ML19207B597
| ML19207B597 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 08/10/1979 |
| From: | Engelken R NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION V) |
| To: | STANFORD UNIV., STANFORD, CA |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 7909040264 | |
| Download: ML19207B597 (1) | |
Text
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NLICLE AR HEGlJL ATORY COMMISSION
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V/ At r;U r C H E E t. C A L I F O H tJI A f' * %3 August 10, 1979 01 ANF URD UtilVERSIT Y
$ 7 t.N C I N A HALL 6,}rANFUHD CA 94305 Gentlemen:
Enclosed is IE Bulletin :;o. 79-19 which requires action by you with regard to your ';RC licer,se.
Should you have questions regarding this Bulletin or the actions re-quired of you, please contact this office.
Sincerely, 4, avx^- ,{.s R. H. Engelker. Director
Enclosure:
IE Bulletin tio. 79-19 - d r ,e 81* a d.e..';f 7 909 0 4 096 f'
Accession No: 7908070515 SSINS No: C20 UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY CO.T11SSION OFFICE OF INSPECTION AND ENFORCEGNT WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555 Augus: 10, 1979 IE Bulletin No. 79-19 PACKAGING OF LOW-LEVEL kADI0 ACTIVE WASTE FOR TRANSPOR AND BURIAL Description of Circumstances: Low-level radioactive waste is that waste n ich can be transferred and shipped to one of three waste burial facilities which are located in and licensed by the Agreement States of Nevada, South Carolina, and Washington. On July 10, 1979, the Governors of the three states notified NRC Chairman Hendrie of the serious and repeated disregard for rules governing the shipments of low-level radioactive vastes to these burial facilities. Examples of iiolations of Agreement State, DOT and NRC rules follow: Improperly packaged uranium fines igniting packaged liquid scintillation vials in combustible waste is believed to have caused a fire and destruction of a truck at the Beatty, Nevada burial facility on hay 14, 1979. On July 2, 1979, three of twelve steel containers shipped to the Beatty burial facility were found to be leaking radioactive material. The material was described on the bill of lading as being a solid inorganic salt (evaporator concentrates solidified with urea formaldehyde) from a reactor facility. The Governor of the State of Nevada ordered the drums to be shipped out of the state and the burial facility was temporarily closed. On July 30, the first shipment into the reopened Beatty facility contained free liquid in " solid" material. The radioactive contents were sand filters used at an intitu leaching process at a uranium mill. Forty-three shipments with sixty-three deficiencies were observed during the package inspection program between April 10 and July 5, 1979, by the Agreement State of South Carolina, at the Barnwell, S.C. burial facility. The shipments were from reactor, medical, industrial and military facilities. On June 28, 1979, the Federal Highway Afministration issued a Notice of Violation to a reactor facility proposing a $10,000 fine for trucx contamina-tion resulting from improper closures on g j g . s qp g gy:;yg w-WC~Me W ^h-- for improper loading of the drums on the DUPLICATE DOCUMEh' 70dU1s These are a few examples of shipments of facilities which did not fully meet NRC, Entire document previously entered which were developed to protect the heal into system under: Governors of the three States with licen that if the situation is not rectified, h b)O ANO would deny use of the three burial sites No. of pages: --- -.}}