IR 05000254/1978020

IE Inspec Repts 50-254/78-20 & 50-265/78-21 on 780822-25, 29,0901 During Which No Items of Noncompliance Were Noted. Major Areas Inspected Included:Radioactive Waste Sys, Effluent Releases & Effluent Control Instru

ML20062C299
Person / Time
Site:	Quad Cities
Issue date:	10/02/1978
From:	Fisher W, Hueter L NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION III)
To:
Shared Package
ML20062C298	List: IR 05000254/1978020 ML20062C292
References
50-254-78-20, 50-265-78-21, NUDOCS 7811080080
Download: ML20062C299 (11)

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U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION OFFICE OF INSPECTION AND ENFORCEMENT

REGION III'

Report N /78-20; 50-265/78-21 Docket N ; 50-265 License N DPR-29; DPR-30 Licensee: Commonwealth Edison Company l Post Office Box 767 Chicago, IL 60690

Facility name: Quad-Cities Nuclear Power Plant

Inspection at: Cordova, IL Inspection conducted:' August 22-25 and tugust 29 - September 1,1978 Inspector: NL.-)J. Hueter* hl$ .

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Approved by

W. L. Fisher, Chief $7 --J2 (0 -- I'dI i Fuel Facility Projects an Radiation-Support Section Inspection Summary i

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Inspection on August 22-25 and August 29 - September 1. 1978 (Report No.50-254/78-20; 50-265/78-21)

. Areas Inspected: (Routine, unannounced inspection of radioactive waste

, systems, including: effluent releases; records and reports of' effluents; effluent control instrumentation; procedures for controlling releases; containment air-cleaning systems; reactor coolant water quality; solid

{ radioactive waste; review of noncompliance corrective actions and licensee _

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event reports; and review of an IE Circular and an IE Bulletin with i

licensee. The inspection involved 67.5 Inspector-hcurs onsite by one

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NRC inspecto .

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Results: No items of noncompliance or deviations were identified in any

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G DETAILS Persons Contacted

• J. Gudac, Assistant Plant Superintendent

, *L. Gerner, Technical Staf f Supervisor

< *R. Flessner, Assistant . Technical Staf f Supervisor

• J. Heilman, Quality Assurance Engineer

• S. Hopewell, Rad-Chem Supervisor

• T. Kovach, Lead Health Physicist P. Shafer, Health Physicist J. Sample, Health Physicist t M. Vhitemore, Chemistry Foreman W. Walschot, Chemist T. Markwalter, Chemist G. Sikkema, Chemist

' J. Miller, Jr. , Engineering Assistant J. Forest, Staff Assistant-Radwaste D. Anderson, Staff Assistant M. Miller, Radwaste' Foreman R. Bax, Unit 2, Operating Engineer G. Tietz, Thermal Engineer D. Clark, Engineer

• Denotes those present at the exit interview.

. General This unannounced inspection began at about 5:30 a.m. on August 22, 1978. Several tours were made of the plant during the inspection with special emphasis on the areas involving the radwaste system Housekeeping was satisfactory in the areas toured. The PPI system for solidification of radwaste remains inoperabl Throagh the commendable efforts of the Radwaste Improvements _ and Exposure Control Task Force (established in July 1977) additional shielding has been installed, various equipment modifications made and handling technic"as and procedures have been improved. These

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efforts have resulted in significant reduction in radwaste resins generated and, in turn, a reduction in the exposure of radwaste

[ operators in processing, packaging and shipping the radwaste, j Other Task Force initiated improvements are in progres . Licensee !.ction on Previous Inspection Findines (Closed) Infraction A (50-254/77-02): Waste sample tank release without prior analysis. System changes to allow use of a simplified l -2-

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i vaiving arrangement and a single tank (former waste surge tank but now called river discharge tank) for nearly all releases is now complete.1/ Procedure revisions and preoperational tests were completed and the system put into use in April 1978 with very favorable result (Closed) Infraction (50-254/77-25): Numerous radwaste shipments exceeding Type A quantities and three radwaste shipments exceeding Type B quantities were delivered to a carrier for transport without

