ML20009D687
| ML20009D687 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Wood River Junction |
| Issue date: | 04/22/1981 |
| From: | Robert Carlson, Kinney W, Roth J, Shepherd R NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION I) |
| To: | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20009D683 | List: |
| References | |
| 70-0820-80-23, 70-820-80-23, NUDOCS 8107240271 | |
| Download: ML20009D687 (56) | |
Text
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U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION OFFICE OF INSPECTION AND ENFORCEMENT Region I Report No. 70-820/80-23 Docket No.70-820 License No. SNM-777 Priority 1
Category UR Licensee:
United Nuclear Corporation UNC Recovery Systems Wood River Junction, Rhode Island 02894 Facility Name:
Fuel Recovery Operation Investigation at: Wood River Junction, Rhode Island Investigation condu ted:
November 17-21 and December 1-5, 9, 10, 16-18, 1980 d
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Investigators:
R.
E,. She hefd, vestigation Specialist date signed
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WJ W.' K'i n n'eV FuelFafilitiesInspector dite sfgde'd 4 % riC
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grot'h7 Fuel ilities Inspector date signed Approved by:
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R. T. Carlson, Director, Enforcement and
~ date signed Investigation Staff l
Investigation Summary:
l Investigation on November 17-21 and December 1-5, 9, 10, 16-18, 1980 (Report No. 70-820/80-23)
Areas Investigated:
The investigation was conducted to determine if the licensee was in willful noncompliance with NRC and State of Nevada reouirements related to 6 shipments of radioactive material which the licensee shipped for burial in Beatty, Nevada during September 1980 and which were rejected for burial because l
of leaking containers found in 2 of the shipments.
The investigation included a review of the licensee's waste packaging and shipping operations, an examination
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of related records, and interviews with individuals associated with the above
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Region I Form 143 (Rev. October 1977) i I
g107240271 B10707 PDRADOCK07000g C
f.
2 Investigation Summary (Continued)
Areas Investigated (Continued):
operations, including a UNC management employee who alleged that the licensee shipped unfiltered lagoon material for burial, despite the objections of the
-licensee's Quality Assurance Manager that the material had not been processed (dried).
Results: The investigation did not establish will'ul noncompliance by the licensee regarding the above shipments.
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I.
SUMMARY
This investigation was conducted to deter.nine if the licensee was in willful noncompliance with NRC and the State of Nevada requirements pertaining to 6 shipments of radioactive lagoon waste which were shipped to a burial site in Beatty, Nevada during September 1980 and were rejected for burial because of leaking containers found in 2 of the shipments.
A subsequent NRC special inspection identified items of noncompliance related to the above shipments which were found to have additional liquid problems with the shipping containers examined during that inspection.
Also, during an unrelated NRC inspection in October 1980, a UNC management employee alleged that the licensee had shipped unfiltered lagoon material for burial, despite the objections of the licensee's Quality Asserance Manager that the material had not been processed (dried).
The investigation did not establish wil'ful noncompliance by the licensee regarding the above shipments.
II.
DETAILS A.
PURPOSE The purpose of this investigation was to determine if the licensee was in willful noncompliance with NRC regulations and the State of Nevada license requirements pertaining to 6 shipments of radioactive. legcon waste which were shipped by the licensee to the Nuclear Engineering Company (NECO) burial site in Beatty, Nevada, during September 1980, and which were rejected for burial because of leaking containers in 2 of the shipments.
The investigation was also based on an allegation made to NRC inspectors by a UNC management employee that the licensee shipped unfiltered lagoon waste for burial, despite the objections of the licensee's Quality Assurance Manager that the material had not been processed (dried).
B.
BACKGROUND On October 6-24, 1980, NRC Region I conducted a special inspection concern-ing the packaging of ^ shipments of radioactive waste which were ordered returned to the licensee because of the leaking containers found when 2 of the shipments were unloaded at the NEC0 burial site in Beatty, Nevada.
l Details concerning the above shipments and the items of noncompliance identified during the special inspection are reported in Inspection i
Report No. 70-820/80-19. The special inspection report contains the following information which is considered pertinent to this investigation.
On September 29, 1980, NECO received 3 tractor-trailer shipments of waste from UNC.
During unloading of one er the trailers on the same day, a leaking drum was found.
This prompted the State of Nevada to ban the receipt of waste from UNC at the NEC0 burial site in Beatty. A se 7nd trailer was also opened and a leaking box was found.
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On September 30, 1980, another UNC shipment arrived at the Beatty site.
Because of the ban imposed by the State of Nevada, none of the 4 trailers could be unloaded and the Jtate ordered that they be eturned to UNC.
Two other tractor-trailars, which were enroute to the Beatty burial site, were stopped by UNC and arrangements were made for these 2 shipments to be returned to the UNC facility in Wood River Junction, Rhode Island.
During the inspection on October 6-24, 1980, the NRC inspectors inspected the 6 raturned sh.'pments as they were unloaded at the UNC facility in Wood River Junction.
The results of the inspection are summarized as follows:
Drums Boxes Shipment Drums Boxes With With Leakers No.
Shipped Opened Shipped Opened Liould Liquid Drums Boxes 103 60 60 1
1 15 0
7 0
105 5
3 10 4
0 0
0 0
106 5
3 14 14 0
2 0
2 107 5
5 12 12 0
1 0
1 108 5
5 10 5
0 0
0 0
109 5
5 11 11 0
1 0
0 55 81 58
.5 4
7 3
Shipment No.103 consisted of 60 drums vf unfiltered lagoon ' sludge, including the drum which which was found to be leaking at Beatty.
The inspectors found 6 other drums which had leaked during transit and an additional 8 drums which had liquid standing on the top when they were opened for inspection. None of the leaking drums had liquid standing on the top.
Therefore, a total of at least 15 drums had liquid in them.
Shipment No. 105 contained 5 drums and 10 boxes of filtered lagoon sludge.
Four of the boxes and 3 of the drums were opened and were found to contain filtered sludge with no liquid problems.
There were no problems encountered with these containers.
l Shipment No. 106 contained the box, Box No. 54, discovered to be leaking l
at Beatty. The shipment contained 5 drums and 14 boxes.
The 5 drums and l.
10 of the 14 boxes contained filtered lagoon sludge and there were no I
proolems with these containers.
One of the boxes contained insulation material and there were no problems with this box. The remaining 3 boxes contained lagoon liners and one of these boxes also leaked during transit.
l Shipment No. 107 had 5 drums arJ 9 boxes of filtered sludge and there were no problems with these concainers.
There were 2 boxes filled with l
process equipment and there were no problems with these boxes.
There was l
one box which was supposed to contain filtered sludge but it actually l
contained lagoon liner material covered with cement.
This box leaked during transit.
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Shipment No. 108 had 5 drums and 10 wooden boxes filled with filtered sludge. There were no problems associated with this shipment.
Shipment No. 109 contained Box No. 79, which was the only container in this shipment that did not contain filtered lagoon sludge.
It contained lagoon liner material The box also contained free liquid but did not leak during transit.
Condition No. 26 to License fo. SNM-777 was imposed on the licensee in
-Amendment No. 6 to the licens e dated January 1,19 This condition 5
required that the licensee process the residues in tne existing lagoons and have these lagoons decortaminated to release limits. Total decontam-ination to release limits was required to be completed by July 1, 1982.
The process for removing the solids from the lagoon originally was comprised of the following operations:
pumping the lagoon sludge from the lagoons to a process building; treating the sludge with a flocculating agent; filtering the sludge; drying the sludge in a dryer; and packaging the dried sludge in 55 gallon drums for shipment to burial.
The licensee initiated trial runs of the lagoon sludge filtration and drying equipment on May 19, 1980.
