IR 05000282/1978018
| ML19263C552 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Prairie Island  |
| Issue date: | 01/08/1979 |
| From: | Dubry N, Fisher W, Hueter L NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION III) |
| To: | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML19263C546 | List: |
| References | |
| 50-282-78-18, NUDOCS 7902260541 | |
| Download: ML19263C552 (15) | |
Text
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY C03C11SSION OFFICE OF INSPECTION AND ENFORCEMENT
REGION III
t r .. f Report No. 50-282/78-18; 50-306/78-18 Docket No. 50-282; 50-306 License No. DPR-42; DPR-60 Licensee: Northern States Power Company 414 Nicollet Fall Minneapolis, MN 55401 Facility Name: Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Station, Units 1 and 2 Inspection At: Priarie Island Site, Red Wing, Mh Inspection Conducted: November 14-17 and 30 - December 1,1978 n ~a,7 - - - 2 sv c y_//,,, , Inspectors: L.'J.
Hueter ,t N. E. DuBry [,, _ ' J ' 'f h - f., ~ p , , Approved'By: W. L.dishcr, Chief h, 4( /~ k-7Y Fuel Facility Projects and Radiation Support Section Inspection Sunrary: Inspection on November 14-17 and 30 - December 1, 1978 (Report No. 50-282/78-16 and No. 50-306/78-18) Areas Inspected: Routine, unannounced inspection of the radiation protection program for operation and refueling, including: qualifications; licensee audits; training; radiation protection procedures; advance planning and preparation for refueling; instruments and equipment; exposure controi; posting, labeling, and control; material control; surveys; notifications and reports; IE Bulletin 78-07; IE Bulletin 78-08; IE Circular 76-03; review of licensee actions on Radiation Area Monitors identified in Report No. 78-05 and No 78-07.
The inspection involved 87 inspector-hours onsite by two NRC inspectors.
Results: Of the 15 areas inspected, no it ems of noncompliance or deviations were identified.
79022eo5yf
. . DETAILS 1.
Persons Contacted i
- tF. P. Tierney, Jr., Plant Manager
- A. A. Hunstad _t, Staff Engineer e
,;- tE. L. Watzl,*. Superintendent ,y
- tD. A. Schuelke, Superinteo. dent of Radiation Protection tR. A. Stenroos, Assistant Radiation Protection Supervisor
- tA. C. Johnson, Radiation Protection Coordinator D. V. Walker. Shift Supervisor R. S. Ilolthe, Shift Supervisor R. G. DeLong, Radiation Protection Specialist G. J. Joachim, Radiation Protection Specialist T. M. Gatten, Radiation Protection Specialist J. T. Linville, Plant Chemist
- tC. D. Feierabend, NRC Resident Inspector L.
E. Finholm, Training La;+rvisor R. G. Hustings, Assistant Training Supervisor
- Denotes those present at the November 17, 1978 exit interview.
tDenotas those present at the December 1, 1978 exit interview.
The inspectors also talked with other licensee employees, including menbers of the Technical Staft.
2.
General The inspection was divided into two parts with the first portion commencing at 0530 on November 14, 1978; the second part began at 1100 on November 30, 1978.
On the initial arrival both units were operating at 1001 power.
Both shift supervisors were interviewed and the reactor control room area was toured shortly after the arrival. A general tour and observation of the plant at the beginning of the regular shift included: access control, and the radwaste, auxiliary, and service buildings. Special emphasis was given to areas of refueling outage preparation, continuous air monitoring (CA?!), and high radiation area contro. -2-During the second phase of the inspection Unit 2 containment was toured and practices employed b: the licensee during this refueling were observed.r In addition the chemistry lab was toured and the Plant Chemist 4nterviewed.
On the whole, housekeeping and areas -- l-inspected were' satisfactory and no items of noncompliance or deviations were identified.
~~ 3.
Licensee Actions on Previous Inspection Findings None required within the scope of this inspection.
4.
Radiation Protection Organization and Qualifications The radiation protection organization has had few changes in either structure of personnel in the past year.
