive smoke along with a real probability that molten uranium metal would come pouring out of the bottom of the furnace. Cleanup was performed by Ernie and Bert
The MgF
2 slag from the breakout station was conveyed to the slag recycling plant, where it was stored awaiting processing for reuse as refractory liner. The slag recovery process consists of crushing, pulverizing, and classifying the slag, which was then transferred back to the reduction area for use.
The next step in the plant consists of melting massive uranium metal and casting an ingot. Graphite crucibles were loaded with a charge of derbies and solid recycle scrap. The loaded crucibles were then mechanically positioned in induction melting and casting furnaces that were designed to give a maximum of flexibility and a minimum of human exposure to radioactivity. The uranium metal was melted under high vacuum to minimize contamination of the melt with
atmospheric gases
The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...
and to permit purification of the metal by distillation of volatile contaminants. At approximately 2,550 °F, the molten metal was poured into a graphite mold and the ingot was allowed to cool and solidify. Additional equipment was provided for the ingot to be removed from the mold, weighed, cropped, sampled, and stored for further processing in the Metals Fabrication Plant
lant 6 The ingot was approximately 7" in diameter, by 45" long, and weighs about 1,200 pounds.
Plant 6
Plant 6 was known as the Metals Fabrication Plant. "Ingots from Plant 5 and MCW
Mallinckrodt Chemical Works
Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals is an American-Irish domiciled manufacturer of specialty pharmaceuticals (namely, adrenocorticotropic hormone), generic drugs and imaging agents. In 2017 it generated 90% of its sales from the U.S. healthcare system. ...
were bloomed into billets and then rolled into rods that were straightened and machined to finished reactor slug dimensions. The finished product consists of either hollow or solid uranium slugs, designed for both internal and external cooling during pile irradiation. The product shipped from Plant 6 must pass rigid inspection for dimensional tolerances, metal quality, and surface conditions."
Uranium ingots were charged into an automated ingot preheat furnace where they were lowered into a Li
2CO
3-K
2CO
3 molten salt to be heated to 1,150–1,200 °F before being discharged singly to the mill table. The ingot was passed back and forth through the blooming mill until it was reduced to an oval billet approximately 2" to 2½". The ends of the billet were then cut off by a cropping shear before it was pushed into an equalizing furnace. The billet was reheated to 1,150–1,200 °F in the equalizing furnace and was then discharged into the finishing mill. The finishing mill consists of six stands that reduce the rod to the final diameter of 1.43" for
Hanford rods, and 1.12" for
Savannah River
The Savannah River is a major river in the southeastern United States, forming most of the border between the states of South Carolina and Georgia. Two tributaries of the Savannah, the Tugaloo River and the Chattooga River, form the norther ...
rods.
The rods were cut into 22-foot lengths as they leave the last stand by means of a flying shear. The Savannah rods were air cooled to room temperature on the cooling bed and then were cold straightened in a Medart Straightener. Rods to be beta heat treated by-pass the cooling bed and were lifted into the beta heat treating furnace by means of a hoist, to be held at 1,320–1,365 °F for 11–20 minutes and then quenched in cold water. After quenching, these rods were conveyed to the Medart straightener for straightening. The rods were located in -inch Acme-Gridley automatic screw machines where slugs were cut from the rods. The Hanford slugs were then placed in the Heald machine, which cuts the slugs to desired lengths and finishes and radiuses the ends. The Savannah River slugs were reduced to exact dimensions of size, surface, and straightness on a centerless grinder after which a contour was placed on the surface by a thread rolling machine. The slugs were numbered and put on a basket on a conveyor that passes through a degreasing tank, pickling tank, two rinse tanks and a hot air dryer before depositing the slug basket in the Inspection Department. The slugs were inspected for seams, striations, dimensions and handling defects with the good slugs being packed for shipment.
In addition to the solid slugs produced in Plant 6, hollow fuel element production was started about January 1, 1956. Hollow slug blanks were produced oversize on a 2⅝" RB-6 Acme-Gridley machine and were centerless ground before the drilling operation. The oversize slug blank was then loaded into a magazine loader on a 1⅝" Acme and thence through a four-step drilling operation making a hole halfway through the blank. The blank was then reversed and again placed in the magazine loader. After a four-step drilling sequence produces a hole all the way through the blank, a reamer was passed through this hole in the final position. The oversize Outer Diameter was turned concentric with the finished Inner Diameter on an automatic Sundstrand lathe. Subsequent operations were the same as those for the solid slug.
