Small "explosion" at uranium plant in Superman town

Sep 9 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Todd C. Frankel St. Louis Post-Dispatch

A small explosion over the weekend at Honeywell's Metropolis Works Plant in deep southern Illinois has added fuel to the fire of an ongoing labor dispute.

The incident occurred Sunday in a small town that bills itself as Superman's hometown. It was just one day after company-hired replacement workers restarted production following a two-month-long shutdown of the nation's sole uranium conversion plant.

No one was injured. No damage was done to the facility. And there was not any release or exposure of dangerous materials, according to the company and regulators.

The lockout was the subject of a Post-Dispatch article in early August, detailing how the Ohio River town was nervous about replacement workers handling potentially dangerous materials during the lockout of 220 union workers that began on June 28.

And the incident from last weekend inflamed both sides.

Even naming what happened was in play.

The union said it was "an explosion" and that replacement workers "blew up" part of the plant.

Honeywell said it was "a noise" and not unexpected. In a statement, Honeywell called the union's characterization of what happened "irresponsible and wrong."

A spokesman for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission told the Post-Dispatch today that its inspectors had been on the scene at the time of the incident.

The explosion took place during the venting of hydrogen gas, spokesman Roger Hannah said. It was in a non-regulated area of operation, meaning outside the handling of yellow-cake uranium, which the plant processes into uranium hexafluoride -- which is then sent to facilities around the world for enriching as a nuclear fuel.

NRC inspectors were expected to remain at the Honeywell plant at least through the weekend, to observe how workers handled the resumption of hexafluoride production, Hannah said.