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Sequoyah Fuels Corporation owned and operated a uranium processing plant near Gore, Oklahoma. The company was created in 1983 as a subsidiary of
On January 4, 1986, Sequoyah Fuels Corporation experienced a rupture which killed 26-year-old worker, James Harrison and hospitalized 37 of the 42 onsite workers. The ''
New York Times
{{Coord, 35.5024, -95.0830, dim:500_region:US-OK, display=title Nuclear fuel companies Uranium mining in the United States Nuclear technology in the United States Energy companies of the United States Radioactively contaminated areas Mining in Oklahoma Radiation accidents and incidents
Kerr-McGee
The Kerr-McGee Corporation, founded in 1929, was an American energy company involved in oil exploration, production of crude oil, natural gas, perchlorate and uranium mining and milling in various countries. On June 23, 2006, Anadarko Petroleum ...
. In 1988 it was sold to General Atomics
General Atomics is an American energy and defense corporation headquartered in San Diego, California, specializing in research and technology development. This includes physics research in support of nuclear fission and nuclear fusion energy. Th ...
.
Uranium processing plant
The plant is located nearGore, Oklahoma
Gore is a town in western Sequoyah County, Oklahoma, United States. It is part of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 977 at the 2010 census, an increase of 15 percent over the figure of 850 recorde ...
, close to the Illinois River and Interstate 40
Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west Interstate Highway running through the south-central portion of the United States. At a length of , it is the third-longest Interstate Highway in the country, after I-90 and I-80. From west to ea ...
. The plant started construction in 1968 and began operation in 1970. It converted yellowcake uranium
Yellowcake (also called urania) is a type of uranium concentrate powder obtained from leach solutions, in an intermediate step in the processing of uranium ores. It is a step in the processing of uranium after it has been mined but before fu ...
into 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 ...
. In 1987 it started converting depleted uranium hexafluoride into depleted 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 ...
. The plant ceased operation in 1993. After a leak and explosion in 1986 left one worker dead and extreme groundwater and soil contamination across the 600-acre site. See Kerr-McGee
The Kerr-McGee Corporation, founded in 1929, was an American energy company involved in oil exploration, production of crude oil, natural gas, perchlorate and uranium mining and milling in various countries. On June 23, 2006, Anadarko Petroleum ...
article for citations
The plant was operated under Kerr-McGee Nuclear Corporation. In 1983 KMNC split into Quivira Mining Corporation
The Quivira Mining Corporation (sometimes spelled Quivera) was a uranium mining company owned by Kerr-McGee. It was established in 1983.
In 1983 Quivira became operator of Kerr-McGee's old 1958 uranium mill at Ambrosia Lake, New ...
and Sequoyah Fuels Corporation. The latter was given control of the plant. In 1988 Sequoyah Fuels Corporation was sold to General Atomics
General Atomics is an American energy and defense corporation headquartered in San Diego, California, specializing in research and technology development. This includes physics research in support of nuclear fission and nuclear fusion energy. Th ...
.
In 2008 a company named International Isotopes
International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations".
International may also refer to:
Music Albums
* ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011
* ''International'' (New Order album), 2002
* ''International'' (The T ...
said it would buy equipment and intellectual property from the Sequoyah Fuels Corp plant. The equipment would be used in a new location. It would be used for converting depleted uranium hexafluoride to depleted 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 ...
.
The 1986 Sequoyah Corporation Fuels Release in Oklahoma
On January 4, 1986, Sequoyah Fuels Corporation experienced a rupture which killed 26-year-old worker, James Harrison and hospitalized 37 of the 42 onsite workers. The ''American Journal of Public Health
The ''American Journal of Public Health'' is a monthly peer-reviewed public health journal published by the American Public Health Association that covers health policy and public health. The journal was established in 1911 and its stated miss ...
'' describes the plant as having "never fully recovered" from the accident.Doug Brugge, et al, "The Sequoyah Corporation Fuels Release and the Church Rock Spill", ''American Journal of Public Health'', September 2007, Vol, 97, No. 9, pp. 1596–1597.
Another accident involving the release of UF6 occurred in 1992. The plant ceased production operations in 1993 and was decommissioned.
See also
*Church Rock uranium mill spill
The Church Rock uranium mill spill occurred in the U.S. state of New Mexico on July 16, 1979, when United Nuclear Corporation's tailings disposal pond at its uranium mill in Church Rock breached its dam. The accident remains the largest release ...
*Uranium mining in the United States
Uranium mining in the United States produced of U3O8 in 2019, 88% lower than the 2018 production of of U3O8 and the lowest US annual production since 1948. The 2019 production represents 0.3% of the anticipated uranium fuel requirements of t ...
*Kerr-McGee
The Kerr-McGee Corporation, founded in 1929, was an American energy company involved in oil exploration, production of crude oil, natural gas, perchlorate and uranium mining and milling in various countries. On June 23, 2006, Anadarko Petroleum ...
*General Atomics
General Atomics is an American energy and defense corporation headquartered in San Diego, California, specializing in research and technology development. This includes physics research in support of nuclear fission and nuclear fusion energy. Th ...
*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 ...
References
External links
New York Times
{{Coord, 35.5024, -95.0830, dim:500_region:US-OK, display=title Nuclear fuel companies Uranium mining in the United States Nuclear technology in the United States Energy companies of the United States Radioactively contaminated areas Mining in Oklahoma Radiation accidents and incidents