A maintenance employee was involved in a pipe replacement project in the
Hydrogen Fluoride (HF) Building. The employee was leaning on a pipe and received a HF exposure through his
PPE [personal protective equipment and clothing] onto his abdomen. The employee was immediately placed under a safety shower and an on-site emergency response was initiated.
EMT's applied
calcium gluconate and the employee was transported to on-site medical clinic. The employee was not contaminated with any radioactive material. The employee was later transferred to off-site medical. The employee's abdomen was reddened and had some blistering, but exposure is not considered life threatening.
AII work in the HF building has been stopped pending the completion of an investigation.
The licensee stated that the pipe had been flushed with water and steam prior to starting the maintenance evolution. The amount of fluid in the pipe was described as residual. There was no ongoing release of HF and no other employees were involved. The licensee is providing this as a notification under 10CFR70 App A (a) and 10CFR70.61(b)(4).
The licensee plans to notify the NRC Regional Staff (Thomas).
- * * UPDATE FROM PHILLIP OLLIS VIA FAX TO JOHN KNOKE AT 1226 EDT ON 4/13/11 * * *
The employee was released from the hospital with no restrictions. As such, the event classification is being amended to 10 CFR 70.61(c)(4)."
Notified NMSS (King Stablein), R2DO (Kathleen O'Donohue)
- * * UPDATE FROM PHILLIP OLLIS (VIA FAX) TO HOWIE CROUCH AT 1548 EDT ON 4/15/11 * * *
As a result of the root cause analysis, additional IROFS [Items Relied On For Safety] are needed and will be declared. Additional reporting for this event to include 10 CFR 70 Appendix A(b)(1) as the GNF [Global Nuclear Fuels] ISA [Integrated Safety Analysis] did not consider HF as a high consequence event.
Notified
NMSS (Stablein) and R2DO (O'Donohue).