IR 05000341/1993008
| ML20036B213 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Fermi  |
| Issue date: | 04/30/1993 |
| From: | Schumacher M, Nirodh Shah NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION III) |
| To: | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20036B209 | List: |
| References | |
| 50-341-93-08, 50-341-93-8, NUDOCS 9305180307 | |
| Download: ML20036B213 (9) | |
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U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
REGION III
Report No. 50-341/93008(DRSS)
Docket No. 50-341 License No. NPF-43 Licensee: Detroit Edison Company 6400 North Dixie Highway Newport, MI 48166 Facility Name:
Fermi Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 2 Inspection At:
Fermi Site, Newport, Michigan
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I Inspection Conducted: April 12-16, 1993 l
Inspector:
ryLLLf64-vb -/n N. Shah Da'.e Approved By:
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M. C. Schumacher, Chief Date i
Radiological Controls Section 1 Inspection Summarv i
Inspection on April 12-16.1993 (Report No. 50-341/93008(DRSS))
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Areas Inspected:
Routine, unannounced inspection of the solid, liquid, and
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gaseous radioactive waste management programs (IPs 84750 and 86750) with
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emphasis on interim radwaste storage. Also examined were the ongoing forced
outage to repair an extraction steam line in the condenser (IP 83750), and
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items identified in Deviation Event Reports (DERs).
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Results: No violations or deviations were identified. A recent management reorganization has placed both'the radioactive waste (radwaste) and chemistry
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groups under the direction of the Superintendent Radiation Protection. Both
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solid radwaste processing and shipping activities appear to be good, but a weakness was noted in the storage of radwaste packages. Although effluent
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releases remained below technical specification limits, a slight increase was
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noted in gaseous activity due to a leaking fuel element.
Emergent work has l
forced an upward revision of the outage dose goal, but the current dose
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performance appears good.
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9305180307 930511 PDR ADDCK 05000341 G
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t DETAILS'
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1.
Persons Contacted
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D. R. Gipson, Senior Vice President R. McKeon, Plant Manager W. E. Miller, Director, Nuclear Licensing
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J. Conen, Nuclear Licensing T. Vandermay, Radiological Engineer R. B. Stafford, General Director, Nuclear Assurance
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D. Pettinari, General Supervisor, Radwaste R. R. Eberhardt, Superintendent, Radiation Protection
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E. F. Kokosky, General Supervisor, RP Operations L. Goodman, Director, Nuclear Quality Assurance
B. Weber, Supervisor, Radwaste Shipping R. Delong, Radiation Protection Manager
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S. Bartman, General Supervisor, Chemistry R. Baum, Supervisor, Radiological Engineering i
K. Riemer, NRC Resident Inspector R. Twigg, Reactor Engineer, NRC The above personnel were present at the exit meeting on April 16, i
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1993.
The inspector also interviewed other licensee and contractor personnel.
2.
Licensee Action on Previous Insoection Findinas
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(Closed) IFI 50-341/92008-03: Contamination in Fermi i cooling channel.
The licensee has finished a summary report of their evaluation results, l
which supports the recirculation pathway described in their Final Safety
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Analysis Report (FSAR). This pathway will continue to be monitored via semiannual sediment sampling along the lake shore and at the service water inlet and Fermi I cooling channel discharge areas, under the i
licensee's Radiological Environmental Monitoring Program (REMP).
In the
interim, the licensee is pursuing final disposal of the waste under
10 CFR 50.75(g). This item will be reviewed during routine inspections
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of the licensee's REMP.
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(Closed) IFI 50-341/92008-02: Status of waste shipment. On
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November 20, 1992, the NRC completed rulemakir,g allowing licensees to
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receive their own rcdwaste following offsite processing.
Subsequently,
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on December 8,1992, the licensee retrieved their waste from the Channahon, Illinois site. The inspector reviewed the licensee's receipt survey and the shipment papers; no problems were identified. This item is considered closed.
(Closed) Part 21 reoort concernino desian deficiency in Eberline model
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AMS-3A Beta Particle Air Monitor: The licensee does not use these i
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I monitors for either safety related or emergency preparedness purposes, and has elected to disable the function of the vacuum relief valve.
l This is consistent with corrective actions recommended by the Eberline Instrument Corporation. Additionally, licensee radiation protection technicians (RPTs) have been instructed on this issue.
This item is j
considered closed.