During Inspection No. 80-09 on June 25 and 26, 1980, the inspector noted that the licensee was placing cement in the bottom of the plastic bag used to line the 55 gallon drums prior to filling the drums with the filterad sludge, and he was placing cement on top of the sludge.
The inspsetor also noted that the licensee had not changed the procedure to reflact the discontinuation of the dryer operation and the initiation of the use of cement-at the time of the inspection.
The inspector observed that-the filter press appeared te be producing a " dry" filter cake, which contained about 50 weight percent water, according to the licetsee.
The inspector also observed that there was no evidence of free liquid in any of the drums fi. led wnile the inspector observed the operations.
During Inspection No. 80-17 on September 8-12 and 22-26, 1980, the inspector observed that the licensee was using a crane with a clamshell bucket to excavate dry lagoon material from the top of lagoon A, in the northeast corner of the lagoon and was loading it into wooden boxes. The loaded boxes were being stored near the " dog pen" storage area, but their ultimate disposition was not known to the inspector. A diagram of the UNC facility is attached to this report as Exhibit 1.
The diagram shows the layout of the lagoon area and the locations of various areas mentioned in this report, including the " dog pen" and " bull pen" storage areas, the NGAS Building and the Recovery Building which is also referred to by licensee personnel as the Process Building.
The licensee was also pumping lagoon material through a piping system into the Process Building where the material would normally go through a pressing / drying process before it was shipped to a burial site.
The inspector questioned Mr. Peter Dessaules, Supervisor, Production, about the craning operation and was informed that
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6 this was being done because they were experiencing problems in pumping the material on the top of the lagoon inasmuch as it was too hard to be pumped. Mr. Dessaules also told the inspector that the material being craned and loaded into the boxes was to be processed or dried at a later date prior to burial.
During Inspection No. 80-18 on October 6-9, 1980, the inspector observed in the shipping / receiving area of the plant, a box containing material that appeared to have come from the lagoon but appeared not to have gone through the pressing / drying process in that the material was in a chunky form.
The inspector observed that dry cement had been poured on top of the material in the box and that some of the cement had a damp appearance.
The dispor;t, ion of this box was not known by the inspector.
During the above insp.: tion, Mr. John L'Heureux, Manager, Nuclear Material Control, reportedly informed NRC Inspectors H. Zibulsky and R. Summers that not only had material been shipped to burial directly from the lagoon but that Mr. Charles E. Bowers, UNC, Manager - President, had ordered that this be done, over objections raised by Mr. Robert Gregg, Manager, Quality Assurance, that the material had not beeri processed or dried.
Based on L'Heureux' comment to the NRC inspectors, as noted above, and the aforementioned items of noncompliance associated with the licensee's shipment of unfiltered lagoon sludge and other material to the burial site in Nevada, this investigation was conducted to determine if the Itcensee was in willful noncompliance with NRC and the State of Nevada requirements pertaining to shipments of vaste for burial.
C.
INTERVIEWS OF LICENSEE PERSONNEL 1.
Individual A, whose identity is being withheld upon request, was interviewed on November 11 and 20, 1980 and December 16, 1980.
He also furnished a sworn signed statement (Exhibit 2).
Individual A said that he became associated with the lagoon project on September 15, 1980 and that the craning of material from lagoon A was already in progress at that time.
After September 15, there were 4 types of craning operation going on and he described them as follows:
a.
craning matrial from lagoon A into drums.
b.
emptying lagoon F into lagoon D.
c.
craning lagoon D into drums.
d.
moving material from lagoon C into lagoon A, after the craning of material from lagoon A had stoppped.
7 He said that the above craning operations took place over a two-week period and that Robert Weber was in charge of the day-to-day activities involving the 4 operations.
Individual A said that during the week of August 22, 1980-he made one or two visits to the lagoon area each day.
He said that the licensee hired a contractor, Richard Champlin, to perform the craning operations.
Both Champlin and his son, Richard Champlin, Jr., operated the cranes used in the above operations.
He said that the material that was craned from the top of lagoon A was in the form of a damp sludge and that when he looked into the drums containing the sludge, he saw no free standing liquid or
" soupy" material. He said that the drums were moved to the " bull pen" area after they were filled and that he never saw any liquid in any of the drucas from the time that the sludge was being loaded into the drums until the lids were put on the drums in the " bull pen" area. He said that the decision to crane material from lagoon A already been made when he became associated with the lagoon project on September 15 and that he had no objection with regard to that method of operation.
He said that it was his opinion that the percentage of water that was found in the drums, which were returned to UNC from the burial site in Nevada, had separated in transit.
He said that at no time did he ever see any liquid in any drum or other container that was being prepared for shipment.
He also said that at no time did he see any container being prepared for shipment and burial which did not meet the burial criteria for the Beatty, Nevada and Barnwell, South Carolina burial sites. Moreover, he said that he would not allow any containers, which did not meet the burial requirements, to be shipped.
Individual A said that he saw bits and pieces of lagoon liner material being craned from lagoon D into drums and that he told Arthur DeCourcy to be sure not to line the drums with plastic bags or to add cement to the drums because it would interfere with the processing of the material in the drums. He said that there were about 300 drums filled with such materisi and that they were marked with a red or green "X" and were put in the " dog pen" area to await further process-ing. He said that it was Charles Bowers' idea to mark these drums with an "X" and that Arthur DeCourcy was told to do this.
He said that he did not know if any of those drums had LSA labels on them or if they were weighed or logged in on any kind of a record.
He said that the sludge and lagoon liner material that was craned from lagoon D was definitely not shippable because it had liquid dripping from it while it was being lifted by crane from the lagoon and loaded into the drums.
He said that he observed that the drums filled.<ith that material contained free standing liquid.
He said that some crates were also used to contain the liner material and sludge from lagoon D.
He said that he saw one " huge" liner from lagoon 0 being put into a crate and it also had some liquid dripping from it.
He said that he saw this being done during the day shift and said that Arthur DeCourcy was "out there" in the lagoon area on that occasion.
He said that he did not recall if the above crate
- - i
8 was ifnod with a plastic bag or if cement had been added to the crate after the liner was loaded into it.
He said that he assumed that the above crate was going to be segregated from the containers that were being prepared for shipment to burial sites and that it was Weber's responsibility to see that the crate was segregated.
He said that he does not know if the above crate was shipped or if it is still onsite and that Weber or DeCourcy are the only persons who would know the answer.
He said that it was Weber's decision to put the waste from lagoon D into drums.
Individual A said that he told Weber, and possibly DeCourcy, several times to make sure that they did not get the drums containing lagoon D material mixed up with the drums of material from lagoon A.
He said that he did not know how many crates or boxes were filled with material from lagoon D.
He said that on one occasion he saw the lagoon workers putting plastic bag liners and cement in the drums and when he asked DeCourcy why they were doing that, DeCourcy said that Weber told him to prepare the drums like that.
Individual A said that Weber was the only person who knew "what everything was" in a container and that Weber would tell Jim O'Donnell what items were to be shipped out.
2.
Robert J. Gregg, Plant Manager, was interviewed on November 18 and December 17, 1980 and he furnished a sworn signed statement (Exhibit 3). He said that he was Manager of Quality Assurance when the craning of sludge from lagoon A for shipment to burial was in effect.
He said that no Quality As.surance checks were made to assure that the unfiltered lagoon sludge which was put into drums for shipment had met the NECO burial site criteria.
He said that the burial site criteria, as stated in the Radioactive Material License, No.13 0043-02, (Exhibit 4) which was issued to NEC0 by the State of Nevada, specifies that no special nuclear material will be received in liquid form and that these criteria were the only written documenta-tion which was used by the licensee regarding the contents of the drums which were shipped to NECO.
