IR 05000338/1980002
| ML19309B471 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | North Anna  |
| Issue date: | 02/13/1980 |
| From: | Ewald S, Gibson A NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION II) |
| To: | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML19309B463 | List: |
| References | |
| 50-338-80-02, 50-338-80-2, 50-339-80-02, 50-339-80-2, NUDOCS 8004040194 | |
| Download: ML19309B471 (6) | |
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UNITED STATES
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g NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
- t REGION 11
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101 MARf ETTA ST., N.W., SUITE 3100
'e ATLANTA, GEORGIA 30303
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i Report Nos. 50-338/80-02 and 50-339/80-02 Licensee: Virginia Electric and Power Company Richmond, Virginia 23261 Facility Name: North Anna Power Station Docket Nos. 50-338 and 50-339 License Nos. NPF-4 and CPPR-78
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Inspection at North Anna site near Mineral, Virginia Inspector:
2 n! fro S. C Ead
'Dat'e Signed Approved by: (i S / f.3/60
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A.' F. Gibson, Section Chief, FFMS Branch
'Dhte Signed SUMMARY Inspection on January 28-31, 1980 Areas Inspected This routine, unannounced inspection involved 32 inspector-hours onsite in the areas of solid waste pr.ckaging and transportation, facility response to IE Bulletin 79-19, and followup of worker concerns.
Results No items of noncompliance or deviations were identified.
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DETAILS 1.
Persons Contacted Licensee Employees
- W. R. Cartwright, Station Manager
- E. R. Smith, Superintendent, Technical Services
- E. W. Harrell, Superintendent, Maintenance
- D. M. Hopper, Supervisor, Health Physics
- W. R. Madison, NRC Coordinator
- F. P. Miller, Quality Control Inspector
- A. P. Miller, Nuclear Training Coordinator
- A. H. Stafford, Health Physicist
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Other licensee employees contacted included three technicians and two operators.
NRC Resident Inspector M. S. Kidd
- A.
P. Tattersall
- Attended exit interview 2.
Exit Interview The inspection scope and findings were summarized on January 31, 1980, with those persons indicated in Paragraph I above.
3.
Licensee Action on Previous Inspection Findings Not inspected.
4.
Unresolved Items Unresolved items were not identified during this inspection.
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5.
Bulletin 79-19 The inspector reviewed the licensee's response of September 27 and November 8, 1979, to IE Bulletin 79-19, " Packaging of Low Level Waste for Transport and Burial." The inspector noted several areas were lef t open in the responses, specifically, formal written designation of responsible personnel, and training programs. These items were also listed as open in the Quality Assurance Audit performed by the licensee as requested by the Bulletin.
Station Administrative Procedure ADM.33 (12/12/79) designates responsible
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personnel for solid radwaste activities. Training programs for the health physics staff are being developed and will be implemented prior to July 1, 1980. In the interim, the station Supervisor of Health Physics is exercisin-direct control over all packaging and transport activities. The inspector
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expressed concern that appropriate training fc.r general employees in this
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area had not been developed. This item is discussed further in paragraph 9.
The inspector verified current copies of NRC, DOT, and burial facility regulatory and license requirements were available. The inspector had no qcestions regarding the licensee's response to IE Bulletin 79-19.
6.
Quality Assurance The inspector reviewed Quality Assurance Audit Report N-79-54, dated October 9, 1979, and the followup audits and responses to identified items. The only items remaining open involve health physics staff training programs and the station audit program.
The training program and corrective actions are discussed in paragraph 5.
The station audit program requires revisjon to include solid waste topics as part of the routine audit program. Quality Assurance representatives stated the program revisions have been drafted ar.d were in the process of review and approval.
7.
Procedures a.
The inspector reviewed three approved Health Physics procedures,
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listed below, relating to the packaging and shipment of solid waste and one procedure in final stages of review and approval.
HP 3.2.7, " Solid Radioactive Waste Disposal" HP 3.2.8, " Rad Waste Packaging and Shipment of Radioactive Waste" HP 3.2.9, " Radioactive Waste Records and Reports of Radioactive Waste Shipments" The procedure awaiting final approval concerns examination of packages for free standing water.
The inspector discussed with the Health Physics Supervisor several minor comments concerning the above procedures with regard to loading of packages on transport vehicles and shipping requirements for transuranics. It was agreed that some clarification of the procedures in these areas would be appropriate.
The Health Physics Supervisor also stated that procedural steps for calculating curies in a package, based on external dose rates, had been inadvertently
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omitted from the procedures in the last revision and new copies were
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being prepared to include these steps.
b.
Concerns relating to dewatering spent resins have been discussed with the licensee during previous inspections. (Open Item 78-08-02). These concerns are highlighted by water found in two casks during the inspec-tion (see paragraph 8) and the identification of water in a powdex resia drum in October 1979. In response to these problems, the licensee has been developing an additional Health Physics Procedure (HP 3.2.10)
specifically addressing tests and requirements for assuring packages have no water. The inspector reviewed the current draft version of this procedure and noted the checks for water in resin liners typically involve use of a standpipe. The inspector stated, based on the identi-fication of water using standpipes discussed in paragraph 3, that standpipes appear to be a reasonable means of providing necessary
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assurance.
The inspector also acknowledged licensee comments that revised vendor procedures and tests for dewatering resin liners are being sent to the site and will likely be incorporated into the licen-see's program. The inspector stated that final resolution of various procedural controls assuring lack of water in dewatered resins will be reviewed during the next inspection.
c.