, benefit of a general license, a specific license, or a specific exemption issued by the Commission. The inspector confirmed that since the last radwaste inspection concluded on September 2,1977, no radwaste shipments have been made which exceeded Type B quantities

and all radwaste shipments of packages exceeding Type A quantities L were made with the benefit of the general license provision of 10 CFR 71.1 (Closed) Inf raction (50-254/78-07)

Use of an unapproved continuous flow airline hood. The inspector confirmed that the licensee has taken the corrective action indicated in the licensee's response

to the item dated April 24, 1978. Use of the unapproved hood has t e rmina t ed. The licensee now has several approved hoods and stated that if they are used a flow of at least six CFM will be provided to each hood and that a calibrated airline pressure reducing regulator will be use . Airborne Radioactive Effluentr,

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Airborne release records were reviewed in detail for the first quarter of 1978 and cursorily for the third and fourth quarters of 1977 and the second quarter of 1978. No release limits or quarterly release rates which would have required licensee investigation, corrective action, and reporting appear to have been exceeded.

Release quantification continues to be based on daily grab samples f rom the chimney (noble gas) and any gas activity detected by the reactor building vent CAM and from daily integrated charcoal (iodine)

and filter (particulate) samples from the chimney and reactor building vent No items of noncompliance or deviations were identifie . Lionid Effluents Licensee records of liquid releases were reviewed in detail for the second quarter of 1978 and cursorily for the period September 1977 l through March 1978. All releases appear co have been made in accordance with regulatory requirement No items of noncompliance or deviations were identifie / IE Inspection Report No. 50-254/77-2 _

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e Solid *4aste Solid waste shipment records were reviewed for the period September 1977 through June 1978. Waste, normally solidified with concrete in 55-gallon DOT Specification 17 H drums, is shipped in " sole use" trucks to licensed burial sites. 'Overpacks furnished by the vendor provide additional shielding, if needed, and provide approved containment, when needed, for individual packages containing greater than Type A quantities of radioactive material. For packages con-taining greater than Type A quantities of radioactive material, the licensee had records of the Certificate of Compliance for the package issued by the Commission to fulfill requirements of 10 CFR 71.12(b).

Solidified wastes are shipped as Group II based primarily on gamma spectral analysis. Gamma spectral analysis and transuranic analysis of samples of both Unit 1 and Unit 2 clean-up demineralizer spent resins collected on April 9,1977 showed transuranics composed about 0.01% of the total activit Samples of Unit 2 powdex type condensate resins taken in December 1977 were analyzed for gamma emitters, strontium 90 and transuranic Strontium 90 composed about 0.32% and transuranics about 0.01%

of the total activit Analyses of both reactor water and reactor " crud" samples of Unit 2 reactor in February 1978 showed strontium 90 to compose about 0.11%

of the total activity of both sample Another record, dated August 4, 1978, showed results of analyses of condenser spent resin sample (data collected and from which Unit were not identified) analyzed for the licensee by Science Applications Incorporated (SAI) for gamma emitters, strontium-90 and transuranic Strontium 90 composed about 0.22% and transuranics about 0.0016% of the total activity. Additional samples of condensate demineralizer resins were sent to SAI for analyses in mid-August 1978 but results are not available ye The results of the above analyses suggest that radwaste concentrations of transuranics (Transport Group I) and of strontium 90 (Transport Group II) were such that Transport Group III nuclides were dominant in determining Type A quantity limits for the mixture. No problems

+ were identified in reviewing the licensee's radwaste data with regard to use of proper limits for Type A quantitie The licensee is using a new procedure for estimating the activity (curies) in a package. The procedure was developed for company wide use by Commonwealth Edison. The mathematical model includes

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using a buildup factor of 1.0 and includes weighing each package l -4-