He said that Robert Weber was in i
l charge of the lagoon clean-out operation when UNC started shipping the lagoon waste material to NECO in Beatty, Nevada.
He said that copies of the burial site criteria for the Chem Nuclear site in Barnwell, South Carolina were issued to all of the " top people,"
including Weber, who were involved with the lagoon clean-out opera-tion, but he did not know if those same people received copies of the NECO burial site criteria.
He said that the only mistake that l
he is aware of, with regard to the 6 shipments that were rejected for burial by the State of Nevada, is that lagoon liners were included in the shipments. With regard to the drums which were found to have liquid on the top when they were opened during the special NRC inspection on October 6-24, 1980, Gregg said that he is convinced that the separation of the liquid from the solid material in the drums occurred during transit.
He saia that he was never happy with l
the craning of material from lagoon A for shipment to burial, herein-after referred to as the craning operation, primarily because that
9
. operation was not as well controlled as the press operation in the Process Building.
He said that both the press operation and the matarial which comes off the press are highly uniform.
He said that he had a " gut feeling" about potential problems with the craning operation and that, at a meeting with Charles Bowers, Russell Smith, Robert Weber and himself, he voiced strong objectio,1s about the licensee's consideration of a plan to utilize the craning operation.
He said that he raised his objections because he felt that the unfiltered lagoon caterial would have a high moisture content.
Gregg said that the above meeting took place sometime prior to his going on vacation for 2 weeks during August 1980.
He said that he returned frem vacation on August 25 and that he had heard that the craning operation started around August 22.
He said that Bowers made the decision to go ahead with the craning operation after Russell Smith had run a test, in late July, on the mois'ture content of the material on the top of lagoon A where the craning operation was to occur. Gregg said he had raised nis objections about the craning operation prior to Smith's running the tests on the moisture content of the lagoon material.
He said that the tests showed that the material on the top of lagoon A had a moisture content of about 56% as compared with about 52% moisture content in the material that was processed through the press operation. Gregg furnished a copy of a moisture test, dated July 28, 1980, of the lagoon A solids (Exhibit 5) which indicated that the material was sampled at a depth of 18 inches from the top of the lagoon and showed a 56.6% moisture content.
He said that on August 25 he went out to the lagoon area and saw that the crane operator was not taking the material from the top of lagoon A but was dropping the clamshell bucket down about 3 or 4 l
feet below the lagoon's surface.
He said, however, that the crane operator was not digging up liquid.
He said that he also noted that the lagoon material had been put into boxes and that he told Weber to stop that operation and to return the material to the lagoon or else few it through the press.
He said that, on the following morning, some of the boxes, which were situated near the Process Building, had liquid leaking from the bottom and it appeared that the liquid was coming from the contents in the boxes.
He said that he suggested to Weber that he (Weber) try to find out where the j
liquid was coming from, by carefully emptying the boxes.
Gregg said that during that same week, Weber called him and said that he had emptied the boxes and found no liquid in them. Weber also told him that the plastic material with which they had lined the boxes had no breaks in it and that the liquid which was leaking from the bottom of the boxes appeared to be coming from the wood itself, indicating that it was green wood.
Gregg said that he told Weber that there was no way that he (Weber) could prove to him that the material was satisfactory for shipment and that it could not be shipped.
During
10 the above interview, Gregg was :hown a copy of a Lagoon Disposal Report (Exhibit 6), dated September 1980, which bear's a footnote indicating that 150 drums were filled with material that was craned and which had been removed from 30 defective boxes.
Gregg said that he would assume that the footnote means that the material was taken from the leaking boxes which he had seen and that the material was placed into drums. He said that it was his understanding that the material in the aforementioned boxes had been put back into the lagoons and that it was only after he reviewed the above Lagoon Disposal Report during the interview that he concluded that this had not been done.
Gregg said that when he spoke to Weber about the leaking boxes, he also told Weber that the craning of lagoon material should be done only on top of the lagoon.
Gregg said that he felt that the material on top of lagoon A was acceptable for shipment to burial.
He said that-the addition of cement to a container was a precaution.
With regard to the press operation, he said that he occasionally saw a small amount of liquid come off the conveyor belt while they were loading the press material into drums and that they would shut down the system whenever this occurred.
He said that he felt that the amount of cement that they had put in the bottom of a drum was more than adequate to solidify the watere He said that this occurred quite infrequently.
During the-interview on December 17, Gregg said that the moisture tests which were done on the lagoon A sludge prior to the craning operation were probably done as a result of the objections which he raised during the aforementioned meeting which he had with Bowers, Smith and Weber. With regard to his discussion with Weber concerning the boxes which had liquid leaking from the bottom, Gregg said that he could not recall the exact words that he said to Weber but that it was-his intent that the material in the boxes should not be shipped because of the free liquid associated with it.
3.
John L'Heureux, Manager of Nuclear Materials Control, was interviewed on November 18 and December 16, 1980 and he furnished a signed statement (Exhib,it 7). When asked if he could explain the cause of the leaking containers and the free standing liquid problem associated with the 6 shipments'that were shipped from UNC to the NECO burial site in Beatty, Nevada, during September 1980, Mr. L'Heureux said, l
"I rule out deliberateness." He said that the licensee was trying to do too much too soon in order to get the UNC site decommissioned i
by the target date of April 1, 1981.
He said that Robert Weber was put in charge of the operation of craning the lagoon material for l
shipment to burial.
He said that he did not know if Weber was aware l
of the rules and regulations related to the packaging and shipment j
of material for burial, but that he thinks Weber was aware of the requirements.
He said that he thought that Weber had more than he mi w
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11 could handle and he cited, as one example of this, the fact that lagoon liners had been shipped out.
He said that it was not intended that the liners be shipped and that this was indicative that the job was not under control and that mistakes did happen.
He said that the lagoon liners were wet, whereas the material in the lagoon was dry. He said that the decision to crane the material directly from the lagoon was made by Charles E. Bowers, former. General Manager -
President of UNC Recovery Systems, or by Russell Smith, another former LNC Management employee.
He said that both Robert Gregg and himse?f were not " crazy" about the idea of the craning operation and that he, himself, saw no problem in craning the material off the top of lagoon A but that he could see potential problems because of the possibility of the crane operator shoveling direct from the liquid portion of the lagoon.
L'Heureux said that he had no first-hand knowledge of Gregg or anyone else raising an objection to Bowers with regard to the craning of material directly from the lagoon for shipment to a burial site.
He said, however, that he feels that Gregg probably did object to Bowers, before it was decided to crane the material, based on conversations which L'Heureux had with Gregg while riding in the same car pool.
L'Heureux was unable to be more specific with regard to any objections that Gregg may have had regarding the craning operation.
L'Heureux said that it was his responsibility to make out the paperwork on the 6 shipments, which were rejected for burial in Nevada, and to certify on the shipping papers that the material being shipped is as stated therein, including the physical form of the material. He said that the basis for his certifying on the shipping papers that the material is a solid is " blind faith and confidence that the people who worked on that operation knew what they were doing." He said that Weber's supervision of the craning operation was lax or inadequate because he (Weber) was a working supervisor and did not have enough time to adequately supervise.
He said that no Quality Assurance personnel supervised the loading of the drums with the material which was craned from the lagoon.
4.
Individual B, whose identity is being withheld upon request, was interviewed on November 18, 19 and December 16, 1980 and he furnished a sworn signed statement (Exhibit 8).
He said that Charles Bowers, former UNC General Manager - President, made the decision to crane sludge from the top of lagoon A and to put it into drums for shipment to burial. He said that Russell Smith, and possibly James Wakefield, sampled the sludge on the top of lagoon A and did moistura analysis tests on it.
