IR 05000131/1987001
| ML20234E531 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | 05000131 |
| Issue date: | 06/30/1987 |
| From: | Yandell L NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION IV) |
| To: | Turcotte R DEPT. OF VETERANS AFFAIRS MEDICAL CENTER, OMAHA |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 8707070600 | |
| Download: ML20234E531 (1) | |
Text
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JUN 3 01987 In Reply Refer to:
Docket:
50-131/87-01 Omaha Veterans Administration Medical Center ATTN:
R. L. Turcotte, Hospital Director 4101 Woolworth Avenue Omaha, NE 68105 Gentlemen:
Thank you for your letter of June 12, 1987, in response to our letter and
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Notice of Violation dated May 20, 1987. We have reviewed your reply and find it responsive to the concerns raised in our Notice of Violation. We will review the implementation of your corrective actions during a future inspection to determine that full compliance has been achieved and will be maintained.
Sincerely, Blaine Murray for
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Lawrence A. Yandell, Chief Radiological Protection and Safeguards Branch cc:
Nebraska Radiation Control Program Director bec:
DMB (IE06)
R. D. Martin RPSB RPB D. Weiss, RM/ALF RIV File MIS System i
RSTS Operator R. E. Baer B. Murray L. A. Yandell R. L. Bangart i
H. N. Berkow, NRR RIV:FRPS C:FRPSD C:RPSB REBaer;ap EMurray)
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Madical Centar 4101 Woolworth Avenue i
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June 12, 1987 In Reply C m bJ6/151 w.
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Lawrence A. Yandell, Chief I
Rad 1ological Protection and Safeguards Branch Region IV U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 611 Ryan Plaza Drive Suite 1000 Arlington, Texas 76011 i
Dear Mr. Tandell:
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Re: 50-131/87-01 Pursuant to the provisions of 10 CFR 2.201, the following reply is submitted to the " Notice of Violation" for our NRC inspection conducted on April 13-17, 1987.
A.
Operator Requalification Program The Reactor Supervisor misinterpreted paragraph 5.6 chapter 5 of the application for renewal of License No. R-57 for the Omaha Veterans Administration Medical Center, dated May 10, 1979, which states
" Successful completion of the initial NRC licensing examination will be considered to satisfy the licensee's annual retraining requirements. Such an individual's retraining program would be started with the next comprehensive examination scheduled at least six months af ter the licensee's initial licensing date."
It was his impression that since the initial licensing exam was given November 12, 1985, the requalification training year would begin November 12, 1986 with a written examination in July 1987.
However, informal undocumented tutoring sessions for the Senior Reactor Operator were held between November 1985 and April 16, 1987, and the operator was systematically observed, and his performance and competency evaluated.
It is now realized that this was an erroneous as sumption.
In order to be in compliance with the Requalification Training Program, the following steps were initated on April 17, 1987.
1.
Lectures and tutoring will be scheduled. at a set time each week.
The completed authenticated lecture series outline will be filed in the training requalification file.
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tbnipulation of reactor controls as outlined in paragraph 5.3(a)
will be carried out at a set time each month and recorded in the reactor log.
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On-the-job training to demonstrate the understanding and operation of all. apparatus and knowledge of operating procedures will be carried out by discussing and documenting one subject each month.
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Facility design changes, procedure changes and facility license changes will be discussed and recorded as they occur.
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50-131/87-01 Lawrence A. Yandell, Chief 5.
Abnormal and Emergency Procedures will be reviewed quarterly at a set time, and the review documented in the senior operator's requalification log.
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Systematic observation and evaluation of the performance of the
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senior operator will be documented monthly by means of a checklist.
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Written examination will be conducted annually and evaluated no later than September 1 of each year.
The above training will be conducted regardless of any research commitments on the scheduled day.
B.
Technical Specification Surveillance This violation was also due to a misinterpretation by the Reactor Supervisor who also wrote the Technical Specification. When he wrote
"every two weeks," he was thinking twice a month and consequently set up the water surveillance frequency with that in mind. However, it was noted that in addition to not measuring the pH every two weeks, the dates recorded on the Reactor Supervisor's computer checklist for some months did not have a pH recorded in the log.
Several of the missing pH measurements were due to a malfunction of the pH meter, but this fact should have been recorded in the log. During some months, the pH was
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measured three times a month so the total number of pH measurements made j
was 26.
Effective April 17, 1987, the standard operation procedure will be to measure the pH of the reactor water every week and, if the pH meter malfunctions, an entry will be made in the reactor log and the pH of the water will be measured with a meter in one of the hospital research laboratories.
The reactor operating staff had not done this in the past since the probe they use is particularly suited for ultra-pure water, and the research laboratory probes are not.
Since the corrective action for the above violations was taken immediately, the Omaha VA Medical Center is in full compliance as of the date of this letter.
Sincerely, m ~~--
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R.L. TURCOTTE Director l
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MAY 2 01987
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In Reply Refer To:
Docket:
50-131/87-01 Omaha Veterans Administration Medical Center ATTN:
R. L. Turcotte, Hospital Director 4101 Woolworth Avenue Omaha, NE 68105 Gentlemen:
This refers to the inspection conducted by Mr. R. E. Baer of this office during the period April 13-17, 1987, of activities authorized by NRC Operating License R-57 for Omaha Veterans Administration Medical Center TRIGA Research Reactor, and to the discussion of the findings with you and other members of your staff at the conclusion of the inspection.
