Keep an eye on the shift supervisor.

"It was noticed that the solution was a combination of organic and aqueous solution [gunk in the tank.] Two operators [instructed by the shift supervisor] used an improvised setup to decant the dark brown [concentrated plutonium] organic solution. The shift supervisor then left to tend to other duties. During the second filling of the bottle, a mixture of aqueous and organic solution was drawn into the bottle. As a result, the operators stopped filling the bottle."

One operator asked the shift supervisor for further instructions. He was told to continue decanting the solution. This operator "poured it into the 60 l vessel for a second time. After [most] of the solution had been poured out, the operator saw a flash of light, and felt a pulse of heat. Startled, the operator dropped the bottle, ran down the stairs, and from the room."

Suddenly the plutonium was too concentrated, and he had accidentally started a nuclear chain reaction! The alarms sounded, and everyone evacuated. So far, no fatal errors. But a second criticality happens while everyone is safely underground. Here's where it gets good.

"The shift supervisor insisted that the radiation control supervisor permit him to enter the work area. The radiation control supervisor resisted, but finally accompanied the shift supervisor back into the building. As they approached the basement room where the accident had occurred, the radiation levels continued to rise. The radiation control supervisor prohibited the shift supervisor from proceeding. In spite of the prohibition, the shift supervisor deceived the radiation control supervisor and entered the room."

His "subsequent actions were not observed by anyone. However, there was evidence that he attempted to pour its contents into a floor drain. His actions caused a third excursion, larger than the first two, activating the alarm system in both buildings."

So, with things more or less under control, the shift supervisor tricks the radiation control supervisor, goes into the room full of plutonium, and proceeds to set off another nuclear chain reaction!

"The shift supervisor, covered in Plutonium organic solution, immediately returned to the underground tunnel. He died about one month after the accident," having received four times the fatal dose of radiation. Everyone else survived.

Even if the shift supervisor had lived, he would still qualify for a Darwin Award. That much radiation causes sterility.

Mayak is a nuclear fuel processing center in central Russia that had a number of accidents. They were at the time also performing an experiment in a new purification technique for making plutonium.

The report summarizes: "An unfavorable geometry vessel was being used in an improvised and unapproved operation as a temporary vessel for storing plutonium organic solution."

To translate to normal human language -- they were using unsafe equipment to measure out liquid plutonium. Keep an eye on the shift supervisor.

"When taking samples, it was noticed that the solution in both vials was a combination of organic and aqueous solution."

They saw some gunk in the tank.

"In the presence of and under instructions from the shift supervisor, two operators used the improvised setup to begin decanting the dark brown (indicative of high plutonium concentration) organic solution. The shift supervisor then left to tend to other duties....During the second filling of the bottle, a mixture of aqueous and globules of organic solution were being drawn into the bottle. As a result the operators stopped filling the bottle. One operator then went on to other duties while the other went to the shift supervisor for further instructions.

Under instructions from the supervisor, the second operator resumed the decanting of the solution from tank 2 to the bottle....Having disconnected the bottle from the hoses, the operator then poured its contents in the 60 l vessel for a second time. After almost all of the solution had been poured out of the bottle, the operator saw a flash of light and felt a pulse of heat. Startled, the operator dropped the bottle, ran down the stairs and from the room."

They tried pouring some of the liquid off. Suddenly the plutonium was too concentrated, and they had accidentally started a nuclear chain reaction.

The alarms go off and everyone evacuated the building to the designated safe area, an underground tunnel. So far, no fatal errors, just stupid ones. There is a second, minor criticality that happens while everyone's safely underground.

Here's where it gets good.

"The shift supervisor insisted that the radiation control supervisor permit him to enter the work area where the accident had occurred. The radiation control supervisor resisted, but finally accompanied the shift supervisor back into the building. As they approached the basement room where the accident had occurred, the gamma–radiation levels continued to rise. The radiation control supervisor prohibited the shift supervisor from proceeding. In spite of the prohibition, the shift supervisor deceived the radiation control supervisor into leaving the area and entered the room where the accident had occurred.

The shift supervisor’s subsequent actions were not observed by anyone. However, there was evidence that he attempted to either remove the 60 l vessel from the platform, or to pour its contents down the stairs and into a floor drain that led to a waste receiving tank....Whatever his actions, they caused a third excursion, larger than the first two, activating the alarm system in both buildings."

So with things more or less under control, the shift supervisor tricks the radiation control supervisor into going away, goes back into the room full of plutonium, and proceeds to set off *another* nuclear chain reaction.

"The shift supervisor, covered in Plutonium organic solution, immediately exited the room and returned to the underground tunnel."

I bet he did.

"The shift supervisor died about one month after the accident" having received four times the fatal dose of radiation. Everyone else survived, although the worker who set off the first criticality lost a leg and a hand.

Even if the shift supervisor had lived, he would still have qualified for a Darwin Award. That much radiation causes, among other things, sterility.

Submitted on 05/22/2007

Submitted by: Edmund Schluessel
Reference: _A Review of Criticality Accidents_, 2000 revision, Los Alamos National Laboratory document LA-13638

Copyright © 2007 DarwinAwards.com

Shadow said:
Definitely Toss: Bystanders Hurt
one of the bystanders was injured, so i am not sure...

James said:
Definitely Keep: Darwin Award
The bystander hurt (the fellow who lost a hand and leg) was injured in what I'd call a separate incident entirely. The stupidity here lies not with the bystander (who may have been incompetent, careless, clumsy, or just doing his job under unsafe circumstances) but with the shift supervisor who acted with complete arrogance AND stupidity! I'll go DA! Thanks, Edmund!

Bruce said:
Definitely Keep: Darwin Award
I agree with James here. In fact I'd say that the first individual deserves an HM since he seemed to be aware that what he was doing wasn't the proper way of doing it. The supervisor certainly deserves a full DA for his stupidity in allowing the event to occur and then trying unsuccessfully to cover it up. Thanks, Edmund!

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