ML101250225

Department of Veterans Affairs, Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System, Reply to a Notice of Unresolved Item

ML101250225
Person / Time
Site:	05000131
Issue date:	04/12/2010
From:	Washko A US Dept of Veterans Affairs, Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System
To:	Document Control Desk, NRC/FSME
References
IR-09-004
Download: ML101250225 (4)

Text

Omaha 4101 Woolworth Avenue DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS Omaha NE 68105-1873 NEBRASKA-WESTERN IOWA HEALTH CARE SYSTEM Lincoln 600 S 7 0 th Street Lincoln NE 68510-2493 Grand Island 2201 N Broadwell Avenue Grand Island NE 68803-2196 April 12, 2010 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission ATTN. Document Control Desk Washington D.C. 20555 RE: Reply to a Notice of Unresolved Item.

The following is the response by the Department of Veterans Affairs Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System Alan J. Blotcky Reactor Facility to the NRC Unresolved Item 050-00131/09-04.

License R-57, Docket # 50-131 Unresolved Item One unresolved item was identified during the inspection involving your possible possession of a polonium-beryllium sealed source. An unresolved item is a matter about which more information is required to determine whether the issue in question is an acceptable item, a deviation, a nonconformance, or a violation. You provided additional information about one polonium-beryllium sealed-source in your possession. Based on half-life of polonium and the age of the source, we understand that the source has decayed to a negligible radioactivity level. Also, your staff conducted a records review and visually observed the components currently being stored in the reactor pool. Based on these reviews and observations, your staff believes that your facility does not possess any additional sealed sources.

The license allowed you to possess up to 8 curies of polonium- beryllium sealed sources and up to 4 curies of americium-beryllium sealed sources. However, we are still unclear about how many sealed sources you previously possessed under the license. For example, the Annual Operating Report for 2003, submitted to the NRC by letter dated March 23, 2004, stated that americium-beryllium sources were transferred to the Department of Energy on July 24, 2003, licensed radioactive sources were removed and properly disposed, with the exception of americium-beryllium and polonium-beryllium sources". The Request for License Termination letter was submitted to the NRC after the annual report for 2003 was submitted. To the NRC suggesting that you were in possession of two or more sealed sources at that time.

In summary, the docket file records that we reviewed did no clearly provide an accounting of the sealed sources you had received, including which sources were transferred and'disposed, and which sources

were still in your possession. Therefore, you are requested to provide the following information to the NRC before we can close Unresolved Item 050-00131/0901-04:

A listing of all sealed sources received, including receipt date, sources type, source holder, source activity, and serial number, if known.

A listing of all sealed sources transferred or disposed, including date of transfer and disposal and serial number, if known.

A listing of sealed sources(s) still in possession, by serial number if possible.

A clarification of Section 1.4 in the Request for Termination Letter, specifically, to clarify whether the statement that you possessed multiple sealed sources at that time was accurate or whether this Section requires updating.

Response to Unresolved Item The staff at the Alan J. Blotcky Reactor Facility has conducted a records search as well as a physical search of the reactor facility to address the sealed source accounting the NRC has requested. To the best of our knowledge the following information given in the table below is accurate and includes all the sealed neutron sources the reactor facility has received since .it was first licensed. The two Siemens sources were not neutron start up sources, but have been added for clarification. They were transferred to the Department of Energy's Off-Site Source Recovery Program along with the americium-beryllium sealed source on July 24, 2003.

0 Manufacturer Received Source Initial Serial Source Transfer In Type Activity Number holder or Possession Disposal Isotope 05/30/1959 pol/ Be 5 Ci None 06/01/1963 No Specialties U.S. Nuclear 07/13/1961 po2l°/Be 7 Ci B-673 06/01/1963 No U.S. Nuclear 05/03/1963 po2u/13e 7 Ci J-102 05/23/1966 No U.S. Nuclear 07/02/1964 pofl/Be 7 Ci L-202 05/23/1966 No U.S. Nuclear 01/12/1966 pof1/Be 7 Ci 0-178 NA Yes U.S. Nuclear 01/29/1968 Am241/Be 2 Ci 618AM372 07/24/2003 No Siemens 02/27/1987 AM241 12mCi 2824LA 07/24/2003 No Siemens 06/24/1987 Am241 12mCi 5839LV 07/24/2003 No Neutron Source holder The following information is all that is currently known about the source holder for the sealed sources.

The neutron source holder (Fig 1) is the same general size and shape as a fuel element; thus, it can be placed in any vacant fuel or graphite element location. The upper and lower portions of the holder are screwed together to enclose a cavity that contains the source. A shoulder at the upper end of the neutron source holder supports the assembly on the upper plate.

0 I ,

Fig. 1 SOURCE HOLDER

Clarification of Request for License Termination Letter The Reactor Safeguards Committee of the AJBRF wishes to correct an error in section 1.4 of the "Request for License Termination" letter dated September 21, 2004. The original wording in this section is as follows:

1.4 Nature of Sources The radioactive materials licensed for use at the AJBRF primarily consisted of the reactor fuels and fission chambers which have since been transferred and sent for use in the United States Geologic Survey (USGS) reactor in Denver, Colorado. All licensed radioactive sources were removed and properly disposed, with the exception of Americium-Beryllium and Polonium-Beryllium sources.

The revised wording of this section should read as follows:

1.4 Nature of Sources The radioactive materials licensed for use at the AJBRF primarily consisted of the reactor fuels and fission chambers which have sirnce been transferred and sent for use in the United States Geologic Survey (USGS) reactor in Denver, Colorado. All licensed radioactive sources were removed and properly disposed, with the exception of one, Polonium-Beryllium source. This start up source serial number 0-178 is no longer significantly radioactive.

AL WASHKO Director Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System Omaha CC Ted Smith U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Mail Stop T-7-E18 Washington, DC 20555 D. Blair Spitzberg, PhD Chief, Repository &Spent Fuel Safety Branch U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Region IV 612 East Lamar Blvd, Suite 400 Arlington, TX 76011-4125