ML16161A991
| ML16161A991 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Oconee  |
| Issue date: | 08/17/1988 |
| From: | Stohr J NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION II) |
| To: | Tucker H DUKE POWER CO. |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 8808240181 | |
| Download: ML16161A991 (8) | |
See also: IR 05000269/1984033
Text
REGULATORY INFORMATION DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM (RIDS)
ACCESSION NBR:8808240181
DOC.DATE: 88/08/17 NOTARIZED: NO
DOCKET #
FACIL:50-269 Oconee Nuclear Stationi Unit 1, Duke Power Co.
05000269
50-270 Oconee Nuclear Station, Unit 2! Duke Power Co.
05000270
50-287 Oconee Nuclear Station, Unit 3, Duke Power Co.
05000287
AUTH.NAME
AUTHOR AFFILIATION
TOHR,J.P.
Region 2, Oc of the Director
RECIP.NAME
RECIPIENT AFFILIATION
TUCKER,H.B.
Duke Power Co.
SUBJECT: Forwards state assessment of licensee response to Insp Repts
50-269/84-33,50-270/84-30 & 50-287/84-34 concerning Notice
of Violation re disposal of oil containing low levels of
radioactivity.Response meets requirements of 10CFR2.201.
DISTRIBUTION CODE: IEOiD COPIES RECEIVED:LTR -L ENCL 0
SIZE:
TITLE: General (50 Dkt)-Insp Rept/Notice of Violation Response
NOTES:AEOD/Ornstein:1cy.
05000269
AEOD/Ornstein:1cy.
05000270
AEOD/Ornstein:1cy.
05000287
RECIPIENT
COPIES
RECIPIENT
COPIES
ID CODE/NAME
LTTR ENCL
ID CODE/NAME
LTTR ENCL
PD2-3 PD
1
PASTIS,H
2
INTERNAL: ACRS
2
1
DEDRO
1
NRR MORISSEAU,D
1
NRR/DLPQ/PEB 11
1
NRR/DLPG/GAB 10
1
NRR/DOEA DIR 11
1
NRR/DREP/EPB 10
1
NRR/DREP/RPB 10
2
NRR/DRIS DIR 9A
1
NRR/PMAS/ILRB12
1
NUDOCS-ABSTRACT
1
OE LIEB.RMANJ
1
OOC/HDS2
1
&E
02
1
RES/DSIR.DEPY
1
RGN2
FILE
01
1
EXTERNAL: LPDR
1
NRC PDR
1
1
NOTES:
1
TOTAL NUMBER OF COPIES REQUIRED: LTTR
26
ENCL
La'
AUG 1 7
Docket Nos. 50-269, 50-270, 50-287
License Nos. DPR-38, DPR-47, DPR-55
Duke Power Company
ATTN:
Mr. H. B. Tucker, Vice President
Nuclear Production Department
422 South Church Street
Charlotte, NC 28242
Gentlemen:
SUBJECT:
INSPECTION REPORT NOS. 50-269/84-33, 50-270/84-30 AND 50-287/84-34
This is in response to your letter of February 22,
1985, and supplemental
response of June 7, 1985, to our Notice of Violation issued on January 23,
1985,
concerning the disposal of oil containing very low levels of
radioactivity by your Oconee facility.
We have examined your supplemental
response and found that it meets the requirements of 10 CFR 2.201.
After careful consideration of the bases for your denial of Violation 1, we
have concluded, for the reasons presented in the enclosure to the letter, that
the violation occurred as stated in the Notice of Violation.
Based on
.discussions
with your staff, we understand that you have ceased disposal of oil
with low levels of radioactive contamination by transfer to fossil fuel burning
plants. Therefore no further response to our Notice of Violation is required.
We appreciate your cooperation in this matter.
Sincerely,
691'
J. Philip Stohr, Director
Division of Radiation Safety
and Safeguards
Enclosure:
State Assessment of Licensee Response
cc w/encl:
M. S. Tuckman, Station Manager
bcc w/encl:
(See page 2)
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2
Duke Power Company
2
.
bcc w/encl:
NRC Resident Inspector
DRS Technical Assistant
H. Pastis, NRR
Document Control Desk
State of South Carolina
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ACCElERATED
DITRIBUTION
DEMONSTRATION
SYSTEM
REGULATORY INFORMATION DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM (RIDS)
ACCESSION NBR:8808240181
DOC.DATE: 88/08/17
NOTARIZED: NO
DOCKET #
S CIL:50-269 Oconee Nuclear Station, Unit 1, Duke Power Co.
05000269
50-370 William B. McGuire Nuclear Station, Unit 2, Duke Powe
05000370
50-287 Oconee Nuclear Station, Unit 3, Duke Power Co.