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for density consideration Quantification of activity of j selected packages by both the mathematical model and isotope analysis of samples of package contents have shown good agreement according to statements by licensee personnel. No items of noncompliance or-deviations were identifie . Radwaste Solidificaticn System History Wastes which are solidification consist of spent pcwdered resin and filter sludge and bead type resins. The licensee has no waste evaporators'and therefore no evaporator bottoms. The

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original concrete solidification system, with some modifications,-

continues to be operated. The licensee attributes past problems to such things as space limitations and design considerations which contributed to the frequent maintenance, handling, and resultant elevated personal exposur The wastes are transferred to spent resin holdup tanks, centrifuged-for water removal, placed in a barrel with a given amount of water, cement added, stirred, capped,' cleaned, checked for activity, and placed in shielded storage until shipmen Improvements, many of which have been made in -the past year due to the efforts of the Radwaste Improvements and Exposure Control Task Force (est.blished in July 1977), include: An improved method of mixing resin to water in drums, as opposed to mixing water to dry resin, resulting in more resin volume per drum and less external contamination on drum surface Use of plastic bags around drums prior to filling resulting in significantly reduced need for washing and decontamination after filling and cappin Increased capacity of barrel line shaker motors has essentially eliminated problems of barrel stoppage on conveyor and the operator exposure which resulted from manually moving drums down the conveyor, Use of an " air chipper" to keep drum mixer blades clean and thereby eliminate the concrete sediment drum used to collect residual cement and resin dripping from the blades. This drum had to be changed manually about ten times monthly resulting in about 75 mrem of dose for each barrel chang A mechanism has been devised to remotely bolt on the band that secures the drum lid. Also, additional shielding has been

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installed A new Spent Resin Hopper High Level Sensor has bee 1 outside of the hopper which eliminates overflowed resins, repairing defective internal hopper. level alarm sensor, unplugging the hopper, and resultant exposure associated with such maintenance and cleanu ~ Tre telescopic cement tube, a frequent cause of maineenance and exposure has been replaced with a four-inch flexible hose for cament addition to spent resin drum To relieve a glut of demineralizer resins and sludges, additional processing wasSolidification provided onsite by Chem-Nuclear Systems from March was done in shielded liners of up to to June 197 cubic foot capacity using urea formaldehyd A system was built onsite to solidify A resin seriesand sludge vaste using of preoperational tests urea formaldehyde and a catalys of the system in early 1977 resulted in valve leaks, plugged piping and the catalyst reacting chemically with the stainless steel piping The of the system such that the system never became operationa licensee is considering modification of this system for use of the DOW process of waste solidificatio No items of noncompliance.were identified.

, Records and Reports of Effluents Licensee records relating to airborne and liquid effluents appeared-

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to be satisfactory. Comparison of these records with the licensee's semiannual effluent reports for the last half of 1977 and the first half of 1978 indicated no significant discrepancies.

, Effluent Control Instrumentation Effluent monitor functional test and calibration records for the All technical-period September 1977 through June 1978 were reviewe specification requirements appear to have been met with regard to functional tests and calibrations, including required alarm and trip levels. Up-to-date calibration curves were posted in the control Calibration curves for the chimney room for the chimney monitor the chimney. Because of the monitors are based on samples taken at(downstream of the charcoal off-gas low release rates at this point

adsorbers) the calibration curves are based on a limited range of dat The licensee has worked on calibration of thethe chimney monitors recombiner and letting

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using sources of higher activity collected at

! these decay for various periods of time to represent varying " average gamma energy." A graph was then made of the micorcurie per second

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per count per second (for a given stack flow) vs. the average gamma energy (MeV) of the gas mixture. The licensee plans to collect more data in the average gamma energy range of 0.2 to 0.3 MeV as this is the normal range of the average gamma energy at the stac Calibratio.1 curves and alarm set points will then be based on results of these tests and previous tests. The licensee stated that this improved calibration will be completed by the end of 1978.