Plant 7
Plant 7 was known as the 6 to 4 Plant because UF
6 was converted to UF
4 here. It was basically a high-temperature gas-to-solid reactor system that only operated for two years: 1954–1956. To produce UF
4, the
uranium hexafluoride
Uranium hexafluoride (), (sometimes called "hex") is an inorganic compound with the formula UF6. Uranium hexafluoride is a volatile white solid that reacts with water, releasing corrosive hydrofluoric acid. The compound reacts mildly with alumin ...
was first heated to form a gaseous compound and was then reduced to UF
4. The reduction occurs in a reaction with hydrogen. UF
6 vapor and hydrogen will be mixed at the top of each reactor by means of a cyclonic type mixer. The bulk of the reduction reaction will occur at the top of the reactor. The UF
4 formed will be a powdery solid that falls like snow to the bottom of the reactor.
Plant 8
The Scrap Recovery Plant, the name given to Plant 8, process primarily involves upgrading uranium recycle materials from FMPC and off-site operations to prepare feed materials for head-end processing in the Refinery. Operations include drum washing, filtering Refinery tailings, operation of rotary kiln, box, muffle, and oxidation furnaces, and screening of furnace products.
Bomb liner material received from Plant 5 in mobile hoppers was emptied at an unloading station and elevated to a surge hopper. Material as needed was sent from the surge hopper through a jaw crusher and into a shelf type oxidation furnace. Here the metallic uranium was oxidized to
triuranium octoxide
Triuranium octoxide (U3O8) is a compound of uranium. It is present as an olive green to black, odorless solid. It is one of the more popular forms of yellowcake and is shipped between mills and refineries in this form.
U3O8 has potential long-ter ...
(U
3O
8). The material discharged from the furnace was lifted to a surge hopper and then as needed was sent through a roll mill and ground to -325 mesh size. It was then fed into carbon brick digestion tanks where the uranium was dissolved in
hydrochloric acid
Hydrochloric acid, also known as muriatic acid, is an aqueous solution of hydrogen chloride. It is a colorless solution with a distinctive pungent smell. It is classified as a strong acid
Acid strength is the tendency of an acid, symbol ...
containing a little
sodium chlorate
Sodium chlorate is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula Na ClO3. It is a white crystalline powder that is readily soluble in water. It is hygroscopic. It decomposes above 300 °C to release oxygen and leaves sodium chloride. Sever ...
. The undissolved solids were filtered off and dumped into a truck, which hauls the spent material to a scrap dump. Uranium in the filtrate was sent to a precipitation tank and precipitated with
ammonium hydroxide
Ammonia solution, also known as ammonia water, ammonium hydroxide, ammoniacal liquor, ammonia liquor, aqua ammonia, aqueous ammonia, or (inaccurately) ammonia, is a solution of ammonia in water. It can be denoted by the symbols NH3(aq). Although ...
(NH
4OH), in presence of
phosphoric acid
Phosphoric acid (orthophosphoric acid, monophosphoric acid or phosphoric(V) acid) is a colorless, odorless phosphorus-containing solid, and inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is commonly encountered as an 85% aqueous solution, w ...
to form UAP (uranyl ammonium phosphate). The resulting slurry was filtered and the uranium bearing cake was introduced to a drying furnace. The dried UAP was sent to the refinery. In addition to the wet system described, several furnaces were installed in the plant for massive metal oxidation, pyrohydrolysis, drying, chip and sludge combustion, etc. Most of the furnaces can be used for more than one of the above operations.
During the summer of 1962, a new facility was started in Plant 8 for the production of UF
4 by an aqueous precipitation technique known as the Winlo process. The Winlo process was developed for the low-cost chemical conversion of relatively pure uranium concentrates to green salt by a hydrometallurgical process. The feed to the plant Winlo system was made up of a combination of black oxide (U
3O
8) generated by burning metallic residues,
uranyl chloride
Uranyl chloride refers to inorganic compounds with the formula UO2Cl2(H2O)n where n = 0, 1, or 3. These are yellow-colored solids.
Synthesis and structures
The hydrates are obtained by dissolving uranyl sulfate or uranyl acetate in hydrochloric ...
solutions generated by dissolving massive metal residues in hydrochloric acid, and UAP produced from low-grade residues in the hydrometallurgical recovery system.