05000287
AUTH.NAME
AUTHOR AFFILIATION
STOHR,J.P.
Region 2, Ofc of the Director
RECIP.NAME
RECIPIENT AFFILIATION
TUCKER,H.B.
Duke Power Co.
SUBJECT: Forwards state assessment of licensee response to Insp Repts
50-269/84-33,50-270/84-30 & 50-287/84-34.
DISTRIBUTION CODE: IE01D COPIES RECEIVED:LTR I ENCL
SIZE:
TITLE: General (50 Dkt)-Insp Rept/Notice of Violation Response
NOTES:AEOD/Ornstein:lcy.
05000269S
AEOD/Ornstein:lcy.
05000287
RECIPIENT
COPIES
RECIPIENT
COPIES
ID CODE/NAME
LTTR ENCL
ID CODE/NAME
LTTR ENCL
PD2-3 PD
1
1
PASTIS,H
2
2
HOOD,D
2
2
D
INTERNAL: ACRS
2
2
1
1
S
DEDRO
1
1
NRR MORISSEAU,D
1
1
NRR/DLPQ/PEB 11
1
1
NRR/DLPQ/QAB 10
1
1
NRR/DOEA DIR 11
1
1
NRR/DREP/EPB 10
1
1
NRR/DREP/RPB 10
2
2
NRR/DRIS DIR 9A
1
1
NRR/PMAS/ILRB12
1
1
NUDOCS-ABSTRACT
1
1
OE LIEBERMAN,J
1
1
OGC/HDS2-
1
1
j
02
1
1
RES/DSIR DEPY
1
1
'GN2
FILE
01
1
1
EXTERNAL: LPDR
2
2
NRC PDR
1
1
1
1
R
NOTES:
1
1
S
A
D
TOTAL NUMBER OF COPIES REQUIRED: LTTR
29
ENCL
29
UNITED STATES
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
REGION II
101 MARIETTA STREET,N.W.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA 30323
0III)
AUG 17 1988
Docket Nos. 50-269, 50-270, 50-287
License Nos. DPR-38, DPR-47, DPR-55
Duke Power Company
.ATTN: Mr. H. B. Tucker, Vice President
Nuclear Production Department
422 South Church Street
Charlotte, NC 28242
Gentlemen:
SUBJECT:
INSPECTION REPORT NOS. 50-269/84-33, 50-270/84-30 AND 50-287/84-34
This is in response to your letter of February 22,
1985,
and supplemental
response of June 7, 1985, to our Notice of Violation issued on January 23,
1985,
concerning the disposal of oil containing very low levels of
radioactivity by your Oconee facility.
We have examined your supplemental
response and found that it meets the requirements of 10 CFR 2.201.
.After
careful consideration of the bases for your denial of Violation 1, we
have concluded, for the reasons presented in the enclosure to the letter, that
the violation occurred as stated in the Notice of Violation.
Based on
discussions with your staff, we understand that you have ceased disposal of oil
with low levels of radioactive contamination by transfer offsite to fossil fuel
burning plants.
Therefore no further response to our Notice of Violation is
required.
We appreciate your cooperation in this matter.
Sincerely,
6ilip S o r, Director
ivision o Radiation Safety
and Safeguards
Enclosure:
State Assessment of Licensee Response
cc w/encl:
M. S. Tuckman, Station Manager
88908240181
8830817
ADOCK 05000269
ENCLOSURE
Staff Assessment of Licensee Response
Restatement of Violation I:
10 CFR 20.301 forbids a licensee to dispose of licensed material as waste
except (a) by transfer to an authorized recipient as provided in the
regulation in Parts 30, 40, 60,
61, 70, or 72 of this chapter, whichever
may be applicable, (b) as authorized pursuant to 10 CFR 20.302 or
10 CFR 61, or (c) as provided in 10 CFR 20.303, applicable to the disposal
of licensed material
by release into sanitary sewage systems, or in
10 CFR 20.306 for disposal of specific wastes,
or in 10 CFR 20.106
(Radioactivity in effluents to unrestricted areas).
Contrary to the above, from September 1981 to June 1984, 18,635 gallons of
slightly contaminated waste oil containing approximately 13.5 microcuries
of Cs-137 and 1.18 microcuries of Cr-51 total was disposed of by transfer
to a fossil fueled power plant to be burned.
This is a Severity Level IV violation (Supplement IV).