The preliminary data suggest that past calibration of the chimney-monitor in general may have been nonconservativ It should be noted, however, that determination of noble gas releases are not based on this monito Further, no control functions are tied to the monitor and alarm set points are based on administrative 1y set level The licensee has not used iodine monitors on either the plant

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chimney or the reactor vent but instead has analyzed chily charcoal filters. The licensee is working on a CAM type reactor vent monitoring system which is to use a sodium iodide detector and a spectrometer system such that a selected energy range window may be used to monitor iodine 131 on the charcoal cartridge. It was stated that no control functions to initiate major actions are planned for this monito This matter will be reviewed during a' future inspectio The high background reading of the liquid radwaste monitor is a continuing problem. Attemp ts at reducing levels 'by decentaminating the piping section in front of the sodium iodide detector were attempted during the inspection without success. The licensee agreed to review the matter of lowering the background levels at this monitor. This matter will be reviewed during a future inspectio A new filter installed on the exit of the River Discharge Tank should minimize potential for particulate activity in the discharge lin A composite sampler is being added to the liquid waste discharge line near the liquid radwaste monitor. This is in addition to the composite samplers already in existence af ter dilution of radwaste occur No items of noncompliance were identifie . Radwaste Control Procedures The following radwaste control procedures were reviewed:

200-12 Revision 1, 7-7-78 " Monthly Main Chimney Particulate Isotopic Summary" 200-13 Revision 1, 7-7-78 " Monthly Reactor Vent Particulate Isotopic Summary"

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200-14 Revision 1, 7-7-78 " Monthly Main Chimnny Of f Gas Release Summary and Calculation of Average Percent of Limit" 300-5 Revision 2, 5-23-78 " Liquid Radioactive Waste Compositing" 2000-29 Revisior. 2,1-28-78 " Discharge to River from River Discharge Tank" No problems were noted in the revie . Containment Air Cleaning Systems Licensee records of standby gas system in-place penetration tests for HEPA and charcoal filters and laboratory tests of charcoal filter samples were reviewed for the period September 1977 through June 197 Tests results appeared satisfactor No items of noncompliance or deviations were note . Reactor Coolant Water Quality Records of primary coolant surveillance for radioactivity were reviewed for the period August 1977 through July 1978. Requirements for iodine analyses (96 hours0.00111 days <br />0.0267 hours <br />1.587302e-4 weeks <br />3.6528e-5 months <br />) and isotopic analyses (monthly) appeared to have been me No items of noncompliance or deviations were note . Review of Action Regarding IE Circular No. 77-14 28, 1977, the In response to IE Circular No. 77-14 issued November licensee conducted the requested review to identify interconnections between contaminated and noncontaminated water systems and to assure that proper separation had been provided. Memo NJK-77-619 dated December 22, 1977 identifies the interconnections and type of separations and states a review of Station Procedures indicated that procedures governing operation of the Domestic Water System should be upgraded. This updating was completed by Revision 4 dated January 20, 1978 of Operating Procedure 4200-1 titled "Well Water System." It involves procedures to be followed should the heating steam become contaminated. The licensee now performs weekly direct radiation surveys in the heating steam building and a monthly sampling and analysis of water from the heating steam system which is cetsidered the most likely source of contamination. The licensee had exp rienced contamination in the heating steam system prior to issuance of this circular and has made valvinc and piping modifications to minimize potential for future occurrences as noted in Paragraph 1 The inspector has no further questions on this matte . ,

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14. Review of Response to IE Bulletin No. 78-07 The inspector reviewed the licensee's response dated August. 3,1978 to IE Bulletin No. 78-07 concerning protection afforded by air-line respirators and supplied-air hoods. The inspector confirmed that the licensee is not currently using air-line equipment operated in the demand mode and that use of air-line equipment operated in the demand mode is not planned by the license ~

