False: The fire at a Tennessee uranium processing facility was planned and part of a population control agenda.

Context

Multiple TikTok videos, each with approximately 3,000 views, claim that the recent fire at a Tennessee uranium processing facility was planned as part of a population control agenda orchestrated by elites. One post claims that "This not an accident, these have been planned to poison you," others carry hashtags such as #governmentcorruption and #populationcontrol, and some features news footage that insinuates the fire was planned. Many comments on these videos further this conspiracy theory, while others state it was a coordinated attack. 

The fire occurred in a uranium processing facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, on February 22. USA Today reported that the fire started in building 9212 at 9:14 a.m. By 12:30 p.m., all employees were evacuated and accounted for. The official Y-12 Twitter account also reported no off-site impact, and no injuries or contamination occurred. 

In Fact

There is no evidence the incident was planned or resulted from a coordinated attack. The Y-12 Complex told Logically, "In the event on February 22, chips of uranium metal from machining activity had been processed for storage in accordance with standard operating procedures. While in process, the material experienced rapid exothermic oxidation—a known hazard for which we have established plans. It occurred under an exhaust hood, within process equipment."

As mentioned by Knox News, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) was already concerned about the handling of uranium at the Y-12 facility. A DNFSB report identified previous incidents at the facility and stated that the actions of facility operators, and sometimes Y-12 firefighters, were inconsistent and did not follow DOE guidance.

USA Today reported that officials stated that the fire was contained and that air monitors did not go off, meaning that there was no release of radioactive materials: the fire did not cause any leaks or contamination. Y-12 also told Logically, "The event was contained within process equipment, under a hood, in an area that is smaller than one square foot." While conspiracy videos on TikTok claim it is part of a plan to poison the population, no such poisoning has occurred due to the incident.

The Y-12 facility further stated, "We have procedures with multiple layers of safety redundancies in place to minimize the probability of such events and to protect workers, the public, and the environment."

Conspiracies targeted at large-scale and industrial incidents have gained traction in the weeks following the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment. Similar claims were also made that suggested the Ohio train derailment and resulting chemical spill were planned as part of the elite's depopulation agenda, but these are without merit. The Wall Street Journal cites a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board which suggests that the likely cause of the derailment was an overheated wheel bearing on one of the railcars. CBS News refers to railroad workers, who stated that the train's "excessive length and weight" might have also contributed to the train's derailment. The train derailment and the incident at the Y-12 uranium processing plant are industrial accidents and are not linked. 

Conspiracies relating to accidents and industrial incidents are not a new phenomenon. In 2022, Logically investigated claims that fires within food processing facilities were planned and part of a coordinated effort to create food shortages artificially. However, there was no evidence the fires were linked or planned.

The Verdict

No evidence exists that the fire at the Tennessee uranium processing facility was planned or linked to a depopulation agenda. Therefore, we have marked this claim as false.