The position of Radiation Protection Supervisor has been elevated to Radiation Protection Superintendent. The same individual has held both positions. The remainder of the radiation protection organization consists of positions for an Assistant Radiation Protection Supervisor, two Radiation l'rotection Engineers, one Chemist, two Radiation and Chemistry Coordinators, and ten Radiatica and Chemistry Specialists.
A new Radiation Protection Engineer (for Radwaste) with 20 years of engineering experience has been obtained to replace an engineer who is now in operations.
The Chemist left the company in July 1978.
The Radiation and Chemistry Coordinator for Chemistry has been selected to fill the position of chemist, leaving the coordinator position presently vacant.
A new Radiation and Chemistry Specialist'is currently progressing through the training program.
The individual has a bachelor degree and one to twc years experience in plant operations.
The licensee contracted with Nuclear Support Services for the assistance of ten health physics personnel during the current refueling.
The policy of the licensee is that the Shift Supervisors and Reactor Operators are qualified in radiation protection procedures and are capable of taking the necessary action pertaining to radiation protection until the arrival of Health Physic personne. -3-Incorporated into the annual requalification program under " Radiological pontrols" are six hours >f lectures on health physics theory and three hours of pra_tical application and equipment usagp. These areas are taught by a Radiation Protection nr .;- Specialist and are tested during the requalification exam.
The inspector reviewed the lesson plans and the 1977 test questions, which were found to be adequate.
In addition, during the exit interview of November 1., 1978, the licensee certified that tne shift supervisors could-a.
Conduct special radiation, cortamination, and airborne radioactivity surveys and evaluate the results.
b.
Establish protective barriers and post appropriate radiological signs.
c.
Establish means of limiting exposure rates and accumulated radiation doses, includang the use of protective clothing and respiratory protective equipment.
d.
Perform operability checks of radiation monitors and survey meters.
e.
Recomnend appropriate immediate actions in the event of a radiological problem and perform necessary activities until the arrival of health physics personnel.
f.
Conduct other radiological duties as may be required on backshift and weekends.
No items of noncompliance or deviations were identified.
5.
Audits Prairie Island Technical Specification A-6 states that the Safety Audit Committee (SAC) will meet at least twice a year and assure that an audit of all nuclear safety related activities is completed within a period of two years. A review of selected audit reports indicates these requirements are being satisfied.
Audit Nos. P-77-1, P-77-2, and P-78-1 covering the time f rames of September 1976 - December 1976, January 1977 - February 1977, and January 1978 - May 1978, respectively, addressed nuclear safety-related activities. Audits P-76-2, P-77-2, and P-77-4 were also reviewed. No items of noncompliance or deviations were identifie. -4-6.
Training 6' The inspectors attended the General Training, Radiation Protection 1 raining, and R,espiratory Protection Training sessions and ,. I.
completed the exams at the end of the classes on November 13 and "" 14, 1978.
Parts 1 and II are slide preparations organized by the site trairing coordinator.
Part III, Respiratory Protect 4an, is a commercial film prepared by Industrial Training Corp.
All video portions are supplemented by audio and an oral review, question, and answer period follows each film portion.
Prairie Island plaaned for the outage by Training or retraining approximately 95% of the personnel, including offsite workers.
The remaining will be trained as they come onsite.
The inspector reviewed the training records and exams for 1977 and 1978 to present. Taese appear to be thorough and adequate.
The routine training program at Prairie Island is held weekly for new personnel.
During outages the training sessions are held daily.
Refresher training is conducted annually.
Retraining records and exams for 1977 and 1978 to present were examined by the inspection and founJ to be adequate.
During the return trip of November 30 to December 1, 1978, it was noted that approximately 120 workers had att>nded the training sessions during tne past week.
These people s_re contracted personnel to be utilized during refueling.
No items of noncompliance or deviations were identified.
7.
Radiation Protection Procedures The new Radiation Safety Manual revised in its entirety as of October 30, 1978 was reviewed by the inspectors.