A brief description of the Winlo process follows:
# 1. UAP (UO
2NH
4PO
4) and (U
3O
8) were introduced through a new dumping station into an existing digester. Water, hydrochloric and nitric acids, and
copper sulfate Copper sulfate may refer to:
* Copper(II) sulfate, CuSO4, a common compound used as a fungicide and herbicide
* Copper(I) sulfate
Copper(I) sulfate, also known as cuprous sulfate, is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula Cu2 SO4. It ...
were added to the digester and the resultant slurry was agitated and heated to 200 °F by means of a new heat exchanger.
# The digested slurry was pumped to an existing Oliver precoat rotary filter.
# The filter cake was dropped to a drumming station, and the filtrate was pumped to one of two new agitated precipitation tanks. Each of these tanks contained a heat exchanger to heat the filtrate to 200 °F. Thirty percent hydrofluoric acid was metered to the filtrate from a storage tank. Then a metered quantity of
sulfur dioxide
Sulfur dioxide (IUPAC-recommended spelling) or sulphur dioxide (traditional Commonwealth English) is the chemical compound with the formula . It is a toxic gas responsible for the odor of burnt matches. It is released naturally by volcanic activ ...
was added from a storage tank during a period of 3 to 5 hours.
# The precipitated green salt was dropped by gravity to a pan-type filter where the green salt was washed and dried.
# The filtrate from the pan filter was neutralized in a new system and pumped to the chemical pit. The filter cake was dropped to a holoflite conveyor where it dried to UF
4*3/4H
2O and conveyed to a mobile hopper.
# These hoppers were transported to the Green Salt Plant and placed over an unused bank of reactors. The material was fed to these reactors countercurrent to a flow of anhydrous
HF. The reactors were heated to 850 °F to dehydrate the green salt hydrate, and the reactor bank product was blended with regular production green salt in existing equipment. The diluted hydrofluoric acid gas was handled by the existing off-gas system.
Plant 9
The primary purpose of Plant 9, the Special Products Plant was to process slightly enriched uranium and to cast larger ingots than those produced in Plant 5. The plant contains facilities for producing derbies, ingots, slugs, and washers of various enrichments. Construction of the plant as a
thorium
Thorium is a weakly radioactive metallic chemical element with the symbol Th and atomic number 90. Thorium is silvery and tarnishes black when it is exposed to air, forming thorium dioxide; it is moderately soft and malleable and has a high me ...
metal production process was completed in 1954 and the thorium process was begun in October 1954. Plant 9 was originally designed and constructed as a thorium metal production plant, yet had to be regarded as a semi-development works because of a lack of process information. The two basic processes, hydrofluoric acid precipitation of
thorium fluoride and induction
de-zincing and melting, which were used to start the plant, were not able to produce a pure metal. However, improvement in production techniques permitted the eventual development of an
oxalate
Oxalate (IUPAC: ethanedioate) is an anion with the formula C2O42−. This dianion is colorless. It occurs naturally, including in some foods. It forms a variety of salts, for example sodium oxalate (Na2C2O4), and several esters such as dimethyl o ...
precipitation process capable of producing pure thorium metal. Interest in this item declined during the 1956–1957 period and the plant operations evolved to the casting of enriched uranium ingots larger than those being processed in the Metals Production and Metals Fabrication Plants. Ingots were cast up to 13-inch diameter, 38-inch length and having a weight approaching 2,000 pounds. As such the processes and equipment used were almost identical to those of Plants 5 and 6.
Pilot Plant
The Pilot Plant consists of small size equipment for piloting refinery operations, hexafluoride reduction, derby pickling, ingot casting, and other equipment for special purposes. This plant was used for numerous process testing and experimental operations as well as being employed as a production facility for various processes. In the early years, derbies were produced there, in the manner described in Plant 5. Another process operated on a production scale was the direct conversion of uranium hexafluoride to green salt. This production process was operated with UF
6 that contained as much as 2.5% U235. A two-step procedure was used. First was the vaporization of UF
6: solid UF
6 in large 10 or 14 ton cylinders were heated in autoclaves at approximately 110 °C to produce gaseous UF
6. The next step was the reduction of the UF
6 gas, which involved mixing it with hydrogen gas at 480–650 °C in metal reactors to produce UF
4 powder. Hydrogen fluoride was a valuable byproduct of the reaction, which was: UF
6 + H
2 → UF
4 + 2HF. In addition, most of the thorium production activity at the FMPC took place inside the Pilot Plant. Thorium production activities began in 1964 and continued until 1980.