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(Closed) IFI 50-341/92020-04: Elevated offgas radiation levels.
l Following the removal of the leaking fuel assembly during the third refueling outage, offgas radiation levels decreased to and remain at levels observed before the fuel leak occurred (between 5-15 mR/hr).
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licensee has also not seen any evidence of additional fuel leaks. This item is considered closed.
3.
Manaaement Oroanization and Trainino (IPs 84750 and 86750)
The inspector reviewed changes in the licensee's organization and management control structure.
In an ongoing process to streamline station management, the licensee has reorganized the chemistry and radwaste departments.
Technical activities of each group are overseen by a General Supervisor, but
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administratively managed by the Superintendent Radiation Protection.
Previously, the chemistry group reported to the Superintendent Plant
Operations, and the radwaste group had its own superintendent.
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Because of the above change, the radwaste management organization and responsibilities were redefined. The radwaste group now consists of two supervisors for shipping and decontamination, respectively, who report
to the General Supervisor. Responsibility for radwaste operations, previously held by the radwaste group, has been transferred to plant operations.
Because neither the general nor radwaste shipping supervisors have received recent training in shipping regulations, all shipment packages are being reviewed by the RP group; both supervisors expect to complete this training by September 1993.
The inspector reviewed the qualifications of the above individuals and, with the exception of the above training deficiencies, did not identify any problems.
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No violations or deviations were identified.
4.
Audits and Appraisals (IPs 83750. 84750. and 86750)
The inspector reviewed recent audits and surveillances conducted by the licensee; also reviewed were Deviation Event Reports (DERs) generated since the last inspection.
Recent audits of the radwaste and environmental programs were reviewed and found to be thorough, and contained substantive findings.
During the radwaste audit, the auditors commented on the poor material condition of doors in the Onsite Storage facility (OSSF), which was
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verified by the inspector during routine tours.
Numerous doors were found with missing handles or broken locks; these were discussed with the licensee who stated that repairs were scheduled. Also identified in the audit was the lack of an inspection program for stored waste.
Although the licensee does inspect waste packages prior to shipment or i
storage, they do not routinely inspect those in storage. While not a
regulatory requirement, Generic Letter (GL) 81-38, " Storage of Low-level I
Radioactive Wastes at Power Reactor Sites," recommends a periodic
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inspection program to verify container integrity. The licensee indicated to the inspector that they were developing an inspection plan in response to the audit finding.
In response to a number of industry events regarding records falsification, the licensee conducted an audit of RP records; no evidence of falsification was identified.
Several DERs were reviewed by the inspector. Although not all were complete at the time of the inspection, they were generally well investigated with good root cause analyses and appropriate corrective
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actions. A discussion of specific DERs is contained in sections 6a and 8.
No violations or deviations were identified.
5.
External Exposure Control (IP 83750)
The inspector reviewed radiological performance during the licensee's
'i ongoing forced outage.
On April 10, 1993, the licensee shut down to repair an extraction steam line that supplies steam to the number 4 feedwater heater, and which had previously been repaired in December 1992 (see inspection report no. 50-341/92017(DRP)). A licensee investigation of the failure mechanism is ongoing and will be reviewed by the resident inspectors.
To date, a total of 0.684 person-rem has been accrued and two personal contamination events have occurred. The inspector reviewed licensee
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outage ALARA performance and found no problems.
No violations or deviations were identified.
6.
Implementation of the Solid Radioactive Waste Prooram (IP 86750)
The inspector reviewed the licensee's solid radwaste program as described in their Process Control Program (PCP). Also reviewed was
radwaste storage in the OSSF and a DER describing the improper stacking of a radwaste container.
a.
Waste Generation and Processina Primary waste streams at Fermi include Dry Active Waste (DAW), contaminated oil (section 7), and spent resin. DAW is sorted and compacted into 55-gallon drums in the OSSF;
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non-compactible DAW is kept in either 55-gallon drums or
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Because of a recent NRC rule change (section 2), DAW
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is sent offsite for volume reduction prior to onsite i
storage.
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Spent resin is dewatered and stored in high integrity I
containers (HICs) using a vendor system, in accordance with
an NRC-approved topical report. Ongoing actions to reduce j
spent resin generation include using activated carbon in the i
deep bed demineralizers to remove organic contaminants from i
the waste stream and thereby increase resin life. Previous
initiatives (see inspection report 50-341/92008(DRSS)) have l
increased condensate polisher resin life from about 3 days
to 23 days.
l The inspector reviewed an event documented in DER 93-0130. On
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March 3, 1993, after stacking a HIC in the OSSF shielded storage area (section 6c), a radwaste crane operator noticed that the
lower HIC was bowing outward. The operator immediately removed the upper HIC and contacted radwaste management. After verifying
its integrity, the HIC was allowed to return to normal. shape -in-l accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations.