This manual contains: general requirements, consisting of description and responsibilities; area control, addressing radiation and contamination limits, access control, and radiation work pernits (RWP); personnel protection and control, incorporating indoctrination, permissible accumulated dose, and personnel control, exposure control, monitoring techniques, and contamina-tion control; equipment control, covering conditional and unconditional releases to clean areas; radioactive material handling; and Radiation Occurrences made up of criteria for judging and reporting radiation occurrences, and the actions required. A/SO included in this revision are eleven attachments composed of tables, drawings, and procedures applicable to various portions of the manua. . -5-The facility tour and review of procedures by the inspectors during the refueling outage indicated the licensee's h implementation of radiation protection controls to be adequate.
.r"
. ". 8.
Instruments and Equipment at Area radiation monitoring instruments and equipment were reviewed.
The inspector specifically looked at Area Radiation Monitor R-33, hadwaste Building Second Floor Area Monitor, to verify the set-points due to a problem described in a previous inspection reportl/. Since the previous inspection the licensee had conducted a complete review of Calibration and Check Point Test on June 12, 1978.
This log indicated R-33 alarm setpcints had been reset to their proper parameters.
It was noted that no data were available for R-3, Hot Chemistry Lab Area monitor.
Further investigation and a review of Test 1027, " Refueling Calibration and Chec_kpoint Test of Area Radiation Monitoring Instrumentation," conducted on October 10, 1978, demonstrated all setpoints of all instrumenta to be satisfactory.
Attention was also given to R-5, Spent Fuel Pool Area Monitor; and R-28, New Fuel Pit criticality Monitor, and it was found that the licensee satisfies the conditions of 10 CFR 70.24.
In addition R-21, Cire Water Discharge Canal Liquid Monitor, status was discussed with the Health Physicist.
It was noted during the previous Radwaste Inspection that the samp'e point to this monitor was frequently plugged with sediment.
At that time it was understood that the NSP Engineering group was working on modifications to the sampling point.
Grab samples at the site would be taken until the monitoring system was back in continuous operation. On December 1, 1978, no apparent action l>ad been taken by fhe licensee to correct this problem.
At the exit meeting the licensee stated this matter would receive immediate attention.
An inspection of the radiation monitoring devices consisting of a review of the types of calibration procedures, (including the types of sources used), and calibration dates and records from 1977 to present was conducted.
The licensee has approximately 116 portabic and fixed devices of 16 types used for exposure anu contamination monitoring.
Calibration records were reviewed for the period from January 1977 to present; they appear complete, having the results of the calibration and any repairs required.
1/ IE Inspection Report No. 50-282/78-05 and No. 50-306/78-0 In regards to the Eberline E530N portable survey meter, the licensee indicated he would rewrite the calibration procedure to ungrade it from the one point per scale parameter check.
The four sourcgs used for calibration purposes are traceable
,} to NBS sources: Dosimetry devices were looked at, the calibration records for the past eighteen months reviewed, and the calibration -- procedure inspected. They appear adequata.
A survey of radiation monitoring devices revealed no problems during the inspection tour on November 14 and 30, 1978.
No items of noncompliance or deviations were found.
9.
Exposure Control a.
External Exposure External radiation dose to beta-gamma type radiation is based on monthly vendor supplied TLD; dose to neutron type radiation has been based on vendor film badges issued every two weeks to selected plant individuals. However, the licensee is switching to vendor supplicd TLD for neutron dose measurement as licensee evaluation has indicated increased accuracy and more consistent results with the latter.
The evaluation indicates that the individuals who entered containment in the past may have received neutroa dose not detected by the neutron film badges.
Those individuals with the greatest potential for neutron dose are the operations and maintenance supervisors who make a containment entry weekly.
The evaluation indicated that the neutron dose, previously undetected, did not exceed 40-50 mrems per month and when added to the previously detected dose does not result in any overexposures.
The licensee continues the use of dosimeters and added TLD chips for control purposes between the monthly badge period date.
No r-ablems were observed in a review of the external exposure control 1977 dose records and the dose records for the first aine months of 1978.
The highest individual whole body dose received in 1977 was about 3700 mrems and through September of 1978 the highest whole body dose received has been about 2650 mrems.
Skin and extremity doses have not been appreciably
-7-above whole body doses. The total dose received onsite in 1977 was a),out 280 man-rems, down from 425 man-rems, in 1976.
The licensbe anticipates a further reduction in 1978.
The gr trtal dose,yeceived during the spring refueling outage was only about' 23 mam-rems.
