ML19318C743
| ML19318C743 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Trojan File:Portland General Electric icon.png |
| Issue date: | 05/28/1980 |
| From: | Engelken R NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION V) |
| To: | Goodwin C PORTLAND GENERAL ELECTRIC CO. |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 8007020234 | |
| Download: ML19318C743 (1) | |
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SulTE 202, WALNUT CREEK PLAZA WALNUT CREEK, CALIFORNIA 94596 liay 28,1980 Docket No. 50-344 Portland General Flectric Company 121 S. W. Salmon Street Portland, Oregon 97204 Attention: Mr. Charles Goodwin, Jr.
Assistant Vice President Gentlemen:
The enclosed IE Information Notice is forwarded to you for information.
No written response to this Information Notice is required.
If you have any questions related to the subject, please contact this office.
Sincerely,
/G%cfL R. H. Engelken Director
Enclosures:
1.
IE Information Notice No. 80-22 2.
List of Recently Issued i
IE Information Notices cc w/ enclosures:
C. P. Yundt, PGE F. C. Gaidos, PGE J. W. Lentsch, PGE 8 0 0 7 0 2 023p/
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SSINS: 6870 Accessions No:
UNITED STATES 8005050059 NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Q'
0FFICE OF INSPECTION AND ENFORCEMENT I
j WASHINGTON, DC 20555 May 28, 1980 IE Information Notice No. 80-22 BREAKDOWNS IN CONTAMINATION CONTROL PROGRAMS Description 'of Circumstances Recent inspections at power reactors have revealed breakdowns in contamination control programs resulting in releases of radioactive materials to the unrestricted area and off-site environment by several different pathways.
The first pathway was via disposal of supposedly clean trash in the nearby county sanitary landfill. High background radiation levels due to an onsite buildup of radioactive waste precluded adequate radiation surveys of clean trash prior to removal from the restricted area.
In addition, the surveys were being conducted by improperly trained personnel. The result was the undetected disposal of radioactive material in the local sanitary landfill.
An NRC inspector observed the practice and confirmed his suspicions when he detected levels of radiation 10 to 20 times normal background levels at the landfill. Subsequent surveys by the licensee, the State, and the NRC revealed several other areas in the landfill with higher than normal dose rates.
Excavation by the licensee revealed items with contamination levels up to 100 mrem /hr contact reading. These items had been delivered with the clean trash from the plant and buried at the landfill.
A second pathway was identified to be through the sale by the licensee of scrap materials to salvage dealers in the surrounding area.
Several items with contamination levels in excess of the licensee's unrestricted area release limits were discovered to have been sold to these vendors. Maximum dose rates on these items did not exceed 1.0 mrem /hr. This condition evidently also resulted from the elevated background radiation levels within the plant and the practica of permitting unqualified personnel to conduct radiation surveys.
A third pathway was found during a recent NRC inspection. An NRC inspector's radiation survey revealed soil contamination on site extending beyond the protected area fence. Radiation levels as high as 1.5 mrem /hr were measured on contact with the soil. The contamination is believed to be atmospheric fallout of particulate radioactivity which was exhausted from the plant stack during containment purge following explosive plugging of steam generator tubes. The steam generator manways were not covered and the purge system was not equipped with HEPA filters. The licensee's survey program did not include routine, periodic site and perimeter surveys.
7 IE Information,lotice No. 80-22 May 28, 1980 Page 2 of 2 This -IE Information' Notice is provided as an early notification of a significant matter that is still under review by the NRC staff.
It is expected that recipi-ents will review the information for possible applicability to their facilities.
No specific action or response is requested at this time.
If NRC evaluations so indicate, further licensee actions may be required.
No written _ response to this IE Information Notice is required.
If you have any questions regarding this matter, please contact the Director of the appropriate NRC Regional Office.
L
' - IE Information Notice No. 80-22 Enclosure May.28, 1980 RECENTLY ISSUED IE INFORMATION NOTICES Information -
Subject Date Issued To Notice No.~
Issued 80-21 Anchorage and Support of 5/16/80 All power reactor Safety-Related Electrical facilities with an Equipment OL or CP 80-20 Loss of Decay Heat Removal 5/8/80 All light water reactor Capability at Davis-Besse facilities holding Unit 1 While in a Refueling power reactor OLs or cps Mode 80-19 NIOSH Recall of Recircu-5/6/80 All holders of a power lating-Mode (Closed-Circuit) reactor OL, Research Self-Contained Breathin Reactor License, Fuel Apparatus (Rebreathers)g Cycle Facility License and-Priority I Material License
~
80-18 Possible Weapons Smuggling 5/5/80 All power reactor Pouch facilities with an OL, fuel fabrication and processing facilities and Materials Priority I licensees (processors and distributors) 80-17 Potential Hazards Associated 5/5/80 All radiography With Interchangable Parts Licenses On Radiographic Equipment 80-16 Shaft Seal Packing 4/29/80 All power reactor Causes uinding In Main facilities in your Steam Swing Check And Region with an OL or CP Isolation Valves 80-15 Axial (Longitudinal) 4/21/80 All Light Water Reactor Oriented Cracking In Facilities holding power Piping reactor OLs or cps 80-14~
Safety. Suggestions From 4/2/80 All power reactor Employees facilities with an OL or CP U,..