Later, the
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licensee learned that these HICs could not be stacked unless an
overpack was used.
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.t During his review, the inspector identified that with the
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exception of radwaste drums, there was no formal _ guidance for the
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stacking of radwaste packages.' Procedure NPP-RC3-03, "Use of the Onsite Storage Facility," contains drum stacking guidance, but i
allows the radwaste shipping supervisor to determine requirements-
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for other radwaste packages. Although the licensee has a memo-
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summarizing HIC stacking guidance from the manufacturer, it has.
l not been incorporated into a formal document and was not read prior to this event. The inspector informed the licensee that GL 81-38 (section 4) recommends radwaste storage plans address
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container protection, and that the lack of_ formal stacking
~f guidance was a weakness that precipitated this event. 'The
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licensee agreed and will develop a formal procedure for stacking
radwaste, they also ordered overpacks to safely stack these HICs.
b.
Waste Classification and Transportation l
t Although no burial site shipments have been made since being
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denied access, stored waste is maintained " shippable" in the
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event access is reinstated.
l The inspector observed preparations for a licensee shipment of refueling tools to the Washington Public Power Supply System.
Both' the shipping coordinator and RPT displayed good knowledge of i
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the transportation regulations and the' inspector's radiological measurements agreed with the licensee's. As described in section 3, the shipping papers were reviewed by the RP group prior-l t
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to shipment. The inspector also noted that the tools had been properly packaged in accordance with the transportation
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classification.
c.
Onsite Storace Facility i
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The OSSF is located entirely within the licensee's protected area
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inside the radwaste building. Within the facility are
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administrative offices, the DAW drum compactor, resin dewatering
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system, and storage capacity for approximately 2000 m* of
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radwaste. Separate storage areas are maintained for drums and l
HICs; packages with high contact dose rates are further segregated in shielded storage areas. A remote operated crane is used to
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transfer radwaste into storage locations.
Effluent from the
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facility is either collected in drains and routed to the station j
liquid radwaste system, or is vented through a monitored filtered i
pathway to atmosphere.
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The inspector noted that the licensee's Offsite Dose Calculation l
Manual (0DCM) incorrectly described OSSF gaseous releases as unfiltered. This will be corrected by the licensee in the next i
ODCM revision.
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To date, 457 m' of radwaste is stored in the OSSF.
The facility has been operating for approximately 2.5 years and has 24% of its l
available capacity used for storage. By continuing volume a
reduction techniques (section 6a) and at current generation rates,
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the licensee estimates sufficient storage capacity exists over the five year interim.
The licensee is considering modifying the OSSF to allow HIC l
dewatering and weighing inside a shielded cell area.
Currently,
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HICs have to be moved to another area of the OSSF for weighing,
after dewatering.
If successful, the modification would reduce
both worker dose and handling of the HICs.
With the exception of the discrepancies described in section 4, no significant problems were identified during facility tours.
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Although the OSSF was reasonably maintained, additional lighting
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appeared warranted in several storage areas. The licensee indicated to the impactor that extra lights were scheduled for j
installation after the current outage (section 5).
No violations or deviations were identified.
7.
Effluent Releases and Primary Coolant Radiochemistry (IP 84750)
The inspector revievad the licensee's effluent release program and primary coolant chemistry results.
Gaseous effluents are continuously exhausted via the reactor building, turbine building, and standby gas treatment system (SGTS) stacks and the
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OSSF, office services, and radwaste buildings; venting or purging of the
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primary containment atmosphere is considered a batch release. While i
each release point is monitored, only those from the SGTS, OSSF, and
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radwaste and reactor buildings are filtered.
Effluent samples are l
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collected weekly from each monitor and used to quantify dose rates;
monthly, the total dose from gaseous releases is calculated.
l Liquid radwaste consist of either batch releases from storage tanks or waste oil. Batch releases occur through a monitored release line that
leads to a circulating water Jecant line which discharges to Lake Erie.
i The decant line provides dilution to ensure that nuclides in effluent i
are below maximum permissible concentrations (MPC). Waste oil
(primarily turbine oil) generated during operation is processed through
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an Oil Decontamination Unit, and analyzed for both radiological content
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and quality. Uncontaminated oil of good quality is reused in the plant; otherwise it is sent to a Detroit Edison fossil plant for incineration.