The licensee anticipates a further - "" reduction during the current refueling outage.
The radwaste facility has been a significant contributor to dose in 1978, ' due to 1) clean out of evaporators, 2) clean out of 'n'a s t e Concentrates Tank, and 3) repair and modification to thr Atcor radwaste solidification system.
b.
Internal Exposure Internal exposure from tritium was evaluated by quarterly urinalysis for individuals who have potential for exposure to tritium.
The maximum body burden of tritium observed was about 2.5% in review of records for the first three quarters of 1978.
The sampling period continues to be staggered such that about one third of the samples are collected and analyzed each month.
Internal exposure from gamma emitters was determined by whole body counting using a Helgeson "do-it-yourself" whole body counter. The maximum body burdens observed from August 24, 1977, through July 28, 1978, have been Co-55 (6%), Co-60 (4.3%), Cs-134 (0.3%), Cs-137 (0.2%), 1-131 (5%), Ag-llon (1.8%), the percentages being of the !PBB values supplied by Helgeson. Some initial counts higher than indicated above were found to be due to minor external contamination.
Lower counts were oL_ained after a shower was taken.
The licensee experienced difficulty in eliminating external contamination involving Ag-110m in one individual in December 1977.
Subsequent counting in early January 1978 showed its climination.
The Prairie Island respiratory protection program was reviewed with attention being given to the regulation and guidelines of 10 CFR 20.103c and Reg Guide 8.15, and the requirements of IE Bulletin 78-0 ' -8-The licensee requires a complete physical examination by a physician of all personnel at the beginning of employment and at least every 5 years. A complete physical would also be required j-after an exanidation at the plant medical f acility, if determined 4-it was warranted.
The inspector interviewed the plant nurse concerning her function in the respirat,ry protection progran.
A respiratory medical determination of all applicabic plant personnel completed ar.nually entails the following: - an interview by a nurse - a questionaire - pulse - blood pressure - pulmonary function test A respiratory training course is conducted for new employaes and annually for applicable plant personnel as part of the retraining program.
/, written examination is given at the completion.
These records were reviewed by the inspector for 1978 to present and appear complete. On completion of the lecture portion of the training, each person is fit tested for respirators. A record of each individual who uses respirators is at access control centaining the following information: - Name of the individual - Badge number - Respirator types for which qualified, the date of qualification, and the PF for each type - Date of training course qualification - Date of medical qualification - Facial features (it is a policy at Prairic Island Nuclear Facility that no facial hair is allowed in the seal area of the masks) - Quarterly review of information for accuracy The licensee is using a Frontier Enterprise Nacl Crystal test chamber, Model Fe560A, for fit testing. The 1977 and 1978 records were reviewed by the inspector and found to be satisfactory.
It was noted that the licensee has recently completed requalification training courses, medical qualification, and fit testing in preparation for refuelin. - -9-The licensee is using the following types of respirators: r Type P NIOSH Approval Protection Factor Z . MSA Clearvue Air Fed TC-19C-78 2000 ~ or ~ Ultravue Air Fed Scott Air Fak II TCl3F40
Biopac 45 TCl3F27
Norton Full Face TC21C-152
The licensee has half-mask respirators but has eliminated them from his program. He is also in the process of converting the Scott Air Pak to a pressure demand mode.
The Quality Assurance Program for the respiratory protection program at Prairie Island consists of the Respiratory Specification Surveillance Test, RP138, which is a physical check of respirator integrity.
These checks are conducted quarterly, with exception of the emergency SCBA's, which are checked monthly.
The inspector reviewed the records from 1977 to present; they were found to be adequate.
Thirty-four regulators for the air-line supplied mask were received and tested on March 22, 1978. All regulators tested with a 100 ft.
hose and 35 psig gave >4sefm.
The average flow with the regulatory valve shut was 6.5 scfm and with the valve open 8.66 scfm.
In addition, 10% of the respirator cannisters in use are Q.A.
checked weekly.
During the orientation lecture for respiratory protection the PF's (Protecti;n Factors) of the various respirators were emphasized.