The inspector reviewed procedures and instructions relating to the compaction of contaminated waste and observed compacting operations on January 29
')uring waste compaction, health p*iysics coverage is avail-able and a continuous radiation monitor samples air from the area of the compactor. A worker slits open a polybag of waste and removes any liquid, wet articles or other non-compactable waste prior to compaction. The inspector noted this examination is not inclu,ded in the compacting instructions and licensee representatives agreed to modify the instructions as appropriate.
The inspector expressed concern over an individual examining the bag contents prior to compaction, however, the items found and segregated appear to justify the practice. This item and related topics is discussed further in paragraphs 8 and 9.
8.
Examination of Packages During the inspection, the inspector requested a number of packages of a.
solid waste be opened for examination of contents.
A total of 5 packages were examined, including a 55-gallon drum of compacted trash examined during compaction, a 120 cubic foot "LSA Box", 2 dewatered resin liners, and a filter cask. Examination of the resin liners and filter cask involved removal of a cover and looking for indications of water in a standpipe.
One resin liner had water in the standpipe approximately 1/3 to 1/2 full. The filter cask standpipe appeared to
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I be 1/5 to 1/4 full. Licensee representatives stated the casks were not ready for shipment and had been identified as probably having water earlier.
The casks were in storage awaiting new dewatering
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procedures and procedural check for free standing water (see paragraph 7).
The Health Physics Supervisor stated all future shipments of dewatered resins and filters would be subject to the new procedural l
checks for water (Health Physics Procedure HP-3.2.10). The inspector stated, based on the above observations, that use of standpipes appeared to be effective in identifying dewatered packages with residual free water. The Health Physics Supervisor stated new resin liners would be fitted with standpipes prior to loading and those liners already loaded would have standpipes installed.
b.
Contaminated trash is disposed of by compaction in 55 gallon drums.
Items not suitable for compaction such as lumber or large items are disposed of in 120 cubic foot plywood boxes ("LSA Boxes"). The inspector examined one such box in the Auxiliary Building and noted several " clean"
' items that had been disposed of including several empty cardboard boxes and the lifting straps for the box itself. The inspector also observed
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the compaction of waste into a 55 gallon drum. This procedure is dis-i cussed in paragraph 7.
During the course of filling the drum, items f
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found in contaminated trash bags included a partially filled squeeze l
bottle of liquid cleaner, one half gallon of decontamination / cleaning
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liquid, a clean mop head, a set of overalls and several damp, used mop heads. The inspector noted that the bottled liquids alone would have exceeded the one percent uater burial i~acility limits.
The inspector discussed the items identified above with licensee
management and stated it appeared that more attention needs to be j
paid to contaminated trash on the part of people generating the waste.
The inspector stated that, as a first step, some training for general employees would seem appropriate. Training is discussed further in paragraph 9.
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9.
Training The inspector discussed training programs, as they relate to solid waste, in detail with Health Physics and Training personnel. As discussed in paragraph 5, Health Physics staff training in procedures, regulations, etc., is being developed for implementation by July 1, 1980.
Training representatives stated operator training and retraining programs already address solid waste and related systems. The inspector stated that, based on items found in contaminated trash packages, specific training addressing waste volume reduction and restrictions on the form of waste (i.e., liquids)
would be beneficial. This training should be part of the general employee training / retraining program and should also be included in operator and health physics training programs.
Training representatives acknowledged the inspectors comments and agreed that inclusion of these topics should be considered for the various training programs. The inspector stated revisions to the training programs would be examined during subsequent inspections
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(80-02-01).
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10.
Worker Concerns
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Prior to the inspection, the inspector was advised of written concerns a.
involving radiological safety by a former worker at the facility. Two specific concerns were:
(1) response of contamination monitoring devices when breathed on; and, (2) concerns at being required to work in a posted High Radiation Area. The workers reluctance to work in a posted High Radiation Area resulted in the individual being terminated as a worker at the facility. The inspector's review and conclusions regarding these concerns are discussed below.
b.
The inspector discussed with health physics representatives the pheno-mena of breathing onto a contamination monitor detector and having the instrument respond or alarm.
The contamination monitoring devices used consists of a thin window "pascake" probe anc a ratemeter. This frisking system is most sensitive to beta radiation and very effective for detecting small amounts of radioactive contamination.
Health Physics representatives stated the response of a frisker to breath has
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been observed as the result of inhalation of noble gas activity, i.e.,
radioactive xenons and kryptons, released in the plant. Since noble gases are chemically inert, there is no uptake of activity by the body and exposure to airborne noble gases are treated as an external exposure hazard. Licensee representatives stated that when a noble gas release occurs thic phenomena and the contamination of workers with the rubi-dium-88 daughter of krypton-88 activity have been obs e rved.
The rubidium phenomena has been previously reviewed (ref. RII report No. 50-338/78-34).
The inspector also noted that any detection of personnel contamination is to be reported to Health Physics for evalu-ation as per the Radiation Protection Manual section 1.3.G.
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The concern about high radiation areas apparently involved schpduled work in Unit I containment in conjunction with the recent refueling l
outage. On the date of the worker's termination, Unit I contai'nment was posted as a high radiation area. High levels of neutron radiation
had been observed during operation. The posting of containment as a high radiation area, indicating dose rates in excess of 100 mrem /hr, was maintained administrative 1y after shutdown in addition to posting j
and barricading local high radiation areas in containment. The Health
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Physics Supervisor stated any work performed in an area with dose rates exceeding 100 mres/hr were monitored continuously by health physics staff. The inspector revf.ewed personnel dose reports for the outage and noted no exposures in excess of man-rem exposure estimates.
Based on discussions with health physics staff and review of records, the inspector found no indication of any abnormal or unanticipated radiological hazards.
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