He said that it was determined by the tests that the sludge was dry enough to be put into drums for shipment to burial.
He said that these tests were done probably in the latter part of July or August 1980 before the craning operation started.
He said that he was not sure when the craning operation started but that it may have started around the middle of September.
He said that they were having a lot of problems with the press operation because they a
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12 were finding gravel, rocks and liners in the lagoon material which blocked the feed lines to the press operation.
He said that it was a joint recommendation to Bowers by Russell Smith, Robert Gregg and himself that the sludge on the top of lagoon A could be put directly into drums for shipment to burial and that this recommendation was based on the tests of the moisture content of the sludge which were done by Smith, before the craning operation started.
He said these tests showed that the solids on top of lagoon A were comparable to the solids coming off the press operation.
He I:id that the craning was done by a licensee contractor named Champlin and that the first material which was craned from the top of lagoon A was put into about 32 wooden crates which were constructed by licensee personnel.
He said that it was found that these crates leaked, so they hand-shoveled the contents of the crates into drums.
He said that some of the 32 crates were nailed closed and banded the same day they were filled and that this was done as a test to see if the crates would stay put together.
He said that about 2 or 3 hours3.472222e-5 days <br />8.333333e-4 hours <br />4.960317e-6 weeks <br />1.1415e-6 months <br /> after the crates were filled, some of them began to show moisture stains on the outside.
He said that the sludge in the crates was inside double plastic bags which were used to line the boxes.
He stid that Gregg had told him and others that if there was any doubt about any moisture coming from the lagoon sludge in the crates, then they could not ship them. He said that some of the crates which were filled with the sludge were physically falling apart and sagging, whereupon they stopped building their own crates and hired an outside contractor to build them. With regard to crates or boxes which showed moisture on the outside, he said that the moisture was on the bottom and that it looked like water. He said that he thinks that the water could have been coming from tne wood of which the boxes were made.
He said that the total accumulation of water coming from the boxes was hardly enough to obtain a sample.
Of the 32 boxes mentioned above, he said that at least 5 or 6 of them leaked and that the moisture leaking frcm the boxes appeared almost immediately l
or within 2 or 3 hours3.472222e-5 days <br />8.333333e-4 hours <br />4.960317e-6 weeks <br />1.1415e-6 months <br /> after the material was put into the boxes.
l He said that the operation of transferring the sludge from the 5 or 6 leaking crates into drums probably occurred 2 or 3 days after the boxes were filled. When they transferred the material from the crates into drums, the plastic double bag liners in the boxes did not show any sign of being wet.
In filling the drums, they out a bag of dry cement on the bottom of each drum and sprinkled about a half bag of cement into the drum after it was filled.
He said that the purpose of the cement was a precaution that the material was damp and to tie up any solution or moisture in the material because they did not know what was dripping from the boxes.
He said that all of the drums of material that came from the press operation had 3 or 4 shovelfuls of cement put on the bottom of the drum and "enough cement on the too to cover the barrel."
a 13 Individual B said that he received no written instructions from anyone regarding the craning operation but that Gregg and Bowers did give him verbal instructions to put cement on the bottom and top of the drum when it was being filled with the sludge material. He said that these instructions were passed on to the 8 to 12 part-time workers who were working on the craning operation.
He said that Arthur DeCourcy was in charge of that operation.
He said that the only shipping requirements that he knows about are the ones which state that they cannot ship any drum that has any standing water in it and that they must use strong tight containers for any kind of shipment to a burial ground.
He said that he was " hazy" as to what the actual requiements are and that he may have heard about the various requirements through discussions or meetings with Bowers, Gregg and Russell Smith.
Individual B was asked if there had been any liquid problems associated with-the material coming off the press and he said that there were occasions when the equipment malfunctioned such that the material was not as dry as it should be.
In such cases they immediately
-stopped the press and added shovelfuls of cement to the liquid material coming off the press which he described as a running wet solution.
He said that he did not know exactly how much wet material came off the press when the problem occurred but that there were shovelfuls of wet material that were not coming off as dry as it r
should. He'said,that enough cement was always put into the drum to
-tie up any wet material that might be in it.
Individual 8 said that the liners from lagoons C, D, E and F were put into boxes. He said that they did not know what they were going to do with the liners but that some of them appeared to be dry enough to ship and did get shipped. With regard to the boxes contain-ing lagoon liner material, which were found to have leaked during transit, he said that these boxes were shipped probably because they were incorrectly stored in the same area as the dry material that was shipped.
With regard to the craning of sludge from lagoon A into drums, Individual 8 described the material as being "a loose muck or real heavy mud" with a jello-like consistency and no water coming out of it.
He said that after they filled several drums with the material they drilled 1-inch holes in one of the drums to see if there was any liquid in it and there was none.
He said that Gregg had asked that this be done before shipping the durms.
He said that Gregg and Bowers randomly checked the craning operation to see that cement was being put into the drums.
With regard to the material that was craned from lagoon A into boxes, he said that the crane operator was instructed to take a few bucketfuls off the top of the lagoon and to put the contents into boxes.
Individual B said that the material was taken from the lagoon at a depth of about 2 to 3 feet from the top of the lagoon.
-c--
wm-m.
-,.- -- ----+-
14 He said that after it was found that some of the boxes appeared to be leaking, Gregg told Robert Weber that they could not ship any of the boxes.
He said that he was not sure if Gregg told Weber to put the contents of the boxes back into the lagoon or to put the boxes in the warehouse for repackaging. He said that there were meetings which he attended almost every day and that it was decided at one of the meetings, on Weber's recommendation, to transfer the sludge frcm the boxes into drums.
He said that the boxes were being stored in the warehouse when the decision was made to empty them into drums.
Individual B said that Gregg told Weber that there is no way that the material in the leaking boxes could be shipped in those boxes, but Individual B said that Weber apparently did not understand Gregg's comment to mean that the material itself could not be shipped.
He said that when some of the boxes showed evidence of leaking shortly after they were filled with the sludge from lagoon A, they tipped over one or two of the boxes to examine the contents and there was no break in the plastic bags which lined the boxes nor was there any evidence of liquid leaking from the material.
He also said that there were no moisture stains inside the boxes that he examined. He said that they put the rest of the boxes in the warehouse to keep them from getting wet and that the maj rity of these boxes did not show any moisture on them nor was there any liquid or staining of the floor of the warehouse where they were stored. With regard -
to the leaking boxes that were returned to UNC from the burial site
~
in Nevada, Individual B said that it was basically his fault that they were shipped because he had told the fork lif t operator, whose identity he could not recall, to put some of the boxes in various places near the generator building but the fork lift operator apparently put them near the NGAS Building which is a storage area.
He said, however, that he did not see the fork lift operator putting the boxes, which contained the liners, near the NGAS Building area.
He said that there were no markings put on the boxes to identify them as material not to be shipped and that he didn't know why they l
didn't mark the boxes.
He said that they shipped out a lot of liners in boxes and that those liners were dry.
Individual 8 said that neither he nor anyone else was instructed not to commingle the boxes containing the e liner material with other itemt that were l
i to be shipped.
He s id hat he would never allow any crate to be l
put on a truck for soir nent if he suspected that it contained any l
free standing ligtM 5.
Individual C, snose iae.: ity is being withheld upon request, was interviewed on November 19 and December 17, 1980 and he furnished a signed statement (Exhibit 9).
He said that sometime around August 26, 1980, while he was working on the lagoon project, Fa saw a l
number of wooden boxe. stored outside the Generator Be.lding and l
that one of them was stained and appeared to have leaked some liquid.
He said that it was not leaking when he saw it and that it did not have any shipping labels on it.
He said that he could not recall I
how many boxes he saw but that they were totally closed and banded.
