IR 05000054/1981002
| ML20043C429 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | 05000054, 07000687 |
| Issue date: | 09/28/1981 |
| From: | Zibulsky H NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION I) |
| To: | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20043C415 | List: |
| References | |
| FOIA-90-97 50-054-81-02, 50-54-81-2, 70-0687-81-04, 70-687-81-4, NUDOCS 9006050177 | |
| Download: ML20043C429 (8) | |
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U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION OFFICE OF INSPECTION AND ENFORCEMENT Region I 50-54/81-02 R-81 Report Nos. 70-687/81-04 License Nos. SNM-639 Safeguards Group 1 Licensee:
Union Carbide Corporation u ed N
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Facility Name:
Sterling Forest Research Center Inspection at:
Tuxedo, New York Inspection Conducted:
July 13-16, 1981 Date of Last Material Control and Accounting Inspection:
March 16-20, 1981 Type of Inspection:
Unannounced Material Control & Accounting Inspectors:
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H. Zibulsky,CChemist date signed
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a 0. J. HolpdW) Nathematical4 V date signed tati}ician Approved by:
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Jpfr s HUJoynAr, Acting Chief, daty sig'ned Material Control and Accountability Section, Technical Inspection Branch Inspection Summary:
Inspection on July 13-16, 1981 (Combined Report Nos. 50-54/81-02 and 70-687/81-04)
Areas Inspected:
Routine,-unannounced inspection by regional based inspectors of nuclear material control and acctunting including:
Action on Previous Inspection Findings; Measurement and Statistical Controls; Inventory and Inventory Verification; Records and Reports; and Management of Material Control System.
The inspection involved 53 inspector-hours onsite by two NRC regional based inspectors.
THE INFORMATION ON THIS PAGE IS DEEMED TO BE APPROPRIATE S-F1-81-l l 5 FOR PUBLIC DISCLOSURE PURSUANT TO 10 CFR 2.790 Copylof7 Copie THE REPORT DETAILS CONTAIN
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9006050177 900330 PDR FOIA HALL 90-97 paa
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I Results:
The licensee was found to be in compliance with NRC requirements in the areas examined during the inspection with the following exception:
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Failure to perform a management review and audit of material control and accounting procedures and records within the required time frame (Paragraph 8),
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OETAILS 1.
Persons Contacted J. McGovern, Manager, Radiochemical Production
- F. Morse, Manager, Radiochemical Process Engineering
- N. Petrillo, Manager, Quality Control, CinttChem
- R. Quackenbush, Manager, Production, Cintichem
- 0. Grogan, Manager, Radiochemical Production
- M. Bordoni, Manager, Radiopharmaceutical Operations
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- W. Leinh W er, Supervisor, Quality Control
- L. Theln. Supervisor, Health Physics The inspectors also interviewed other licensee employees associated with measurements, plant operations, and nuclear material control.
- denotes those present at the exit interview.
2.
Licensee Action on Previous Inspection Findinas
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(Closed) Noncompliance Item (70-687/79-01-01).
Failure to complete the required training of personnel involved in material control and accounting requirements, as required by Section 1.3 of the licensee's Fundamental Nuclear Material Control Plan (FNMCP).
The inspector reviewed the licensee's training records and determined that the required
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training.was completed for 1980, and training for 1981 was nearly completed.
(Closed) Unresolved Item (70-687/79-01-02).
Licensee's material control and accounting program required 16 hours1.851852e-4 days <br />0.00444 hours <br />2.645503e-5 weeks <br />6.088e-6 months <br /> of training, but it could not be
. determined if each individual. received 16 hours1.851852e-4 days <br />0.00444 hours <br />2.645503e-5 weeks <br />6.088e-6 months <br /> of training since the program involved self-study rather than oral instruction.
The licensee made a change to their FNMCP, deleting the 16-hour requirement, and this change was accepted by the NRC's Material Control and Accountability Licensing Branch (MCALB).
(Closed) Deviation (70-687/79-01-03) Failure to correct noncompliance item 70-687/78-01-02, by October 3, 1978 as the licensee agreed to in their response to the item.
This item involved failure to perform an audit as required by Section 8.2.1 of the FNMCP. The licensee corrected the noncompliance item by performing an audit after October 3,1978.
An audit was then performed within 12 months, as required, in November 1979.
3.
Exit Interview The inspectors met with the licensee representatives (denoted in paragraph 1) at the conclusion of the inspection on July 16, 1981. The
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inspectors summarized the scope and findings of the inspection.
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findings of the inspection were further discussed in telephone conversations on July 17 and 26, 1981 between Mr. McGovern of Union Carbide and Mr. Joyner of Regien I.
4.
MC 927138-Independent Inspection Effort No items of noncompliance were noted.
The inspection results were attained through the inspecter's observation of the licensee's adherence to their health and safety procedures within the' material access area and the reactor area.
The inspectors noted that personnel contamination monitors were operating and being used by employees upon exiting from the processing area.
5.
MC 85206B-Measurement and Statistical Controls a.
License SNM-639 No items of noncompliance were noted.
The inspection results were attained through (1) a review of the licensee's own internal reviews of the measurement control program for 1980 and 1981; and (2) an evaluation of the licensee's Davies-Gray measurement system whica was used to measure the uranium content of their feed material.
The licensee performed an internal review of their measurement control program on April 2, 1980.
A more thorough review of the program was performed on January 12, 1981 which resulted in a significant number of findings.
Additionally, the internal audit review indicated a seriog. lack of management control over the measurement contro'; plan cecause of a number of organizational deficiencies.
Evinence of this lack of management control was the absence of a functioning me u urement control coordinator.
(A measurement control coordirator was subsequently appointed on June 8,1981).