- Contaminated oil is currently stored in the OSSF; however, in light of a recent NRC rule change, the licensee is considering incinerating the oil j
onsite.
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Tsie inspector reviewed effluent release data contained in semi-annual effluent reports and in batch release packages; there have been six liquid and no gaseous batch releases to date. While 1992 liquid i
releases (192 uCi) continue a declining trend, gaseous releases (209 Ci)
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increased slightly owing to a leaking fuel element (section 2); however, l
no releases in excess of technical specification (TS) limits were
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identified.
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The inspector reviewed analysis results fer dose equivalent iodine-131, e
conductivity, pH, and chlorides, and verified that levels were within TS i
limits, and that sampling had been performed as required.
It was also
noted that effluent LLDs and offsite dose calculations were in l
accordance with TS and ODCM requirements, respectively.
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8.
Effluent Radiation Monitorino (IP 84750)
The inspector reviewed the calibration and maintenance of effluent i
monitors.
l Initial calibration of liquid monitors was performed using a single concentration of cesium-137 and cobalt-60 liquid sources.
Subsequently, response to several different isotopic sources (cobalt-60, barium-133, i
and cesium-137) were used to determine linearity and for use in future calibration checks. Gaseous monitors were similarly calibrated using i
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krypton-85 and xenon-133 gaseous sources, and several solid isotopic
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sources (cadmium-109, cesium-137, and cobalt-60). Subsequent
calibrations for both monitor types confirm that response to decay corrected solid sources remained within an established error band. The
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inspector verified that current calibrations had been performed as required, that calibration sources were traceable to the National
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Institute of Standards and Technology, and that monitor alarm setpoints were in accordance with technical specifications.
The RP instruments group is responsible for routine calibration and maintenance of effluent monitors. The inspector accompanied an RP instrument technician performing routine sample changes of gaseous effluent monitors; no problems were identified.
In order to better communicate effluent monitor concerns, a task force comprising membert
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from the instrument and calibration (I&C), RP, and the nuclear and
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technical engineering groups was formed in January 1993.
l The inspector also reviewed DER 92-0646. On November 6, 1992, the
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licensee identified a disconnected sample line on the Division I SGTS gaseous effluent monitor during a routine surveillance. After reconnecting the line and verifying the condition of other gas sample lines, the licensee reviewed weekly sample results and interviewed RP and I&C technicians.
It was subsequently determined that the monitor
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was inoperable between September 29 and November 6,1992, when the plant was in the third refueling outage and monitor operability was not required. Corrective actions consisted of having RP technicians l
specifically check monitor sample line connections during weekly
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surveillances for two months. At the exit meeting (section 10), the
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inspector commented on the licensee's timely corrective actions, but
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cautioned them on the importance of maintaining sample line operability.
No violations or deviations were identified.
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9.
HEPA Filter and Charcoal Adsorber System (IP 84750)
The inspector reviewed the maintenance of the licensee's control room i
heating and ventilation (HVAC) system.
Test requirements for the control room HVAC filters are contained in procedure 43.413.001, " Control Room Emergency Filter Performance Test "
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While licensee HVAC system engineers perform the in-place HEPA filter tests onsite, charcoal test canisters are sent to an offsite vendor for analysis. The system engineers had previously been trained by the vendor.
Selected records of in-place filter testing of HEPA and charcoal filters, including laboratory analysis of methyl iodine removal efficiency for charcoal adsorbers, were reviewed by the inspector; no
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problems were identified.
An annual visual inspection of silicone sealant for selected control
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room HVAC duct portions is required by TS 4.7.2.2.
Accompanied by a system engineer, the inspector toured the specific TS locations and
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verified that the silicone sealant had not degraded.
No violations or deviations were identified.
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Exit Interview
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The scope and findings of the inspection were reviewed with licensee
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representatives (section 1) at the conclusion of the inspection on
April 16, 1993. No violations or deviations were identified.
The
licensee did not identify any documents as proprietary. The following j
matters were specifically discussed by the inspectors
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Fermi I cooling channel contamination (section 2)
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Inspection of stored radwaste (section 3)
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Stacking of radwaste packages in OSSF (section 6a)
i Disconnected SGTS sample line (section 8)
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