He said that Robert Weber told him that the above boxes were not l
l
.r,---..----,-y-
15 suitable for shipping.
He said that some of the boxes were emptied out during the day shift and some were emptied or the night shift.
He said that he (Individual C) took 1 or 2 of the boxes to the " bull pen" storage area and shoveled the material from the box into drums.
He described the material as being dried and hard.
He said that he did not recall seeing the box which he had previously seen and which appeared to have leaked some liquid, being emptied into drums.
He said that he did not see any liquid in or dripping from any of the boxes which he saw being emptied into drums.
With regard to the craning operation, he said that the softest material which he saw being craned from the top of lagoon A and being put into drums was in the form of a hard mud.
He said that Weber told the crane operator what to do and that it was common knowledge that the crane operator should not pick up any liquid from lagoon A when craning material from the top of that lagoon.
He said that the crane operator was instructed to pick up material only from the top of the lagoon and not to rip the lagoon liner.
He said that, to the best of his knowledge, the crane's clamshell bucket went down only 2 feet to 2 1/2 feet from the top of the lagoon.
He said that he never saw any boxes being filled with material from lagoon A.
He said that the individuals who were working on the craning operation would line the drums with a plastic bag and put 3 shovelfuls of cement on top of the material which was put into drums.
He said that they would make sure that there was a bag in each drum and they would tie off the bag with tape, if possible, or else they would fold the top of the bag over and would put cement on it.
He said that the filled drums were then taken to the " bull pen" storage area where part-time employees would put on the drum covers and gaskets and locking bolts.
He said that there were about 30 part-time employees working on the lagoon project and that most of them had, at one time or another, worked on putting the covers on the drums which were filled with the sludge material.
Individual C said that he had no reason to think that any Department of Transporta-tion or burial site requirement was not complied with.
He said that he had heard from Weber or James O'Donnell, Nuclear Controls Clerk, say that there should be no free standing liquid in the containers being filled with the lagoon sludge for shipment to burial.
He said that he had not seen the burial site requirements but that he may have read something which said that there should be no free standing liquid in the containers shipped for burial.
He said that he knows from his own experience at the UNC site that there should be no free standing liquid in containers shipped for burial.
Individual C said that sometime before the 6 shipments, which were rejected for burial, were returned to the UNC facility, they took some liners from lagoon 0 and put them into wooden boxes.
He said that he did not see any liquid coming off the liners when they were being removcd from the lagoon and being put into the boxes.
He said that the liners were coated with a sludge substance which adhered to them and which he described as a hard mud.
He said that sludge
16 material was also taken from lagoon D and put into drums and that these drums were marked with a red "X" to indicate that they were not suitable for burial.
He said that they did not line these drums with plastic bags nor did they add cement to them because they knew that the material was going to be "re-worked", such as by adding cement to them.
He said that they did the same thing with some bcxes containing lagoon D liners, i.e., they did not add cement or line the boxes with plastic bags, but he did not think that they painted red "X's" on the boxes.
He said that he thinks that there were some boxes on which they wrote something on the LSA label on the box to indicate that they contained lagoon liners and that they were not to be shipped for burial.
He said that there were less than 8 of such boxes but he didn't know exactly how many there were.
He said that these boxes are still onsite and that they should be in the " bull pen" storage area.
Investigators Note: The investigators examined a number of boxes that were stored in the " bull pen" storage area, including some of the boxes that were shipped for burial and which were returned to the UNC facility from the burial site in Nevada.
The investigators were unable to find any box with a notation on the LSA label to indicate that it contained lagoon liners and that it should not be shipped.
Individual C said that he didn't know for sure if any of the boxes which contained lagoon D liners had been filled with cement but that the first couple of boxes were lined with plascic bags.
He said that if'there was a box containing lagoon D liner material and if the box was lined with a plastic bag and had cement in the box, it l
would indicate that it was part-time employees who put the cement l
and plastic bag in the box because "they just didn't know any better."
l He said that the boxes which he saw, containing lagoon D liner l
material, were stored near the NGAS Building and that they were stored there because Weber told him (Individual C) to segregate them from the other containers.
He said that the boxes of lagoon liner material which were shipped for burial and later returned to UNC had probably gotten mixed up or were the result of a poor inventory system.
He said that they didn't paint red "X's" on the boxes containing lagoon D liner material, possibly because they ran out of red paint, and that Weber told him to put an LSA label on each box with a notation "not suitable for shipping."
Investigator's Note:
During the interview with Individual C on l
l_
December 17, he said that the above statement was incorrect in that l
Weber did not tell him to put an LSA label on each box containing lagoon D liner material, with a notation "not suitable for shipping".
He said that he assumed that O'Donnell knew that the boxes that contained lagoon liners were not to be shipped.
17 The investigator informed Individual C that one of the boxes in the 6 shipments which were rejected for burial, had the word " liners" written in green paint on the box.
Individual C said that he did not know who painted the word " liners" on the box and he said that whoever did it should have added the wordt "do not ship".
6.
David Alan Blackstone, a temporary laborer at UNC, was interviewed on November 20, 1980 and he furnished the following information.
He said that he was hired in June 1980 to work as a laborer in the lagoon area, under the direction of Robert Weber, and that he also worked at various jobs in the Recovery or Process Building. He said that he did not see any standing liquid in the drums of press material which he helped to prepare for shipment.
He said that toward the end of September, they were craning into drums material taken from the top of lagoon A and that the crane's clamshell bucket was scooping the material from about 2 to 6 feet below the original top surface of the lagoon.
Each drum was lined with a p'.astic bag and cement was added to the bag before it was filled to within about 3 inches from the top, after which a couple of shovelfuls of cement were added.
In several instances, the sludge that was being craned into the drums pulled the plastic bag down into the drums.
In such instances, they would stili put cement on top of the bag liner.
He said that he was working in the lagoon area where sludge from lagoon A was also being put in boxes.
He did not see any liquid in the boxes containing the sludge. He said that he also saw the material in the boxes being repacked into drums at a later date and he did not see any liquid in the sludge when this was being done.
He said that he helped to shovel the material from about 32 boxes into drums and he described the material as being " pretty hard." He said that 2 of the boxes had dampness near the bottom, but there was no actual liquid dripping from the boxes.
He said that there was no free standing water in the " wet stuff" that was being craned from lagoon A into drums.
The covers were bolted on the drums the same day that they were filled with the sludge material from lagoon A.
He said that he did not see any separation of liquid from the material in the drums and he described some of the material as having the con-sistency of a " Dairy Queen milk shake." He said that they filled about 40 drums each day and a total of about 1500 drums with the material from lagoon A which he said ranged in consistency from
" dried dirt to a Dairy Queen milk shake."
He said that pieces of lagoon linor material from lagoon D were put on the bank adjoining that lagoon but this material was not the main liner for lagoon D.
He said that they unsuccessfully tried to pump the sludge material from lagoon D and eventually they moved the sludge into lagoon C.
He said that the main liner for lagoon D and the pieces of liner material that were put on the bank adjoining that lagoon were loaded into boxes and drums.
There were about 45 to 60 drums and about 20 boxes that were packed with sludge and the liner material.
The drums were identified with a red or green "X"
18 painted on the lid.
Some of the boxes had a notation on them or an "L" to indicate that they contained the liner material.
He estimated that approximately 10 of the 20 boxes were marked in that manner.
There were about 50 to 100 drums which were filled with the lagoon D sludge which he described as having the consistency of a Dairy Queen milk shake.
Blackstone said that Arthur DeCourcy was his foreman and that DeCourcy told him to put the drums to one side.
He said that a couple of days later he was told to put the lids on the drums. With regard to the boxes containing sludge and liner material,
'the boxes were lined with double plastic bags and cement was added to the material in the boxes.