Licensee Comment:
By letters dated July 19,
1984, November 2, 1984, and April 22,
1985, the
NRC granted conditional approval of Duke's 10 CFR 20.302 applications for
(1) disposal of slightly contaminated sewage sludge at Oconee Nuclear
Station, (2) disposal of slightly contaminated sewage sludge at McGuire
Nuclear Station, and (3) the disposal of slightly contaminated feedwater
heaters at Oconee Nuclear Station, respectively. In each of the letters
of conditional approval, the NRC stated that pertinent aspects of offsite
disposal are subject to the jurisdiction of the State involved (North
Carolina or South Carolina) since they are agreement States as defined by
Section 274.b of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (the Act), as amended, and
In order for South Carolina to have qualified as an agreement State,
formal reviews of the State's statutes and regulatory processes were
performed by the NRC in order to assure that issues involving possible
radiological hazard would be handled in a manner essentially similar to
that which NRC would use in the case of a non-agreement State.
By its
approval of the South Carolina Department of Radiological Health's (SCDEC)
program, the NRC granted agreement State status to South Carolina and
transferred the authority for regulation of radiological hazards within
the confines of that State. Although a one-to-one correspondence between
the Federal and State regulations may not exist, the State laws parallel
the Federal,
and were approved by NRC.
In particular, RHA 2.18 of the
South Carolina Rules and Regulations for Radioactive Control apply in this
case.
Enclosure
2
10 CFR 30.11 states that the NRC may grant exemptions to requirements
contained in Part 30.
The State of South Carolina, being an agreement
State, has been granted this same authority to permit exemptions in cases
where for example,
it is clear that no radiological health problem is
involved.
SCDHEC's formal approval of the Oconee Spent Oil Management
Program, and their permission which was granted to Duke Power to dispose
of the waste oil by burning at Lee Steam Station, therefore constituted a
valid regulatory action under the law, and further did not exceed the
authority granted South Carolina as an agreement State, per South Carolina
regulations RHA 2.18, 2.20, and 3.15.
Furthermore, in accordance with
RHA 3.15, South Carolina is in fact authorized to license incinerator
facilities within its border.
Based upon a detailed examination of Part 30, in particular 30.18, Duke
contends that the purpose of this part of the regulations is to prescribe
the rules governing the domestic licensing of byproduct material and the
exemptions permitted from the domestic licensing requirements.
Specifically, Duke understands that 30.18 states that any person (i.e.,
Lee Steam Station) is exempt from the requirements of a license set forth
in Parts 30 through 34 to the extent that such person receives, possesses,
uses, transfers,
owns or acquires byproduct material in individual
quantities each of which does not exceed the applicable quantity set forth
in 30.71, Scheudle B. Duke respectfully points out that nowhere is it
stated that such quantities are limited to samples for laboratory
analysis, etc. Duke Power, therefore, maintains that the transfer of the
waste oil containing only exempt quantities of byproduct material was
within the regulatory requirements and that the clarification stated in
the March 20,
1984, letter is not supported by a careful examination of
1.18, which describes the concept of exempt quantity.
Again, Duke
maintains that no violation occurred on this basis.
NRC Response:
10 CFR 20.301 prohibits disposal of license material as waste except as
specified in that paragraph.
10 CFR 20.301(a) allows disposal by transfer
to an authorized recipient as provided in the regulation in Parts 30, 40,
60, 61,
70 or 72 of the chapter.
The NRC position has been that the
reference to "authorized recipient" in 10 CFR 20.301(a) refers to specific
licensees only and that 10 CFR 30.18(a)
does not authorize specific
licensees to transfer radioactive waste for purposes of disposal.
The NRC has long maintained that the exempt quantity and concentration
provision of the NRC regulations do not authorize disposal of waste or
transfer of waste for purposes of disposal.
The purpose of this exemption
was clearly defined in the statement of consideration that supported the
rule (33 Fed. Reg. 11414, August 10, 1986):
"Persons holding an AEC byproduct material license or an agreement
State license for manufacture, processing, or production of byproduct
material would be authorized to make transfers, on a noncommercial
Enclosure
3
basis, of exempt quantities of byproduct material possessed under the
license. This provision is designed to accommodate the occasional
transfers between laboratories of small quantities of byproduct
material in tissue samples,
bioassay samples,
tagged compounds,
counting standards,
etc.,
which involve a negligible risk."
(Emphasis supplied.)
In order for Oconee to transfer contaminated waste oil to the Lee Steam
Station for disposal purposes, Lee Steam would have had to apply for and
receive a specific license from the State of South Carolina. The "Spent
Oil Management Program for Duke's South Carolina Facilities" states, "The
spent oil that is shipped to Lee will be monitored, as required by the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
to ensure that this oil contains only
quantities of radioactivity that are exempt from NRC regulation (i.e.,
Exempt Quantities)."
As explained above however, there are no exempt
quantities of radioactivity for disposal purposes. We have discussed this
with the State of South Carolina, and we are in agreement that approval of
the Spent Oil Management Program would not, therefore, provide regulatory
approval for disposal of radioactive contaminated oil.
It is the position of the NRC that the violation was correct as written.