Areas examined during the inspection included:
reactor operations, physical security, safeguards, transportation of radioactive materials and emergency planning. Within these areas, the inspection consisted of selective examination of procedures and representative records, interviews with personnel, and observations by the NRC inspector. The inspection findings are documented in the enclosed inspection report.
During this inspection, it was found that certain of your activities were in violation of NRC requirements.
Consequently, you are required to respond to this violation, in writing, in accordance with the provisions of Section 2.201 of the NRC's " Rules of Practice," Part 2, Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations.
Your response should be based on the specifics contained in the Notice of Violation enclosed with this letter.
The response directed by this letter and the accompanying Notice is not subject to the clearance procedures of the Office of Management and Budget as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980, PL 96-511.
Should you have any questions concerning this inspection, we will be pleased to discuss them with you.
Sincerely, ORtGINAL SIGNED BY:
Lawrence A. Yandell, Chief Radiological Protection and Safeguards Branch
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Enclosures:
(see next page)
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APPENDIX A NOTICE OF VIOLATION Omaha Veterans Administration Docket:
50-131/87-01 Medical Center License:
R-57 During an NRC inspection conducted on April 13-17, 1987, violations of NRC requirements were identified. The violations involved:
(1) failure to implement the operator requalification training program, ano (2) failure to perform a technical specification surveillance.
In a
REGION IV==
NRC Inspection Report:
50-131/87-01 License:
R-57 Docket:
50-131 Licensee: Omaha Veterans Administration Hospital (0VAH)
4101 Woolworth Avenue Omaha, Nebraska 68105 Facility Name: Omaha Veterans Administration Medical Center (OVAMC) TRIGA Research Reactor Inspection At: OVAMC Site, Omaha, Nebraska Inspection Conducted: April 13-17, 1987 A
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R./E. Baer, Radiation Specialist, Facilities Date
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Radiological Protection Section l
Approved:
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B. Murray, Chief',~Facil-s Radiological
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Protection Section Inspection Summary Inspection Conducted April 13-17, 1987 (Report 50-131/87-01)
Areas Inspected:
Routine, unannounced inspection of the licensee's program including: reactor operations, physical security, safeguards, transportation of radioactive materials, and emergency planning.
Results: Within the 6reas inspected, two violations were identified (operator requalification program, see paragraph 4a and Technical Specification Surveillance, see paragraph 4b).
No deviations were identified.
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-4-I 02.04 - Quality Assurance Program 02.05 - Procurement and Selection of Packagings
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02.06 - Preparation of Packages for Shipment 02.07 - Delivery of Completed Packages to Carriers
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02.08 - Receipt of Packages 02.09 - Periodic Maintenance of Packagings 02.10 - Records and Repcrts 4.
Violations a.
40750 Item 02.03c Requalification Training 10 CFR Part 50.54(1-1) requires the licensee to have in effect an operator requalification program which as a minimum meets the requirements of Appendix A of 10 CFR Part 55. The licensee's operator requalification program is described in Chapter 5 of the application for renewal of License No. R-57 for the Omaha Veterans Administration Medical Center, dated May 10, 1979. The requalification program included planned lectures, an annual evaluation of the licensed operator's knowledge and performance, and records for each individual and that contain the following information:
Current copy of either the individual's reactor operator or senior reactor operator license.
- Copies of all written examinations administered to the individual and correct answers given to the individual during the requalification period.
The annual evaluations of the individuals documented in a
memorandum for record.
- The individual's requalification program progress checklist.
- The summary of additional training received by the individual documented in a memorandum for record and any additional documentation.
The NRC inspector determined on April 17, 1987, that the licensee had not implemented a formal, documented operator requalification program since November 1985.
The licensee stated they had held informal tutoring sessions for the senior reactor operator during reactor operations between November 1985 and April 16, 1987, but had not documented the contents or dates of these sessions.
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The failure to conduct an operator requalification program is an apparent violation of 10 CFR Part 50.54(1-1).
(313/8701-01)
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40750 Item 02.03d Surve111ances i
Technical Specification (TS) Appendix A requires that the licensee i
perform specific safety system surveillance / calibrations.
Section 4.4. " Primary Coolant Conditions" states that the conductivity and pH of the primary coolant water shall be measured at least once every 2 weeks.
The NRC inspector determined on April 17, 1987, that the licensee had not performed the primary coolant water pH surveillance during the periods: January 23 and February 14, 1986; February 20 and March 20, 1986; May 9, and June 3,1586; July 3 and July 23, 1986; and December 18, 1986, and February 2, 1987. The NRC inspector noted that the pH measurements before and after each period listed above l
were within the acceptable range specified in T.S. 4.4(2).
The failure to perform the required surveillance within the specified l
time period is considered an apparent violation of TS Section 4.4.
(131/8701-02).
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Exit Interview The NRC inspector met with the personnel identified in paragraph I at the conclusion of the inspection on April 17,.1987. The NRC inspector summarized the scope and findings of the inspection.
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