Plutonium spontaneously ignited in a container of nearly 600 tons of combustible material. The fire burned 2,000 kgs of plutonium giving off plutonium oxide, causing approx. $45 million worth of damage. Soil samples from around the plant were contaminated with plutonium. (Private investigation by Dr. Edward Martell was necessary because the Atomic Energy Commission, which owned the plant and Dow Chemicals, which operated it under contract, refused to do the sampling in the area.)