On April 6, 1981, the licensee provided the audit group with a brief response to the audit findings.
The response indicated which items had been corrected, which items would require a change to the FNMCP, and which items would be corrected with the appointment of a measurement control cocr'dinator.
The response did not provide any specific detail on uhat was done to correct each item, nor what would specifically be done for those items not yet corrected. These matters were discussed with the licensee during the exit interview.
The status of each of these internal audit findings will be reviewed during a future inspection.
The licensee analyzed the uranium content of standards that were prepared with normal uranium and certified by the New Brunswick Laboratory. One analyst using the modified Davies and Gray titration procedure performed the analyses.
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The two uranyl nitrate standard solutions were as follows:
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- M = 0.01670g U/g
- N = 0.01940g U/g The uranium concentrations were not within the normal range of the material the licensee routinely analyzes.
The standards were about three times the concentration the licensee analyzes.
The small aliquots necessary to be taken for analyses magnified any errors.
The two uranyl nitrate standard solutions had mean relative biases of +0.58% and +2.64%, both of which were statistically significant.
Since the standards analyzed were not in the range of n,aterial normally measured by the licensee, no further action is recommended at this time.
Standards more representative of the licensee's uranium concentration are being prepared for Region I by the New Brunswick Laboratory.
During a subsequent inspection, these standards will be analyzed by the licensee for evaluation of their uranium assay titration.
A shipment of feed material was received by the licensee during the inspection.
The licensee dissolved the feed material in an acid solution to various concentrations for plating purposes.
Four samples were taken for the licensee's laboratory and for the NRC in order to compare analytical data.
The NRC samples were sent to the New Brunswick Laboratory for U and U-235-analyses.
A laboratory comparison will be made and reported in a future inspection report.
b.
License No. R-81 No items of noncompliance were noted.
The inspection results were attained through a review of the licensee's calculation of uranium 'uel depletion and transmutation values.
The licensee utilizes a power meter, which integrates the power L
levels, to determine the total power output for the reactor.
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information is then input into a ecmputer program, UBURN, which updates the element and isotopic composition of each fuel element.
The inspectors reviewed the thermal power records and independently
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calculated the uranium and uranium-235 depletion and transmutation l
values for the.four reporting periods from April 1, 1979 to March i
31, 1981.
The inspector's results were in agreement with the I
licensee's values for the first three periods.
For the fourth (
period, the inspector's values were in agreement with the licensee's i
original calculated values.
However, the licensee adjusted their original reported values because some of the spent fuel was E
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recovered by The Department of Energy's Savannah River Plant, and the recovered values were used to adjust the depletion and
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transmutation values.
6.
MC 85212B-Inventory and Inventory Verification
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License R-81 No items of noncompliance were noted.
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The inspection results were attained through (1) a piece count of i
fuel in the spent fuel pool and of the fission counters, and (2) a l
serial number verification of the new fuel, j
b.
License SNM-639
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This was reviewed during Inspection No. 81-02 in March, 1981.
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MC 85216B-Records and Reports a.
License R-81 No items of noncompliance were noted.
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The inspection results were attained through (1) a review of the four Material Status Reports (NRC Forms-742) for the period April 1, 1979 - March 31, 1981, and (2) a review of all Material Transaction i
Reports (NRC Forms-741) for the same period.
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The above mentioned forms were reviewed for accuracy, appropriate
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signatures, and timely dispatch.
No discrepancies were noted.
b, license SNM-639 l
This was reviewed during Inspection No. 81-02 in March, 1981.
8.
MC 85218B-Management of Material Control System i
One item of noncompliance was noted.
The licensee failed to perform an audit of the material control and accounting records and procedures within the 12 months prior to the
inspection, as required by Section 8.2.1 of the FNMCP.
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The inspector's review of the licensee's annual audit of the material control and accounting records and procedures indicated a review was performed on November 2, 1979, within 12 months of the previous review, as required by Section 8.2.1 of the FNMCP.
The review results were documented on November 16, 1979.
The licensee's response to that review could not be located during the inspection.
Since November 16, 1979, no
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audit had been performed.
Failure to perform an audit of the material control and accounting records and procedures at least once every twelve months is a Severity Level V Violation.
(81-04-01)
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Docket Nos:
70-687 i
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'L Union Carbide Corporation
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ATTN: Mr. James J. McGovern
Business Manager, Radiochemicals I
P. O. Box 324 fcT4.u 41 t
E Tuxedo, New York 10987
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Gentlemen:
Subject:
Combined Inspection 50-54/81-02; 70-687/81-04 This refers to your letter dated November 10, 1981, in response to our letter dated October 16, 1981.
Thank you for informing us of the corrective and preventive actions documented 1n your letter.
These actions will be examined during a future inspection of your licensed program.
In accordance with 10 CFR 73.21 of the NRC's regulations, documentation of findings of your control and accounting procedures for safeguarding special nuclear materials and your f acility security measures for physical protection are deemed to be Safeguards Information.
Each person who produces, receives or acquires Safeguards Information is required to ensure that it is protected against unauthorized disclosure.
Therefore, the referenced letter will not be placed in the Public Document Room and will be distributed pursuant to 10 CFR 73.21(c).
Your cooperation with us is appreciated.
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Sincerely, f
Thomas T. Martin, Director Division of Engineering and Technical Inspection
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cc:
Mr. H. Voth, Manager Nuclear Operations W. G. Ruzicka, Reactor Project Engineer C. J Konnerth, Health Physicist Dr. R. E. Bollinger, Vice President, Medical Products / Division Public Document Room (PDR) w/o cy of licensee's response Local Public Document Room (LPDR)
Nuclear Safety Information Center (NSIC)
State of New York
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