ML19261C241
| ML19261C241 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 01/02/1979 |
| From: | Brown G, Julie Ward NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION IV) |
| To: | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML19261C239 | List: |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 7903200466 | |
| Download: ML19261C241 (9) | |
Text
.
U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION OFFICE OF INSPECTION AND EllFORCEMENT REGION IV Report No. 78-01
Subject:
Okie Pipe Line Box 528 Liberal, Kansas ixpired License No. 15-16203-01 Investigation of suspected unauthorized possession and disposal nf byproduct material at Medford, Oklahoma.
Dates of Investigation:
November 15-16, 1978 Investigator:
d 12 "* W " N Whn J. Ward,' Investigation Specialist Date
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Reviewed by:
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{len D. Brown, Chief, Fuel Facility and Date' Material Safety Branch 7 9 0 3 2 0 0 46G
. REASON FOR INVESTIGATION Information from the Oklahoma State Health Department that the former licensee had probably disposed of two Ohmart density gauges by burying them on the licensee's property approximately a year before.
SCOPE OF INVESTIGATION To determine the circumstances of disposal, rettieve the gauges, and arrange for their transfer to the authorized recipient named on the license.
SUMMARY
OF FACTS The license for the Okie Pipe Line Company, which is a branch of the Koch 011 Company, a Division of Koch Industries, Inc., expired September 30, 1977, and no application was made for renewal.
License Condition No.10 of the license permitted use of the licensed material at several locations in Oklahoma, not including Medford.
In about June 1975, some density gauges containing sealed sources which had been previously installed on process equipment at these locations were removed by licensee personnel and buried on the Koch Oil Company premises at Medford, Oklahoma in an attempt to dispose of the material.
The investigation of November 15-16, resulted in having four Cs-137 gauges dug up from their burial spot. An additional four gauges, all containing Cs-137 were also located at the Medford and two other Oklahoma stations. An Ohmart representative was present during the investigation, supervised the recovery of the gauges, and accepted transfer from the licensee. Additional gauges containing radium-226 were also recovered and, through the offices of the State of Oklahoma, were also transferred to the Ohmart Corporation.
In the course of the investigation it was observed the following violations of NRC requirements had been involved.
1.
10 CFR Part 30.3 Activities requiring license, states that "... no person shall...own, possess, or use byproduct material except as authorized in a specific or general license..."
Contrary to this requirement, byproduct material was owned, possessed, and used without authorization of a specific license subsequent to license expiration on September 30, 1977.
This is an infraction.
(Details paragraphs 2 and 4) 2.
10 CFR Part 20.203(f)(1) and (2) Containers, states that "... each container shall bear a... label identifying the radioactive con-tents... and the words ' Caution, Radioactive Material'..."
Contrary to this requirement, a label was removed and/or painted over on an llM-8 source holder containing Cs-137. This is a deficiency.
(Details, paragraph 4) 3.
License Condition 10 of License No. 15-16203-01 states that byproduct material shall be used only at licensed locations near Drumright, Cushing, Enid, Goltry, and Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Contrary to this requirement, byproduct material was used at the Koch Oil Company premises near Medford, Oklahoma.
This is an infraction.
(Details, paragraph 4) 4.
License Condition 13 of License No. 15-16203-01 states that relocation, replacement, and disposal of sealed sources containing byproduct mater-ial used in devices shall be performed only by Ohmart Corporation or other persons specifically authorized by the Commission to perform such services.
Contrary to this requirement, sealed sources containing byproduce material were replaced from equipment and were disposed of by unauth-orized persons.
This is an infraction.
(Details, paragraph 4)
. DETAILS 1.
Persons Contacted C. W. Johnson, Division Manager, Koch Oil Company Clyde Harper, Area Superintendent of Maintenance and Construction, Koch Oil Company Jack Holt and Marty Kretchnar, Koch Oil Company W. O. Rhodes, Ohmart Corporation
===2.
Background===
On May 24, 1973, Okan Pipeline Company, Midland, Texas, License flo.
42-01038-02 advised fiRC (AEC) that it was selling its properties within the states of Kansas and Oklahoma to the Okie Pipe Line Company of Liberal, Kansas.
The Okie license issued September 25, 1972, with an expiration date of September 30, 1977, authorized possession of four 137 s sources not to exceed 150 millicuries each and one 137 s C
C source of 50 millicuries.
(The application for this license renewal dated August 22, 1972, stated the sources then on hand were four 150 millicurie and one 21 millicurie.)
In an application for liRC (AEC) license dated June 25, 1973, Okie Pipe Line, Libom1, Kansas advised that it had acquired the Okan property and requested authorization for possession of 137Cs in sealed sources, one of 21 millicuries,,two of 40 millicuries, and five of 150 milli-curies, all in Ohmart gauges.1/ License fio. 15-16203-01 was issued July 26, 1974, with an expiration date of September 30, 1977.
It authorized possession of the sources named in the application and use of them at locations near Drumright, Cushing, Enid, Goltry, and Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Subsequently, the Liberal, Kansas Okie facility was issued Kansas state license fio. 22-C-273-01 which authorized possession of the two 40 millicurie sources.