He said that most of the liner material that was put into the boxes came from lagoon D.
Blackstone said that someone, whose identity he could not recall, told him and the other workers not to put cement into the boxes anymore because they were not going to be shipped.
He said that about 6 of the boxes were stored in the warehouse and were put outside the warehouse, a day or two later, with the rest of the boxes.
Several of the boxes had the notation " lagoon liners" on them but, according to Blackstone, no one told them to mark the boxes.
He said that they shuffled so many things around in so many places that there were times when drums which were packed one day were moved about in such a way he didn't know where they were the next day.
He said that when a truck came onsite to pick up a shipment, he was told by Robert Weber and James O'Donnell which boxes and drums were to be put on the truck.
He said that Weber and O'Donnell used a spray can to paint a number on the boxes to indicate which boxes were to be shipped.
He said that the licensee did not ship any boxes until the very end or until the last 10 shipments were made.
He said that the boxes containing press material were weighed, stickered and marked with a "P".
l l
With regard to the boxes containing the liner material, the tops of l
the boxes were only tacked on and they were set aside in the yard wherever they had room for them.
He said that these boxes were not banded or weighed.
He said that he did not know for a fact that anyone ever shipped boxes containing lagoon liner material and that he did not recall loading onto the truck any box that had the notation
" lagoon liner" or an "L" written on it.
He said some of the boxes containing line material, with the notation " lagoon liner" or an "L" written on teem, were unpacked and reloaded into drums because the boxes were slling apart.
Investigator's Note: As noted above, Blackstone said that the boxes containing liner material were not banded or weighed but were put aside in the yard.
At another point in the interview, Blackstone said that he recalled weighing and banding approximately 4 or 5 of the boxes containing lagoon liner material, but, as indicated above, he did not know for a fact that any such boxes were ever shipped.
He said that he recalled loading onto the shipment vehicle 2 boxes l
which were not press material, as indicated by the weight of the boxes, and that one of them weighed 872 pounds.
He said that these boxes were shipped during the last 2 or 3 weeks during September 1980.
~
19 7.
Bryant Francis Boeglin, lagoon process area worker, was interviewed on November 20, 1980 and he furnished the following information:
Boeglin started work at the UNC facility on August 1, 1980 and worked in the " press room" for about a week. When the acums which were' filled with press material left the press area, they were ready for shipment and were stored in the warehouse or in the " bull pen" storage area. He said that he never saw any standing liquid in the drums containing press material.
He said.that the craning of material in the lagoon ar'ea started sometime around the middle of September.
He said that the crane's clamshell bucket dug down to about 10 feet from the top of the surface of lagoon A and the sludge material was loaded into drums.
He described the sludge as being a damp material with no free standing liquid.
He said that there was a standard operating procedure for loading the press material into containers but there was no such procedure for the craning operation. At one time the lids of the drums containing press material were marked with a "P" and the lids on the drums containing the r*aned material were mtrked with a "C".
He said that he sorked during overtime hours in loading the drums onto. the traile? truck for shipment to burial. He said that Tom Itteilag or Jim O'Donnell would segregate the drums, which were to be loaded for shipment, in an area that was taped off, with a sign indicating the number of the truck that the drums were to be loaded onto.
Boeglin said that he also worked in the lagoon D area where his job was directing the crane operator who picked up liners, which had been put on the bank near lagoon D, and craned them into boxes.
He said that he saw about 5 or 6 boxes being loaded with wet liners that had sludge dripping from them as they were being craned into the boxes.
He said that he did not know what became of those boxes which he described as being " slopped with material on the outside."
He said that there is a standard operating procedure which states that no material containing standing liquids can be shipped and that this was one of the first rules and regulations that he was informed about when he started work at the UNC facility.
He said that he does not know of any instance where a container with standing liquid was shipped to burial from the above facility.
4 8.
Jay Anthony Belletete, a temporary laborer at UNC, was interviewed on November 21, 1980 and he furnished the following information.
He said that he started work at the UNC facility on July 5, 1980 and worked both the day shift and the third shift. During the third shift he worked in the Process Building most of the time and he helped to fill drums with press material and he also sealed the drums for shipment to burial. He said that these drums were stored in the warehouse or in the " bull pen" storage area prior to being shipped and that he never saw any liquid in those drums.
He was assigned t: work the day shift around the middle of September and
20 worked for Robert Weber, Arthur DeCourcy and John Murphy.
He also worked in the lagoon area where his job involved clearing debris and rocks from the feed lines from the lagoons to the Process Building and from the pumps which were used in that operation. When he transferred to the day shift, the licensee was in the process of filling drums with mud or sludge which was being craned from lagoon A.
A hopper was used for filling the drums and the sludge was craned into the hopper which would direct it into the drums.
He said that his job was to fill the drums under the hopper and put them on the fork lift roller. The drums were then taken to the
" bull pen" storage area by the fork lift operator.
Before the drums were filled, each drum was lined with a plastic bag and 2 or 3 shovelf. s of cement were put into the bag.
He said that about 90%
of the plastic bag liners slipped inside the drums when the load of sludge from the crr.m! dropped into the drums.
In those cases where the bag did not slip inside a drum, the top of the bag was tied closed with tape.
He said that the lids were put on the drums in the " bull pen" storage area.
He described the sludge material which he saw being craned into the drums as being in " gushy globs" and that it did not show any free standing water or other liquid.
There were occasions, such as during a coffee break, when a drum which had just been filled with sludge would be left standing under the hopper for about 15 to 20 minutes until the coffee break was ended.
He said that the material in the drum still looked like mud, with no free standing liquid showing, after the 15 to 20 minute interval.
Belletete said that he worked oa that operation for about a week, during which time they loaded about 140 to 170 drums each day on the first shift, and at no time did he ever see any free standing liquid in any of those drums. The only lagcnn material that he saw being put into boxes was lagoon liner material that was taken from the lagoon located on the f ar right side of the press building (Process Building).
He said that the liners were picked up by the crane and some pieces of liner material were put into drums and other pieces were put into boxes.
He said that these drums were also lined with plastic bags.
Cement was also put on the bottom of the bag and more cement was added when the drum was filled.
He described the lagoon liner material that was put into these drums as being ' wet, with very little lagoon sludge or muddy material on them." He said that some of the mud would drop from the liner as it was being held 1. the air by the crane while a worker would cut the i
liner to a size that would fit into a drur. A hopper was also used in filling the drums with the liner material.
Some of the muddy material on the liners would splash on the workers who were loading the drums and he described this material as being "like wet mud drops.."
He said that these drums would also be put on the fork lift rollers and taken by fork lift truck to the " dog pen" storage area where another crew of workers would put covers, gaskets and a ring on the drum.
These drums were marked with a red "X" which was spray painted on the lid of each drum.
He said that he did not see r-e--
e-
~
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r
,,egy
--m,,---
-,e-
,._,,,,,,,,_,,,,.,__.-4
l 21 any free standing liquid in any of the drums which were filled with lagoon liner material.
Belletete said that it was his understanding from talking with his co workers that the licensee was not going to ship these drums but was just going to store them in the " dog pen" area.
He said that he heard rumors that the licensee was going to try to solidify the contents of these drums by adding cement and by utilizing a motor-drive propeller, but he had no specific information in that regard.
He said that, as of the date of the above interview, the drums centaining the lagoon liner caaterial are still stored in the " dog pen" area and that, to the best of his knowleage, none of them have been shipped out.
He said that there are also some other drums stored in the " dog pen" area which have green "X's" painted on the lids and that these drums contain miscellaneous debris from "the yard," such as pieces of gloves, cardboard, and small pieces of wood and lagoon liner material.
