ML061710424

NRC Email from Shah to Skokowski Et Al, Update on Braidwood Tritium Issue

ML061710424
Person / Time
Site:	Braidwood
Issue date:	01/26/2006
From:	Nirodh Shah NRC/RGN-III
To:	Steven Orth, Richard Skokowski NRC/RGN-III
References
FOIA/PA-2006-0115
Download: ML061710424 (1)

Text

ven Orth - Update on Braidwood Tritium Issue. i-'aqe ~i I

.... I venOrth Update on Braidwood Txitium Issue

• From: Nirodh Shah

.,T: Richard Skokowski; Steven Orth

'Date:**' Thu, Jan 26, 2006 9:14 AM to a*

This:: wa response-*

in;*:,:*

• ,":aton ubc.t Update on Braidwood Tritium Issue n1/25/2006, ,;,Bwd held a media briefing to discuss the tritium contamination. This was in response to a

. ,Ca~o Tribune article in that mornings paper. The breifing was attended by the Chicago Tribune,

.,several hicago area TV stations and several local newspapers. Idid not attend the briefing, but Jeff o'man*a the IEMA resident, did. He said there were a lot of questions and that the reporters were primarily focuseedý'n whether past or current station management would be held accountable (i.e., fired).

We also recieved a copy of the draft root cause report re: .the source of the tiitum contamination.

According to this report there have been 22 cases of blowdown line leakage since 1996. In particular, the f

vlre rt.saue.d that in 1996 there.iwas a spill of 250,000 gallons from vacuum breaker 1, due to a primer valve failure. Apparently, this spill was never captured in the CAP nor was the water sampled for radioactivity. This isthe first time that either we were made aware of this event. Previously, the station had.only informed .usaboutspills in 1998 (VB-3) and 2000 (VB-2). Additionally, the 2000 RCR does not discuss a spill in 1996.

7 I,

The draft root cause is in the process of being reviewed bythe station PORC, who raised some of the same issues that we did.

I will pass along.any additional info I get on either of these issues after I get briefed by the licensee.

thanks...N CC: Gregory Roach; Jan Strasma; John House; Mahesh Chawla I..

inthIs vecord w~as dleBted

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