The Pilot Plant met the needs of development projects and special orders. Some of the equipment that was available for and had been used in enriched processing was as follows:
* Oxidation Furnace: with special high-temperature steel alloy pans enclosed cooling and unloading, and special two-stage dust collection.
* Vacuum Furnaces: two furnaces, with perclene cooling, and all auxiliaries including vacuum pumps, three power hacksaws, crucible and mold preparation facilities, and dust collection have been used at temperatures up to 3,360 °F (for melting thorium).
* Reduction to Metal: two systems representing step-down of size reduction in two stages from the full-scale production units for reducing UF
4 to metal were available in the Pilot Plant. The smaller system can handle full enrichments, the other intermediate enrichments Reduction pots, blenders, mandrels, furnaces and all auxiliary equipment were available for use as required.
* Heat Treating: a large, versatile, salt-bath unit was available with quench baths of molten salt, molten metal, water, or oil and a fast acting hoist.
* Shot-Blast Cleaning Unit: this unit can clean castings of any shape up to four feet in the largest dimension and employs uranium shot as the blasting medium.
* Machining Chips Recovery System: consisting of a chip crusher, washing system, pickling, drying, and finally briquetting in a hydraulic press. The machine has been used on materials enriched up to 2% U-235.
* Solvent Extraction System: three versatile sets of extraction columns, 2-inches, 6-inches and 9-inches in diameter, were available with all auxiliaries. This includes digesters, fume scrubbers, pumps, controls, boildown system, neutralizer, filters, and more than 12 stainless steel tanks ranging from 100 to 8000 gallons in capacity.
* Dry Preparation System: this includes two crushers, a small continuous ball mill, a multi-split mechanical screen, and a large dust collection system.
* UF
6 Hydrolysis - UO
2 Precipitation: a system for efficiently absorbing quantities of UF
6 in water at rates up to 800 pounds per hour was available. The UO
2F
2-HF solution can then be neutralized to
ammonium diuranate, filtered, washed, and dried to UO
2 using components of the system previously described above.
* Calciner: a small (6-inch diameter) Inconel-tube rotary calciner with precision electric heating was available for jobs such as UF
4 dehydration, ADU (Ammonia Diuranate) calcining, and the like. Its small size meets geometry limits for nuclear safety.
* Decladding: a rubber-lined tank was set up and used as needed to remove zirconium cladding from reject fuel cores. Equipment for removal of other metals, such as steel or aluminum, was available also.
* UF
6 to UF
4 Production Facility: conversion UF
6 to UF
4 using
cracked ammonia. HF was produced as a by-product.
Fernald Closure Project
![Fluor Fernald Workers](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/Fluor_Fernald_Workers.jpg)
The Fernald Closure Project is a program run by the
United States Department of Energy
The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and manages the research and development of nuclear power and nuclear weapons in the United Stat ...
to clean up the former
uranium
Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weak ...
processing site Fernald Feed Materials Production Center.
In 1990, Congress approved closure of the site and environmental cleanup of the facility. Fluor Fernald, part of the
Fluor Corporation
Fluor Corporation is an American multinational engineering and construction firm headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is a holding company that provides services through its subsidiaries in the following areas: oil and gas, industrial and infrastru ...
, was awarded the contract in 1992 for cleanup of the site. Fluor Fernald completed their portion of the cleanup in October 2006, 12 years ahead of schedule and 7.8 billion dollars below the original cost estimate.
The waste was permanently buried at
Waste Control Specialists
Waste Control Specialists LLC (WCS) is a treatment, storage, & disposal company dealing in radioactive, hazardous, and mixed wastes. Developed and controlled by Texas billionaire investor Harold Simmons until his death at the end of 2013, the com ...
.
The site is permanently unfit for human habitation, according to federal scientists, and "will have to be closely monitored essentially forever."
Cleanup costs were estimated at $1 billion over 10 years.
Fernald Preserve
![Fernaldplatinumcenter](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/Fernaldplatinumcenter.jpg)
The $4.4 billion cleanup of the surface areas was completed in December 2006, and the site was turned into the Fernald Preserve
nature preserve
A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...
. Thousands of tons of contaminated concrete, sludge, liquid waste, and soil were removed from the site and replaced with man-made
wetland
A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...
s and greenery.