The Kansas license expired August 31, 1977, and in flovember 1978, the two 40 millicurie sources were returned to the Ohmart corporation from that facility license.
Sometime after the transfer from Okan, the Okie company had merged with the Koch Oil Company, a Division of Koch Industries, Inc.
1/ The file record indicates only four of the 150 mci sources, as originally licensed by Okan, were possessed.
3.
Introduction On October 30, 1978, the Oklahoma State Health Department advised the Region IV NRC office that the ex-licensee had buried two density gauges, each possibly containing up to 150 mci of Cs-137 at a location near Medford, Oklahoma, sometime during 1977.
In a subsequent tele-phone conversation with Mr. Coleman Smith of the State of Oklahoma, this investigator learned that the Kansas State Health Department had advised him that the Okie Pipe Line Company, Liberal, Kansas, Kansas License No. 22-C-273-01, which expired August 31, 1977, had reportedly buried two sources on the Medford, Oklahoma premises of the Koch 011 company and that these sources had been carried under the old AEC license.
Mr. Smith stated that in a subsequent telephone conversation with the Koch 011 Company manager, the manager had stated that he now believed there had been three gauges buried on the premises.
Mr. Smith made further contact with the manager of the Koch Oil Company and arranged for recovery of the buried sources to be accomplished during the course of an NRC investigation and in the presence of an Ohmart representative, and Mr. Coleman Smith. This was done on November 15-16, 1978.
4.
Investigation - Koch 011 Company, 5 miles south of Medford, Oklahoma, November 15-16, 1978 In a first contact with Mr. Chuck Johnson, the Koch Oil Company manager, Mr. Johnson advised that he had believed that these sources had been buried approximately a year before and that it was his understanding that this had been authorized under the provision of 10 CFR Part 20.304, wherein disposal by burial at a depth of six feet and distances of six feet between burials would have met the NRC requirements.
Mr. Johnson was informed that as specified in License Condition 13 of his license, the only disposal permitted was either by transfer to the Ohmart Cor-poration or another entity specifically licensed for this material.
Mr. Johnson stated then that the sources which had been buried would be retrieved.
He stated that also there were other sources in place on piping at two other locations; one at the Goltry Station and one at the Drumright Station. He stated that according to his records, the two 40 mci sources, which had been in Kansas at Englewood Junction and the.
Liberal warehouse, had been retrieved and transferred to Ohmart. Two 150 mci sources, in HM-8 source holders were in gauges located at Drumright Junction and Goltry Station.
One 21 mci source, previously used at the Tulsa terminal, had been retrieved and was in a warehouse on the premises, crated for shipment to Ohmart.
Three 150 mci sources, originally located at Liberal Station, Cushing Junction, and Enid Junction could not be found and he assumed they had been buried.
. Since Mr. Johnson then had to depart on other business, the investi-gators were turned over to Mr. Clyde Harper, the Maintenance Superin-tendent, who arranged for the Ohmart Corporation representative, Mr. Dusty Rhodes, to accompany one of his employees to the other two locations to retrieve the gauges used there.
In a visit to the warehouse, the investigators observed that three radium gauges and the one 21 mci Cs-137 gauge were in crates, ready for shipment to Ohmart.
(Photographs - Exhibit A) Mr. Harper then went with the investigators to the burial area where two front-loaders were used to excavate an old disposal pit where it was believed the sources had been buried in 1975.
In the late afternoon of November 15, one source of 150 mci in an Ohmart gauge was found with the shutter open.
The shutter was closed by the investigator and radiation levels checked (10 mR/hr closed at 6 inches from port).
On the subsequent morning, November 16, three other Ohmart gauges were recovered, all containing 150 mci each of Cs-137.
Again, one of these gauges had its shutter open and the shutter on this gauge was also closed and the gauge surveyed (10 mR/hr closed). The gauges were removed to a work shop area wherein all were examined. The one gauge containing 21 mci of Cs-137 was wiped and no contamination was detected.
Mr. Coleman Smith wiped the other gauges and later advised no con-tamination was detected.
The two gauges from the outlying locations were returned to the warehouse area.
In examining the gauges it was found that three of them were general licensed gauges, whereas the rest had apparently been specifically 1. censed.
Two of the gauges which had been used on equipment had labels removed and had been painted over with white paint used on the piping.
No precautionary wording remained on one of these gauges. (Photographs - Exhibit B) 5.
All gaugcs were subsequently transferred to the Ohmart Corporation, a copy of the receipt signed by Mr. Rhodes is enclosed as Exhibit C.
6.
Before Mr. Johnson's departure, it was explained to him that it was apparent that in addition to unauthorized possession of byproduct material extending beyond the time of the license expiration, there obviously had been an irregularity in that the disposal had not been done according to the requirements of License Condition 13.
Addi-tionally, in a telephone conversation on November 27, 1978, Mr. Johnson was informed that the removal of labels and the repainting of the gauges had been contrary to 10 CFR 20.203(f)(1) and (2) and that this item would be added to those considered for enforcement action, and subsequent advice to his company.
7.
After receipt of the gauges by the Ohmart Corporation, Mr. Johnson has completed the certificate of non-possession relating to the NRC license and has effectively complied with the requirements for disposal of the material.
(Exhibit D)
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