ML19260A889
| ML19260A889 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Wood River Junction |
| Issue date: | 10/03/1979 |
| From: | Bowers C UNC RECOVERY SYSTEMS, UNITED NUCLEAR CORP. (SUBS. OF UNC, INC.) |
| To: | Smtih G NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION I) |
| Shared Package | |
| ML19260A885 | List: |
| References | |
| CEB:79-180, NUDOCS 7912060091 | |
| Download: ML19260A889 (4) | |
Text
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s UnC RECOVERY SYSTEMS Dmsion of United Nuclear Corporation One Narragansett Trail Telephone 401/364-7701 gp
- A UOC RESOURCES Company Wood River Junction. Rhode Island 02894 October 3, 1979 CEB: 79-180 U.
S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission George H.
Smith, Chief Fuel Facility and Materials Safety Branch Region I 631 Park Avenue King of Prussia. PA 19406
Subject:
USI'RC Inspection 70-820/79-18
Reference:
Letter on Subject, George H.
Smith to C. E. Bowers dated September 24, 1979 Gentlemen:
Attached is UNC Recovery Systems' response to the subject inspection report, which was transmitted to us via the referenced letter.
We trust that this response will satis-factorily resolve the items delineated in Appendix A of your letter.
If further amplification is needed, we will of course be happy to discuss the matter with you.
Very truly yours, 4
4.
E.
Bowers General Manager CEB:RJG:cag cc R. J.
Gregg K.
A. Helgeson D.
M.
Schultz 1510 043 7912000
ATTACHMENT TO LETTER:
CEB 79-180 - C. E. BOWERS TO GEORGE H.
" Contrary to (the requirements of) 10 CFR 20.203(e), a room in the Health Physics Laboratory contains a cobalt-60 source, with a source strength of approximately 1.5 millicuries and was not posted as required on September 6, 1979."
UNC RESPONSE UNC does not acknowledge that this is an item of noncompliance.
10 CFR 20.204 (a) states:
"Notwithstanding the provisions of 10 CFR 20.203, (a)
A room or area is not required to be posted with a caution sign because of the presence of a sealed source provided the radiation level twelve inches from the surf ace of the source container or housing does not exceed five millirem per hour."
As the item in question meets these Jriterit (i.e.,
it i.
sealed, and has a radiation level of 0.5 millirem per hour twelve inches from the surface of the container), the refer-enced sign is not required.
ITEM 2 USNRC COMMENT
" Contrary to (the requirements of UNC Recovery Systems Standard Operating Procedure I-Z, Section 4.4.5) semi-weekly surveys are not conducted for beta-gamma radiation.
Monthly beta-gamma sur-veys are performed by the licensee."
UNC RESPONSE UNC acknowledges a deviation from a conservative internal pro-cedure but claims full compliance with basic limits in 10 CFR 20.
The internal deviation was corrected immediately upon disclosure, and a strict schedule of twice-weekly surveys is now being main-tained.
The unwieldly and overly-conservative twice-weekly frequency was adopted several years ago, in response to an adverse NRC inspec-tion finding.
The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Department (NIS) 1510 044
UnC specified that frequency as a temporary measure, to be rescinded when full control was reliably demonstrated.
Such full control is in fact now evident, and subsequent beta-gamma survey results have been very low and fairly constant.
The actual procedure employed for contamination control at the time of the inspection required beta-gamma scanning of eighteen pre-selected locations on a monthly basis.
The radiation technician generally probed the designated area, and assumed no contamination problem if the level (at a nominal one-foot distance) for any given location was less than ten per cent of the implied-safe specifica-tion of 10 CFR 204 (a), or 0.5 mR/hr.
The following data tabulation (Table I) illustrates a consistently-low reading for the average and maximum levels detected, and a generally-decreasing trend in both.
Exhibit I is the actual re-corded data for August 1979.
The data indicate full control, and justify the earlier, lower frequency for such surveys.
UNC is now in process of revising the associated health physics procedure to reflect a more appropriate survey frequency and to implement other improvements to make the contamination control pro-gram even stronger.
In the interim, the existing procedure and twice-weekly frequency will be recognized.
TABLE I Beta-Gamma Survey Results DATE OF AVERAGE READING MAXIMUM READING STANDARD SURVEY mR/hr mR/hr DEVIATION 09-29-78 0.25 0.4*
0.11 10-24-78 0.16 0.4 0.13 11-29-78 0.12 0.2 0.07 12-28-78 0.14 0.4 0.11 01-25-79 0.11 0.3 0.09 02-08-79 0.09 0.2 0.05 03-29-79 0.09 0.2 0.06 04-19-79 0.08 0.15 0.04 05-11-79 0.10 0.25 0.07 06-15-79 0.10 0.30 0.07 07-27-79 0.11 0.3 0.08 08-30-79 0.11 0.25 0.08
- Corresponds to 768 mR per standard work year i510 045
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