ML19261B983
| ML19261B983 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 01/09/1979 |
| From: | NRC OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS (OPA) |
| To: | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML19261B981 | List: |
| References | |
| REF-10CFR9.7 PR-790109, NUDOCS 7903090243 | |
| Download: ML19261B983 (3) | |
Text
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UNITED STATES l )..
T, NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
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'f OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS
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WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555 No.
79-9 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tel.
301/492-7715 (Mailed - January 9, 1979)
NOTE TO EDITORS:
The Department of State has advised the Nuclear Regula-tory Corr. mission that the contents of containers with high enriched uranium shipped to Rumania have been determined to be intact.
The wire seals on these containers had been found to be broken or to have pulled out of the button holding the wires when the shipment was checked by an NRC inspector at Kennedy Airport in No.w York on December 16 after arrival from San Diego.
Detailed information on this shipment is attached.
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On December 15, 1978, General Atomic Company made the first shipment under an NRC export license of metal fuel rods containing high enriched uranium from its San Diego facility to Rumania for use as initial fuel in a newly-
' built research reactor.
This shipment was less than five
).ilograms and did not require special NRC safeguards measures.
These special measures--such as armed guards and secure vehicles--are required only for shipments of five kilograms or more of high enriched uranium because of the relatively lower safeguards concerns for lesser quantities.
Packaging of the four drums in this shipment was witnessed by an NRC inspector at the San Diego facility.
A three-strand wire seal without special protection was applied to each drum while the inspector observed.
The
. rhipment then was trucked to Los Angeles where it was flown by cargo aircraft to Kennedy Airport in New York.
The wire seals were checked by an NRC inspector at Kennedy Airport on December 16 and all of the wires that made up each of the four seals were found either to be broken or to have pulled out of the button holding the wires.
The wires were still within the seal holes in the closure bolts.
The
- inspector measured the low level external radiation from t.he drums and found it to be similar to th ; measured when the shipment originated at San Diego.
He also checked the can c1csure bolt on each drum and found no indication of tamper-i?
ing.
On the basis of these checks, the inspector affixed new wire seals to each drum.
However, the drums were not cpened, as they should have been in this case, to verify that the high enriched uranium was still in the drums.
The shipment left New York on December 16 and after stopping in London it arrived in Rumania on December 21.
The application of seals to such shipments is currently not a normal requirement of NRC.
In view of the large total quantity of high enriched uranium involved in the multiple chipments of fuel to be made to Rumania and the length'of time large quantities of material would be onsite before
'eing loaded into the reactor, the NRC required seals on b
the drums of all shipments in accordance with arrangements
- made through the Department of State with the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Their purpose is to assure the integrity of all the containers and to assist inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency on subsequent inspections of the fuel in Rumania.
The research reactor and its fuel are subject to IAEA safeguards inspections.
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l The NRC staff advised the Department of State of its view that an early inspection of the shipment would be r.eed ed, and asked the Department to determine the earliest date on which the IAEA could make an inspection.
The inspection initially had been planned for sometime in January.
On December 22 the Commission was briefed on the matter and it directed the staff to seek to assure that IAEA would verify the contents of the containers as soon
.as possible.
The Department of State has advised the NRC
,that as a result of the IAEA inspection completed on January 5, the contents of the containers have been deter-mined to be intact.
The Commission has directed its staff to review the procedures used to make inspections of ship-ments of special nuclear materials so that incidents of this type will not occur again.
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