He said that the pieces of liner material were dug up or picked up at various locations on the top edges of the various lagoons and that most of this liner material did not appear to him to be wet. He said that some of these pieces of liner material had dried mud or lagoon sludge on them.
He said that the drums which had a green "X" painted on the lid also were lined with plastic bags and had cement added to the contents.
He said that these drums were loaded by hand and that the cement was put on top of the plastic bag before it was tied off with tape, provided there was enough space left inside the bag for doing this.
He said that the drum lids and gaskets were put on these drums and fixed in place with the bolt rings.
He said that he did not know what the licensee was going to do with the drums which were marked with the green "X's".
With regard to the craning of material from lagoon A, he said that the crane's clamshell bucket scooped the mud or sludge down to a depth of 7 feet from the top of the edge of the lagoon.
He said that the material taken from the top of the lagoon was harder and drier than a muddy substance would be and that, as the clamshell bucket went down daeper into the lagoort, the substance would become lor,sely held together and moist such that, "if you picked up a handful, it would squish through your fingers." He said that there was no free standing liquid associated with this material.
With regtrd to the material taken from lagoon D, he said that they filled about 250 to 350 drums with the mud, some of which had pieces of lagoon liner mixed w th it.
He described the mud which was taken from lagoon 0 as being " looser" than that which was taken from lagoon A.
He said that they filled approximately 10 boxes with the liners taken from lagoon D and that some of the liners had been taken out of lagoon D during the day shift and were piled on the bank of the lagoon to be packed into drums or boxes during the second shift. The liners which he saw being put into boxes came from lagoon 0 after the sludge had been removed from that lagoon.
O 22 The boxes were also lined with plastic bags and cement had been added to the bags.
They later dacided to line each box with 2 plastic bags because it was found that one bag was not strong enough to hold the material without being ripped at the corners of the bag.
About 5 or 6 shovelfuls of cement were added to each bag after it was filled with the liner material and the box of material was then put on a fork lift truck to be taken to another area.
He said that he noted that the fork lift operator headed in the direction of the process area, but he (Belletete) could not say for sure where the boxes were taken.
He said, however, that he had heard by word of mouth that the boxes were taken to the process area to be weighed.
He said that there were no lids on the boxes when he saw them being taken by fork lift truck to an area which was in the direction of the process area.
He said that some of the boxes containing miscellan-eous debris had the word " mise" painted on them but that such marking was not put on the boxes containing lagoon liner material.
He said that he did not see anyone putting any identification mark on the boxes containing liner material to indicate that they contained liners.
Belletete said that he did not prepare for shipment any of the boxes containing liner material inasmuch as he never got involved in the shipping operation. He said that he did not recall seeing any lids or covers on the boxes containing liner material.
He said tha; no one ever gave him any formal written or verbal instructions about not shipping material containing free standing liquid because he had nothing to do with shipments.
He said, however, that it was common knowledge among the workers thtt only dried press material was to be shipped.
He said that they were told that the drums containing liner material, which were marked with red "X's," were to be contained in the " dog pen" area because nothing in that area was supposed to be shipped. With regard to the boxes containing liner i
material, he said that no one told him anything with regard to storing those boxes in any particular area.
9.
Individual D, whose identity is being withheld upon request, was interviewed on December 1 and 10, 1980 and he furnished a swcrn signed statement (Exhibit 10).
During the interview with Individual D, he said that the vehicles used for shipping radioactive waste material are surveyad for radiation both before and after the containers are loaded on a vehicle. He said that containers are smeared and surveyed for radiation before shipment and that most of the surveys are done by Nicholas Vuono, a UNC Health Physics Technician.
He said that in most cases the surveys are done at least a day before the containers are loaded on the truck.
He said that he has never seen any container, including boxes and drums, being prepared for shipment, or which was actually shipped, that was leaking liquid.
l In a couple of instances, he saw a drum which app 9ared to have lime splashed on it and he said that he made sure that operations personnel washed it off the drum before it was shipped.
He said that he did not see sny containers being prepared for shipment that contained free standing liquid and he did not know of any containers that were shipped which had free standing liquid in them.
l
23 Individual 0 said that on one occasion he measured the conductivity of a solution that appeared to be leaking from the seam of a box or shipping c. rate. He said that there were about 50 cubic centimeters of liquid in the solution and that he had to dilute it to measure it. The solution was colorless and appeared to him to be rainwater.
He did not take any measurement of the liquid for radioactivity or for nitrates.
He said that the test was conducted at the request of someone who he thought might have been Robert Weber.
He said that it was his understanding from talking "with someone in authority at UNC," whose identity he could not recall, that the lagoon liners were to be laid down on the ground and dried out before being shioped.
He said, however, that he never saw any liners from lagoon D being put into boxes.
He said that he did see a truck pulling part of a lagoon cover from lagoon D and that the cover was put aside on the ground.
He did not know what eventually happened to the cover.
He said that some of the cover was wet because it had been dragged through part of the lagoon.
Individual D said that he saw one of the boxes which was returned to UNC from the burial site in Beatty, Nevada and he noted that it contained part of a white lagoon cover.
He could not say for sure if it was part of the same lagoon cover which he saw being dragged through lagoon D.
Individual D said that it is not the responsibility of NIS personnel to inspect the contents of containers being shipped for burial but that they have been instructed not to ship anything that is not suitably packaged for shipment or which is leaking.
He said'that if there is any evidence of dirt or leakage from a container, NIS personnel will " hold it up and not let it go out."
He said that he was under the impression that the licensee was shipping only dry material that was certified for shipment and he did not know the reason for the liquid problem associated with the 6 shipments which were rejected for burial in Beatty, Nevada. He said, however, that he does not believe that the liquid problem associated with the above shipments was the result of intentional disregard for the shipping requirements.
10.
Individual E, whose identity is being withheld upon request, was interviewed on December 1 and 10, 1980, and he furnished a sworn signed statement (Exhibit 11).
During the interview with Individual E, he said that prior to loading containers on a vehicle for shipment to burial, the LSA label on each container is examired by a designated UNC employee and the information on the label, which includes the weight of the container, is recorded on a Material For Burial Preparation Form. The information recorded on the above form, which is a working form maintained onsite, is later used by UNC clerical personnel in preparing the Waste Shipment and Disposal Form for each shipment going to a burial
i 24 site.
This form indicates the physical form of the material being shipped. He said that the UNC employees who prepare the Waste Disposal and Shipping Form indicate on that form that the material being shipped is a solid, as opposed to a liquid, on the basis that they are not allowed to ship any liquids to a burial site. He said, however, that neither the designated employee, who examines and records the information on the LSA labels on each container, nor the employees who prepare the Waste Shipment and Disposal Forms, inspect the contents of the containers being shipped because the containers are already sealed closed for shipment when these forms are being prepared.
He said that he was present when the designated UNC employee copied information from the LSA labels on containers being shipped and when that employee recorded that information on the Material For Burial Preparation Forms, mentinned above.
He said that he never saw any box or drum, including. nose that were rejacted for burial in Beatty, Nevada, which was leaking or appeared to have been leaking prior to shipment.
He said that when the designated UNC employee copied the information from the LSA labels or. the shipping containers and prepared the Material For Burial Preparation Forms, the designated UNC employee was almost always accompanied by a UNC Nuclear and Industrial Safety Technician, either Nicholas Vuono or Thomas Itteilag.
He said that the containers that were to be shipped for burial were set aside in the " bull pen" storage area by production personnel.
He said that the containers already had a container number marked on them when the designated UNC employee examined the LSA labels on the containers and recorded the information on the labels on the Material For Burial Preparation Forms.
Individual C said that Robert Weber was in charge of production and that Individual C was present when Weber indicated which drums and boxes were to be shipped by spray painting a number on them.