As stated in the response, the licensee is not currently using supplled air hoods. The licensee has recently acquired six NOISH certified supplied-air hoods for evaluation. The licensee stated that these will be used only with a flow of at least six CFM to the hood and that calibrated airline pressure reducing regulators will be use The inspector has no further questions on this matte . Followup on LER RO 50-265/77-16 2/

.The inspector reviewed the licensee's efforts to repair a leak in the "A" Residual Heat Removal (RHR) System of Reactor Unit The leak was detected May 28, 1977. The licensee stated plans to make the repair no later than the refueling outage scheduled to begin in January 1978. Original repair attempts were conducted about mid-January 1978 but without success as a metal, bellows crack had apparently been undetected. A'second attempt was made during the outage but when the system was put back in operation on March 6, 1978 a small leak of about a half pint an hour was still detected which is believed to have been a metal gasket leak. A third repair conducted between April 17 and 28, 1978 proved to be successful as evidenced by the elimination of spikes on the Unit 2 Service Water Process Radiation Monitor when the 'A" RER service water pump was initiated. The inspector has no further question on this matte . Followup on Contamination in Plant Heating Steam System A special inspection 2/ was conducted in October 1977 concerning contamination found in the heating steam system. At the conclusion of the inspection the licensee stated that piping and valving modifications were being implemented to minimize the potential for contaminating the steam heating system. These modifications have been completed. Further, the licensee committed to weekly direct radiation surveys of specific locations in the heating system and that monthly analyses of liquid samples would include condensate from the heating steam system deaerator. The inspector 2/ IE Inspection Report No. 50-254/77-2 / IE Inspection Report No. 50-254/77-2 _

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verified that the direct radiation surveys and liquid sample analysis are being conducted. Gross beta analysis of the liquid samples has returned to the normal background level The inspector has no further questions regarding this matter which is related to IE Circular No 77-1 (Paragraph 13)

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17. Review of LER/R0 78-04/03X-1 On January 18, 1978, while performing the automatic steam jet air ejector offgas isolation surveillance for Unit 2, while in an outage, the offgas holdup pipe drain valve failed to isolate. The inspector reviewed from a radiation protection consideration the licensee's evaluation of the probable consequences, cause and corrective action associated with the occurrence and has no further questions concerning the matte . Review of LER/R0 78-06/03L The plant chimney monitoring system was inoperable for parts of three days in February 1978, twice due to power interruption caused by excavating in the area and once due to a' leak developing in a sample line hose. One reactor unit was in refueling mode throughout the period and the other was in the shutdown mode until the day cf the last occurrence. No abnornal transients occurred during the

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period and other means were utilized to quantify plant chimney release The inspector reviewed from a radiation protection consideration the licensee's evaluation of the probable consequences, cause and corrective action associated with the occurrence and has no further questions concerning the matte . Exit Interview The inspector met with licensee representatives (denoted in Paragraph 1)

at the conclusion of the inspection on September 1, 1978. The inspector

- discussed the scope and findings of the inspection. The following matters were specifically discussed: The inspector noted during a tour that a couple of radwaste barrels labeled LSA were found in use for clean trash barrels outside of the main building are Licensee personnel stated this matter would be reviewe The inspector noted a number of improvements have been made in the radwaste systems resulting in simplifications, reductions in resin usage, reduction in resin waste packaged and reduction

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. s of exposure of personnel working in the radwaste areas. Much of this effort appears to be attributable to the Radwaste Improvements and Exposure Control. Task Force which was established in July 1977.

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, The matter of the chimney monitor calibration curves being based on a limited range of data and the progress of perform-

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ing a better calibration utilizing a wider range of data l

was discussed. The licensee stated that further testing'with higher activity samples in the proper weighted gamma energy range would be conducted and calibration curves and alarm set points will be based on results of these tests and the previous 1 tests. The licensee stated that this improved calibration will be completed by the end of the year (1978). (Paragraph 9)

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r The matter of continuing h'igh background reading at the liquid radwaste monitor was raised by the inspector. The licensee agreed to review the matter for ways to lower the background readin (Paragraph 9)

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