ML19347B125
| ML19347B125 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Wood River Junction |
| Issue date: | 07/28/1980 |
| From: | Crocker H, Kinney W, Stevenson R NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION I) |
| To: | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML19347B123 | List: |
| References | |
| 70-0820-80-09, 70-820-80-9, NUDOCS 8010010617 | |
| Download: ML19347B125 (4) | |
Text
. _ _ _
e U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
(
OFFICE OF INSPECTION AND ENFORCEMENT Region I 70-820/80-09 Report No.70-820 Docket No.
"~777 I
UR License No.
Priority Category Licensee:
United Nuclear Corporation UNC Recovery Systems Wood River Junction, Rhode Island 02894 Facility Name:
Fuel Recovery Operation Inspection at:
Wood River Junction, Rhode Island Inspection conducted:
ne 5 96, 1900 Inspectors:
((
7 [do
' -eu W. ' W. Kintf ProjecfInspector
'date' signed Accompanied By:
R. L. Stevenson, Fuel Processing and date signed,
Fabrication Branch, Division of Fuel Cycle and Material Safety date signed A-e' L
yM/M Approved byL ' W. CiockeF, C'hief, Fuel Facility H.
'/ daYe signed l
Project Section, FF&MS Branch Inspection Summary:
Inspection on June 25-26, 1980 (Report No. 70-820/80-09)
Areas Inspected: Routine, unannounced inspection by a region-based inspeciar of activities associated with start up of the new lagoon waste disposal process including: organization operating lagoon waste disposal process; training of newly hired temporary employees operating the process; operating procedures for the operation of the process; modification and start up of the process.
The inspection involved 13 inspector-hours onsite by one NRC region-based inspector.
Resul ts: No items of noncompliance or deviations were identified.
Region I Form 12 (Rev. April 77) 8001010h 7
- f
DETAILS 1.
Persons Contacted
- C, E. Bowers, President and General Manager
- R. J. Gregg, Quality Assurance Manager
- K. A. Helgeson, Nuclece and Industrial Safety Manager The inspector also interviewed six of the newly hired temporary employees operating the lagoon waste processing equipment.
- denotes those present at the exit interview.
2.
Scope of Inspection This inspection was of the initiation of operation of the lagoon waste processing system.
The inspector inspected the process equipment, the operating procedures, the manning of the operating shifts, the training of the operating personnel, and the initiation of process operations.
3.
Onanization Operating Lagoon Waste Process The licensee has three th'.fts scheduled to work five or six days each week on a 24 hour2.777778e-4 days <br />0.00667 hours <br />3.968254e-5 weeks <br />9.132e-6 months <br /> per dr; oasis.
The licensee appointed three long time management personnel as supe nisors of the three shifts.
J. Wakefield is supervisor of the third shi /t (12.a.m. - 8 a.m. ); R. Weber is supervisor of the first shift (8 a.m.
, p.m.); and J. Murphy is supervisor of the second shift (4 p.m. -12 a.m.).
Each shift has 6 operators.
Of the total of 18 operators on the three shifts,15 are newly hired temporary employees who were hired especially for the operation of the lagoon w3ste process.
No items of noncompliance or deviations were identified.
4.
Training of Personnel The inspector discussed the training received with the newly hired personnel.
The personnel indicated that they had received formal classroom training in radiation protection, nuclear criticality safety, and industrial safety.
The licensee gave each employee a 17 page booklet providing pertinent information on radiation, radiation protection, contamination control, health physics practices, the bioassay program, nuclear safety, and industrial safety rules.
a
3 The inspector examined the records of the training of the personnel.
The licensee had the completed test papers on file.
The test scores ranged between 80 and 100. The licensee considers a score of 70 to be passing.
The licensee records showed that the two female new-hires were given instructions concerning prenatal radiation exposure as outlined by Regulatory Guide 8.13.
During discussion of the training on the operation of the equipment, the personnel indicated that they were required to read the procedure given in Engineering Change Notice No.1432 entitled Lagoon Disposal Process.
The personnel sealing the loaded 55 gallon drums also had been required to read Standard Operating Procedure No. III-G, Revision IV, entitled Seal Control.
No items of noncompliance or deviations were identified.
5.
Operating Procedures The licensee issued Engineering Change Notice (ECN) No. 1432 on June 10, 1980, with the subject, Lagoon Disposal Process.
The ECN had a section on the NIS requirements.
The NIS requirements addressed the safety requirements for the operation of the lagoon disposal process.
Personnel were required to wear protective clothing, respirators, eye protection, and hard hats in different work areas as directed by Nuclear and Industrial Safety.
The ECN outlined the procedures for lagoon sludge flocculation; filtration of the flocculated sludge; drying of the sludge; and loading of the dried solids into 55 gallon drums.
No items of noncompliance or deviations were identified.
6.
Modification and *,tartup Activities The licensee was experiencing the usual kinds of problems in starting up a new process.
For instance, he was establishing the parameters for obtaining a good filterable floc.
The licensee was having his most difficult problems in maintaining the air balance around the dryer.
The HEPA filters for filtering the gases from the dryer were plugging after only a short operation time.
The licensee determined that another filter such as a bag filter was needed as a prefilter to the HEPA filters.
Since this would require time and money to obtain, the licensee elected to omit the drying step if the filtered sludge was satisfactory for burial.
The licensee decided that the filtered sludge was dry enough to meet the South Carolina license conditions for burial of waste at the Barnwell burial site, and the licensee curtailed the use of the dryer.
i L
4 The licensee changed the method for filling the drums.
Cement was placed in the bottom of the plastic bag used to line the 55 gallon drums prior to filling the drum with filtered sludge, and cement was placed on the top of the filtered sludge after the drum was filled.
The licensee was placing 2 to 3 shovel fulls on the bottom and top of the sludge.
The above changes had not been incorporated in the operating procedure at the time of the inspection. At the time of the inspection, the licensee was operating the process and drumming the filtered sludge.
The floc being produced appeared to be quite satisfactory for filtration.
The filter press apoeared to be producing a dry filter cake.
According to the licensee, sampic ' of filter cake contained about 50 weight percent water.
There was no uvidence of any free standing liquid in any of the drums filled while the inspector observed the operations.
No items of noncompliance or deviations were identified.
7.
Exit Interview The inspector met with the licensee representatives (denoted in Paragraph
- 1) at the conclusion of the inspection on June 26, 1980.
The inspector presented the scope and findings of the inspection.
The inspector expressed his impression that the newly hired temporary employees appeared to be approaching their jobs in a conscientious manner and they appeared to be aware of the safety aspects of the operation.