ML19208C210
| ML19208C210 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 08/10/1979 |
| From: | James O'Reilly NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION II) |
| To: | SOUTHERN SPACE, INC. |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 7909250138 | |
| Download: ML19208C210 (1) | |
Text
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UNITED STATES
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'o, NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSIGN 8'
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REGION 11 10WARIEM A ST., N W., SUlH 3100 s4 " Lf *f ATLANT A, GEORGI A 30303
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e AUG 1019/9 agulntHN SPACE INC.
3001 HOUSTON ~hVL AACUN GA 31200 Enclosed is IE N11etin No. 79-19, which requires setion by you -dth regard to your NRC license.
Should you have questions regarding this Bulletin or the actions required of you, please contact this office.
Sincerely, 4
N
~y Q James P. O'Reilly Director
Enclosures:
1.
Lict of kiletins Issued in Lsst Six Months b2.llr bO 3
79092 50 GS I
Accession No:
1908070515 SSINS No:
6820 UNITED STATES NUCIZAR REGULATORY Comfl3SION OFFICE OF INSPECTION AND ENFORCEMENT WASHINGTON, D.C.
20555 August 10, 1979 IE Bulletin No. 79-19 PACKAGING OF LOW-LEVEL RADI0 ACTIVE WASTE FOR TRANSPORT AND BURIAL Description of Circumstances:
Lew-level radioactive waste is that waste which 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 wastea to these burial facilities.
Examples or violations 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 an May 14, 1979.
On July 2, 1979, three of twelve steel containers shipped to the Beatty burial facility were found to be leaking radioactivr. material.
The material was described on the bill of lading as beirg a so Hd inorganic salt (evaporator concent. rates solidified with urea formaldehyde) from a reactor facility. The Covernor 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 insitu 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 Administration issued a Notice of Violation to a reactor facility proposing a $10,000 fine for truck contamina-tion resulting from impropet closures on 55 gallon drums of LSA material and for improper loading of the druns on the "
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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:
h Governors of the three States with licen J
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that if the situation is not rectified, ANO would deny use of the three burial sites No. of pages:
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