Ongoing cleanup operations include routine monitoring of the environmental conditions with test wells, including the uranium groundwater plume extending south of the plant area, storage of residual waste onsite, and filtering of uranium contamination from the
Great Miami River
The Great Miami River (also called the Miami River) (Shawnee: ''Msimiyamithiipi'') is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accesse ...
aquifer. These cleanup operations, along with restrictions on establishing new wells in areas exceeding water contaminant limits, will continue for the foreseeable future.
[http://www.lm.doe.gov/documents/sites/oh/fernald/secondfive_year_review.pdf EPA 5-year report]
Citations
General references
# Golightly, Eric J. ''Site History of the Fernald Environmental Management Project''. US Department of Energy, Office of Environmental Restoration & Waste Management. History Associates Incorporated. January, 1993.
# Ross, K. N., et al. ''Exposure Study of Plant 1 Personnel to Airborne Radioactive Dust''. Health and Safety Division, National Lead Company of Ohio. April 9, 1968.
# Industrial Hygiene Branch, Health and Safety Laboratory, National Lead Company of Ohio. ''Feed Materials Processing Center Preliminary Survey-Plants 1,2,3, and 7: Occupational Exposure to Airborne Contaminants''. September 8, 1953.
# Ross, K. N., et al. ''Exposure Study of Plants 2&3 Personnel to Airborne Radiaoactive Dust''. Health and Safety Division, National Lead Company of Ohio. 1967.
# Industrial Hygiene Branch, Health and Safety Laboratory, National Lead Company of Ohio. ''Feed Materials Processing Center Plant 4, Occupational Exposures to Airborne Contaminants''. July 7, 1955.
# Ross, K. N., et al. ''Exposure Study of Plant 4 Personnel to Airborne Radioactive Dust 1967''. Health and Safety Division, National Lead Company of Ohio. April 24, 1968.
# Boback, Michael W. and Richard C. Heatherton. ''Recent Bio-Assay Activities at National Lead Company of Ohio''. NLCO-933. September 28, 1964.
# Ross, K. N., et al. ''Exposure Study of Plant 6 Rolling Mill Personnel to Airborne Radioactive Dust''. Health and Safety Division, National Lead Company of Ohio. March 14, 1968.
# Ross, K. N., et al. ''Exposure Study of Plant 8 Personnel to Airborne Radioactive Dust''. Health and Safety Division, National Lead Company of Ohio. April 16, 1968.
# Costa, James J. ''Operations Procedure Manual for the Sampling Plant (Preliminary)''. Production Division, National Lead Company of Ohio. June 5, 1952.
# Consiglio, J. T. ''Procedures for Handling African Metals Corporation Materials at Fernald''. FMPC-164. Production Division, National Lead Company of Ohio. August 1952.
# Yarborough, Charles E. and Frank L. Chinery. ''Standard Operating Procedure for Q-11 Ore (Pitchblende) at Fernald Sampling Plant''. NLCO-560. Production Division, National Lead of Ohio. April 1, 1955.
# "Description of the Feed Materials Production Center, Fernald Area Office." Compiled by the Fernald Area Staff. Reproduced by the Reports and Control Branch, Oak Ridge Operations Office. January 1958.
# Andrew, E. A., et al. "Digestion of Uranium Ore Concentrates in a Continuous, Three-Stage System." Summary Technical Report for the Period October 1, 1961, to December 31, 1961. NLCO-845. January 24, 1962.
# Cavendish, J. H. ''Re-Extraction of Uranium from Tri-n-Butyl Phosphate-Kerosene Solvent''. NLCO-883. August 30, 1963.
# Huntington, C. W. and W. Burkhardt. ''Denitration of Uranyl Nitrate by a Continuous-Pot Process''. NLCO-854. October 22, 1962.
# Wolf, R. B. ''Standard Operating Procedure for Plant 2 Hot Raffinate Treatment''. FMPC-283. Production Division, National Lead Company of Ohio. July 23, 1953.
# ''Standard Operating Procedure for Plant 2 Refinery Sump Recovery System.'' FMPC-229. n. d.
# National Lead Company of Ohio, Contract Operator of the Feed Materials Production Center for the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. ''The Feed Materials Production Center''. NCLO-950. n. d.
# Scheidler, T.P. "The Recovery of Uranium from Magnesium Fluoride Slag via a Low Temperature Nitric Acid Leaching Process." Summary Technical Report for the Period April 1, 1964, to June 30, 1964. NLCO-920. August 19, 1964.