They are the following: Type Protection Factor Half mask
Scott Air Pack in Demand Mode
Biopack 45
Full Face air line on Continuous Flow 2000 2/ Appendix C of the Radiatien Safety Manual Date 7/20/78 gives a PF of 10 for this type, but in accordance with IE Bulletin 78-07 the licensee has reduced the PF taken where applicabl. - 10 - 10.
ALARA r ALARA (As Low As Reasonably Achievable) efforts were apparent in
- p the following greas
., . 2I ALARA continues to be considered in writing exposure permits, a.
b.
Before shutting a reactor down for refueling or primary maintenance, the licensee injects hydrogen peroxide to cause a primary cred burst and adds two days to the outzge to permit system cleanup.
c.
The licensee continues to use portable air cleanup units containing a prefilter, a HEPA filter, and charcoal to provide local ventilation where needed.
d.
Concrete block shielding has been placed around thimble chase areas in containment to reduce radiation levels.
A computer program utilizing Radiation Work Permits (RUP) e.
to quantify the exposure received in various work areas was implemented by the licensee in January 1978. A modification to improve the program is planned for early 1979.
This program is intended to air the licensee in identifying those areas where expenditure of efforts and resources will be most beneficial in reduction of exposure of personnel to radiation and/or radioactive material, f.
A portable dry cleaning unit was contracted from a vendor and utilized by the licensee during this current refueling to clean protective clothing.
The unit recirculates a non-flammable cleaning agent through a filter media. This system eliminates a major source of waste water which had to be processed before release. The reduction in waste water processing and the asscciated maintenance of the processing equipment should reduce exposure of personel in the radwaste facility.
g.
Evaporator feed tank (ADT collection tank) is not recirculated through filters to minimize crud build-up in the evaporator and to minimize t' exposure received in clean-up of the evaporators.
Some other modifications have also been made in the radwaste facility to minimize exposure of personnel to radiatio h.
The radiation protection organization appears successful in on site suf,d goal of maintaining an inventory of supplies their state ficient for an entire refueling outage.
[[ 1.
Pre-outage meetings in preparation for the refueling outage began in August, over three-months before the beginning of "" the outage.
11.
Posting, Labeling, and Control The licensee actions to control radiation exposures at the reactor facility revealed the following. A review of plant high radiation areas is conducted weekly and the results are entered in RWP's or EP's at access control. General and outstanding specific RRP's are updated weekly for contamination and exposure control. General area surveys are done daily and specific area surveys are done before RWP issuance and during the job, the frequency being job dependent.
High radiation creas were conspicuously posted with the proper information and access to these areas was controlled.
Containers were observed to be appropriately labeled.
Annual retraining of all plant personnel on general and radiation protection areas is required. Attendance to these sessions is documented.
The 1977 and 1978 records were reviewed by the inspector.
All work to be done in radiation areas has to have an RRP, part of which addresses the hazards involved and the Health Physics coverage required. The Health Physics personnel update the RWP's as the work progresses.
The inspector reviewed 110 RWP's for inspection and work in Unit II containment issued during the four-day period beginning November 27, 1978.
No problems were noted.
No items of noncompliance or deviations were identified.
12.
Surveys Daily and special general area survey records for contamination and direct radiation were reviewed for the first eleven months of 1978.
When elevated levels of radiation or contamination were identified, follow-up action appeared proper and timel Daily records of airborne surveys provided by seven Continuous Air Monitors (CAM)[withparticulatefilters(twoofthemalsohave charcoal cartridges for iodine collection) located at selected ([ plant locations were reviewed for the first eleven months of 1978.
- 7 No significant airborne activity was indicated by the CAM's.
It was noted, however, that on recent occasions the sampling locations were not recorded.
This matter was discussed in the exit meeting.
Portable air sample surveys obtained from high volume particulate and some high volume charcoal samples taken daily were reviewed for the first eleven months of 1978. These samples are taken for 1) random daily surveillance, 2) prior to containment entries, 3) at specific work area locations, and 4) for further evaluation when CAM's indicate elevated levels.
Low levels cf I-131 were detected in containment for a short period during the spring refueling. Particulate levels of airborne activity detected by the portable samples were not significant.
