IR 05000320/1985020
| ML20205G575 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Crane  |
| Issue date: | 11/05/1985 |
| From: | Martin T NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION I) |
| To: | Standerfer F GENERAL PUBLIC UTILITIES CORP. |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20205G580 | List: |
| References | |
| EA-85-118, NUDOCS 8511130291 | |
| Download: ML20205G575 (3) | |
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NOV 0 51985
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Docket No. 50-320-
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License No..DPR-73
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EA 85-118 GPU Nuclear Corporation ATTN: Mr. F. R. Standerfer Director of TMI-2 P.O. Box 480 Middletown, Pennsylvania 17057 l
Gentlemen:
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Subject: NOTICE OF VIOLATION
(Inspection Report-No. 50-320/85-20)
On September 30 - October 2, 1985, an NRC inspection was conducted at the Three Mile. Island Nuclear Power Station, Unit 2, to review the circumstances associated
. with an error in one of your laboratory procedures for determining the strontium-90 content in radioactive material. Specifically, your procedure for conversion
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of beta spectrometer measurements to strontium-90 activity was in error. The error, which was identified by one of your laboratory technicians and reported to the NRC on September 20, 1985, existed for approximately four years without
' detection and resulted in the strontium-90 content being systematically under-stated by a factor of two in most radwaste shipments, in particulate waste.
effluent measurements, and in the determination of personnel airborne MPC-hours.
On October 9, 1985, an enforcement conference was conducted with you and members of your staff to discuss this error, the details of which were described in the NRC inspection report (85-20) sent to you on October 7, 1985.
At the enforcement conference, the associated violations and causes, as well as
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your corrective actions, were also discussed.
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Although the error did not significant1y' affect public or worker safety, and l
resulted in only one shipped package of waste being improperly classified, the.
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long-term existence of the error demonstrates deficiencies in the preparation and verification of laboratory procedures, and inadequate laboratory QA/QC l
oversight.
In this case, a mathematical correction factor was incorrectly i
j incorporated in the computer program developed to calculate strontium-90 content, but the error was not detected because the program-was not tested
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prior to its use to verify that it would produce accurate results.
Further,
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none of the material analyzed using this program was ever sent to outside laboratories nor were " spiked samples" ever analyzed to confirm the accuracy of the procedure as part of a laboratory QA/QC program.
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8511130291 851105
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PDR ADOCK 05000320 O
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OFFICIAL RECORD COPY CP PKG TMI2/REV 1 - 0001.0.0
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,GPU Nuclear Corporation
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'The violations associated with this error have been classified as a Severity Level IV problem in accordance with the " General Statement of Policy and Procedures for Enforcement Actions," (Enforcement Policy), 10 CFR Part 2, l
Appendix C (1985). We acknowledge your prompt reporting of the error, once identified, and your comprehensive corrective actions.
Further, we commend the technician who identified the error.
Nonetheless, we emphasize that any similar violations in the future may result in escalated enforcement action.
You are required to respond to the Notice and should follow the instructions specified therein when pr'eparing your response.
In your response, you should document the specific action taken and any additional actions you plan to prevent recurrence. After reviewing your response to the Notice, including your proposed corrective actions, the NRC will determine whether further enforcement action is necessary to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.
In accordance with 10 CFR 2.790 of the NRC's " Rules of Practice," a copy of this letter and its enclosure will be placed in the NRC Public Document Room.
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The responses directed by this letter and the enclosed Notice are 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.
Sincerely, Orisirml S18iedITY mweran T. Pert!n Thomas T. Martin, Director Division of Reactor Safety and Safeguards Enclosure: Notice of Violation cc w/ encl:
T. F. Demmitt, Deputy Director, TMI-2 R. E. Rogan, Licensing and Nuclear Safety Director J. J. Byrne, Manager, TMI-2 Licensing
.E. G. Wallace, Manager, PWR Licensing
.W. H. Linton, Manager, Recovery Programs J. B. Lieberman, Esquire A. Miller, Manager, Plant Operations G. F. Trowbridge, Esquire S. Levin, TMI-2 Site Operations Director Public Document Room (PDR)
Local Public Document Room (LPDR)
Nuclear Safety Information Center (NSIC)
.NRC Resident Inspector Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
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W. D. Travers, Deputy Program Director, TMI Program Office Management Assistant, DREA (w/o encl)
TMI-2 Section Chief'.
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.ACRS SECY CA-J. Taylor, IE R. Vollmer, IE-
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= T. Murley, RI J. Lieberman, ELD V. Stello, DED/ROGR Enforcement Coordinators RI, RII, RIII, RIV, RV F. Ingram, PA S. Connelly,'0IA B. Hayes, OI-H..Denton, NRR-
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