# Savage, J. Mead and R. Fugate. ''History of the Operation of the Feed Materials Production Center''. National Lead Company of Ohio, Inc. est. date March, 1985.
# Toye, R. H. ''Standard Operating Procedure for Operation of the Orange Oxide Pneumatic Conveying System''. NLCO-546. Production Division, National Lead of Ohio. March 30, 1955.
# Melius, James. ''Historic FMPC Process Descriptions''. October 30, 1989.
# Torbeck, F. W. ''et al.'' ''Standard Operating Procedures of Plant #4''. FMPC-96. National Lead Company of Ohio. n. d.
# Cahalane, Robert and Frank Torbeck. ''Standard Operating Procedure for Plant 4 – Reactor Area''. FMPC-297. Production Division, National Lead Company of Ohio. August 27, 1953.
# Mahaffey, J. W. and Plant 5 Staff. ''Standard Operating Procedure for Metal Production''. FMPC-108. Division, National Lead Company of Ohio. January 16, 1953.
# Yocco, A. S. ''Standard Operating Procedure – Rolling Mill Section – Building 3006''
lant 6 FMPC-95 Rev. 2. Production Division, National Lead Company of Ohio. January 1953.
# Magoun, John W. Jr. ''Standard Operating Procedure for Plant 6 – Rolling Mill''. NLCO-598. Production Division, National Lead of Ohio. November 1, 1955.
# Gardener, R. L. ''UF
6 to UF
4 Operator Training Program''. National Lead of Ohio, Inc. November 28, 1984.
# Cavendish, J. H. ''Development and Application of the Winlo Process for the Production of Uranium Tetrafluoride''. NLCO-974. June, 1966.
# ''A Closer Look at Uranium Metal Production: A Technical Overview''. Feed Materials Production Center, Fernald, OH. Date of Issue: March 1988.
# ''Uranium Feed Materials Production Center''. Operated by National Lead of Ohio, Inc. for the Department of Energy. Est. Date 1984.
# Cavendish, J. H. et al. ''Hydrometallurgical Processing of Uranium-Bearing Residue Materials to UF
4''. NLCO-873. February, 1963.
# Burgett, R. "Production of UF
4 by the Winlo Process" in Highlights - Research and Development Accomplishments. NLCO-872. March 25, 1963.
# Kleinsmith, Paul L. ''Standard Operating Procedure for Production of Thorium Ingots''. NLCO-641. Production Division, National Lead of Ohio. June 21, 1956.
# Palmer, Willard E. ''Standard Operating Procedure for Pilot Plant – Metallurgical Area. Reduction to Metal of Enriched UF
4 Containing Up To 3% U-235''. NLCO-668 (Rev. 2). Technical Division, National Lead of Ohio. April 27, 1960.
# Palmer, Willard E. ''Standard Operating Procedure for Pilot Plant – Metallurgical Area. Melting and Casting Uranium Metal Containing Up To 3% U-235''. NLCO-691 (Rev. 1). Technical Division, National Lead of Ohio. September 5, 1957, Revised May 25, 1959.
# Nelli, Joseph R. ''Standard Operating Procedure for Two-Inch Pulse Column''. NLCO-614. Technical Division, National Lead of Ohio. February 27, 1956.
External links
The following are links that provide additional information about the Fernald site and the health risks associated with its processes:
A brief description of the history of the sitewas issued on the 50th anniversary of the opening of the plant.
which includes old photos as well as more links. Use of the SiteMap will help to quickly find information.
* Th
includes a description of the Fernald Dosimetry Reconstruction Project.
Includes a description of the Fernald Dosimetry Reconstruction Project and the Fernald Risk Assessment Project.
CDC
CDC Background description of the Fernald Risk Assessment ProjectWhere to find more information on CancerCDC
A first-hand account of work at Fernald Feed materials Production Center* {{cite news, title=Death, lies and uranium: Unraveling the disappearance of David Bocks, first=Amber, last=Hunt, work=The Cincinnati Enquirer, publisher=Gannett Company, date=March 17, 2020, access-date=March 17, 2020, url=https://www.cincinnati.com/in-depth/accused/2020/03/17/accused-podcast-david-bocks-fernald-case/4931126002/
Buildings and structures in Butler County, Ohio
Environmental disasters in the United States
Buildings and structures in Hamilton County, Ohio
Nuclear weapons infrastructure of the United States
United States Department of Energy facilities
Superfund sites in Ohio
Waste disposal incidents in the United States