The inspector reviewed the 1*censee's records of source inventory anu smear test of sealed sources conducted June 13, 1978. All sources were accounted for and the smear tests showed no evidence of leakage.
The licensee employs various types of particulate filters and uses the efficiency data found in ANSI Standard N13.1.
In the Continuous Air Monitors (CAM) a cellulose asbestos filter cartridge is used having 3 cfm flow with 99.8% efficiency. The remaining particulate filters use a glass filter, Celman Type E, rated at 99.986% efficiency on a 1 7/8" filter, passing a maximum velocity of about 100 1/ min or 4 cfm flow.
The licensee has a 2" filter drawing 3 cfm on the Stack Monitor and portable Staple units of 2" and 4" sizes drawing 100 1/ min. and 3 cfm flow, respectively.
The charcoal filter efficiency for iodine monitoring claimed by tbc licensee is 90% at 75% relative humidity as described in the manufacturer's specifications.
The licensee has a continuous nonrecording monitor for relative humidity of both Unit 1 and Unit 2 containments.
On December 1, the relative humidity was 23% for Unit 1 (operating) and 35% for Unit 2 (in shutdown). The licensee has no means for measuring the relative humidity other than in containment.
Licensee personnel stated they were confident that the relative humidity in the plant outside the containment was routinely less than 75%. No items of noncompliance or deviations were identifie.
- 13 - 13.
Control of Fbterial !l Many tools and items for reuse in the controlled area are cleaned j[ to remove highdr levels of non-fixed contamination. They are then _4-placed in labeled plastic bags and stored on shelving in locked areas within the controlled area.
Items to be removed from the -- controlled area are surveyed at access control for fixed and removable contamination.
Items with radiation or contamination above established levels are either decontaminated to acceptable levels, retained in the ccntrolled area, or packaged, labelled, and controlled by special methods and procedures.
In review of the licensee's practices in material control no items of noncompliance or deviations were identified.
14.
Notifications and Reports According to licensee personnel and substantiated to the extent of records reviewed by the inspectors, the licensee has experienced no theft, loss, releases, concentrations of radioactive material, or overexposure of personnel requiring reporting pursuant to 10 CFR 20.402, 20.403 or 20.405 or other reporting requirements.
A random sampling of employee records showed that reports of personal exposure are being submitted to the Commission as required by 10 CFR 20.408 for terminated employees and to individuals upon request, as required by 10 CFR 19.13.
No items of noncompliance or deviations were identified.
15.
Bulletin The licensee has addressed IE Bulletin 78-08, " Radiation Levels from Fuel Element Transfer Tubes," issued June 13, 1978 in the following manner. A radiation survej was conducted by the canal on April 4, 1978 at 0745 during the first fuel bundle transfer during the last outage.
The instrument used was a PIC-6A and there was no detectable increase in the radiation level.
(Background by the canal < 1 mR/hr). The licensee also stopped a fuel bundle in the canal and obtained the following using a Teletector: No fuel in the canal 0.3 mR/hr Fuel in the canal 1.6 mR/hr
e w - - 14 - The above information was readily available to the inspector, including Fuel: Transfer Tube Prints X-H-1-170, X-H-1-171, and NR-38486-4K.
f =
.~ f No items of noncomp'.iance were noted.
16.
Exit Interview The inspectors met with licensee representatives (denoted in Paragraph 1) at the conclusion of the inspections on November 17 and December 1, 1978. The inspectors summarized the scope and findings of the inspection.
a.
The inspectors stated that no items of noncompliance or deviations were identified.
b.
The licensee certified that the backshift supervisors were capable of accomplishing the six items as defined in the NRR letter to the licensee - Re: " Criteria for Individuals Qualified in Radiation Protecti:n Procedures."
(Paragraph 4) c.
The licensee agreed to give prompt consideration to the engineering design problems associated with R-21, Circ Water Discharge Canal Liquid Monitor.
(Paragraph 8) d.
The inspectors noted that on recent occasions the sampling locations of continuo'as air monitors were frequently not recorded. The licensee stated that this matter would be promptly reviewed.
(Paragraph 11) e.
Regarding the Eberline E-530N portable survey meter, the inspectors understand that the calibration procedure will be upgraded.
(Paragraph 8) }}