He said that the numbers on some of the containers that were shipped for burial may have been put on during off shift hours by persons other than Weber.
He said that this method of numbering and recording container: for shipment to burial also applied to containers of material which was craned from lagoon A.
He said that the drums of press material weighed approximately 450 pounds whereas the drums containing the craned material weighed 75 or 80 pounds heavier.
Individual E said that he never saw any lagoon liner material from lagoon D being loaded into boxes or drums and that he did not see any boxes being shipped which had the words " liners" or " lag liners" or an "L" written on them.
He said that if he had seen any box with suca a notation on it, he would have shipped it out because he would have assumed that the box contained " yard clean-up" material such as pieces of metal and miscellaneous junk.
He said that he saw sludge from lagoon D or from the lagoon D area being loaded into drums and he described the sludge as being " loose" and not suitable for shipment because he felt that it was too loose or too wet.
He said that
25 these drums were marked with a red "X" and were stored in the " dog pen" storage' area.
He said that he never saw any boxes being loaded with material from lagoon D or from the lagoon D area but that he knew of no restrictions regarding the loading of boxes with material from those areas.
He said that he never saw any materi.
being craned into boxes from any area.
With regard to preparing containers for loading onto a vehicle for shipment, Individual E said that he and Nicholas Vuono would cordon off with red tape the area where the containers, which had been prepared for shipment, were situated and they would hang a sign, with the shipment number on it, on the tape. He said that a shipment could go out only during the day shift but that the shipment vehicles could be loaded during the off-shift hours.
With regard to the containers which were opened during the NRC special inspection and were found to contain free standing liquid, he said that he feels that the material in the containers had to be material that was craned from the lagoon, rather than press material, and that the liquid may have separated from the material while it was in transit to the burial site in Nevada.
He said that Robert Gregg told him that they had done some tests on the lagoon material and Gregg indicated to him that the material which was craned from the lagoon could be shipped to burial, based on the results of the tests.
Individual E said that he is aware of the requirements for material shipped for burial.
He said that it is not his respons9111ty to inspect the inside of containers of material being shipped for burial but that Gregg has told him that he (Individual E) should inspect the outside of the containers and note their general appear-ance and the weight of the containers and to see that they have the required labels on them.
He said that he was instructed to bring to Gregg's attention anything that might indicate that a container was not suitable for shipment, including any evidence of liquid leaking from it.
He said that he did not recall seeing any lagoon material, including sludge and lagoon liner material, being craned into boxes.
He said that he did not recall seeing any wet materials being put into boxes, containing " Yard clean-up material" that were shipped fer i
burial. He said that he had not seen any " yard clean-up" material being put into boxes but he did recall that such material had been shipped and that he was able to determine the contents of the container by the "U-value" (uranium value) on the label of the container.
He said that a box containing " yard clean-up" material would be given a i
U-value of one gram, for accountability reasons, and that this was
. done on instructions from John L'Heureux.
He said that the cae gram value was used for " yard clean-up" material because the burial sites in Nevada and South Carolina told the licensee that they had to have L
26 a U-value for each container or else they could not accept it for.
burial as radioactive material.
Individual E said that all containers of such material were scanned by health physics personnel prior to shipment for burial.
He said that the actual scan of such material would show a radiation level which was near or less than the background level.
Individual E said that he did not know who made the decision to ship lagoon liner material in boxes or drums, but that he saw no problem in doing so, provided the liner material was dry.
11.
Nicholas Vuono, Health Physics Technician, was interviewed on December 2 and 10, 1980 and he furnished a sworn signed statement (Exhibit 12). He said that the only time that he becomes involved in a shipment is after the containers, including drums and boxes, are already packaged and ready for shipment.
He said that he never saw any boxes or drums which were ready for shipment that were leaking or showing any evidence of having leaked.
He said that it is the responsibility of health physics personnel to see that the outside of a container is not contaminated and that this is accomplished by taking a radiation survey with a meter and by taking paper smears of the container to see that the radiation limits are not exceeded.
He said that the radiation limits are "100 dpm per square centimeter for alpha on the paper smear and less than 1000 dpm pe'r square centimeter for beta on the paper smear."
He said that when they first started shipping drums from the lagoon project, they used " cup seals" on the drums which would identify a given drum as something to be shipped. A box which was to be shipped would have a number spray painted on it to identify it as an item to be shipped. When they stopped using " cup seals" on the drums, they used a " magic marker" to put a number on the drum or a dot on the lid of the drum to identify it as part of a shipment.
He said that the contents of a drum or box was not a concern of health physics l
personnel but it was their concern to see that a container passed health physics specifications for shipment, as determined by the radiation surveys mentioned above.
l Vuono said that on one occasion he saw material being craned from i
lagoon A into drums and that, although he did not get close enough to see the materid in the drums, he could see that the crane was scooping up only dry material from the lagoon.
He said, however, l
that he was not close enough to estimate how far down the crane was taking the material from the lagoon.
He said that he also saw press material being loaded into drums and he described that material as being in very dry condition.
He said that he saw r; liquid in the material being craned.
He said that he spent most of the time in l
the " bull pen" area where the material was being stored for shipment.
l
- - - - - -. = - - - - -
27 Vuono said that he did not recall seeing any material being craned into containers from any lagoon except lagoon A and that he did not recall seeing any lagoon liners being craned into containers.
He said that he had no idea as to how any of the containers, which were returned to UNC from tne burial site in Beatty, Nevada, were found to have free standing liquid in them.
He said that he did not know of any containers that contained any material that should not have been shipped.
He said that he was not familiar with any of the burial site requirements but that he has heard by word of mouth that there should not be any free standing liquid in containers going to a burial site.
He said that it would be his job to stop any drum or box, that was leaking, from being shipped and that he never found any such container leaking.
He said that most of the radiation surveys of shipments which he performed were done in the company of Jim O'Donnell, but that on some occasions he performed the surveys with Bob Webar.
He said that either Weber, O'Donnell or himself would spray paint a number on a drum or box to identify it as an item to be shipped. The number would also indicate that the container was smeared, surveyed and ready for shipment.
Vuono said that he had no knowledge of any container that was shipped which was not suitable for shipment.
- 12. James H. Wakefield, Production Supervisor, was interviewed on December 4,1980 and he furnished a sworn signed statement (Exhibit 13).
During the interview with Wakefield, he said that he was a supervisor during the lagoon processing operation, beginning in early June 1980, and that he reported to Chrles Bowers, former UNC General Manager - President.
He said he was or, leave from work from July 9 to September 8, 1980 and that he did not know who made the decision to crane material from lagoon A into drums for shipment to burial.
He said that when he returned to work on September 9, the licensee was using only the press operation for processing lagoon material for shipment to burial. He said that he was working the third shift (midnight to 8:00 AM) at that time. He said that around October 1980, when he took over as lagoon project manager on the day shift, the 6 shipments which were rejected for burial at the NEC0 site in Beatty, Nevada, had already been returned to the UNC facility.
He said that all of the drums containing press solids which were processed for burial did not have any free standing liquid in them. He said that he thinks that the _ leaking drums which were found in the 6 rejected shipments were lagoon solids that were craned into the drums and that the drums leaked because they had loose bung caps.
He said that he did not examine the containers in the returned shipments but that he obtained that information about the loose bung caps from hearsay.
He said that he doubts that any of the containers which were found to be leaking or containing free standing liquid
28 were shipped in that condition from the UNC facility.
He said that it was strictly conjecture on his part that the liquid which was found in the containers had separated from the solid material due to vibration while in transit.
He said that on one occasion during the end of the day shift, he saw approximately 20 drums being filled with solids from lagoon A which had been craned into the drums.
He saw the drums in the " bull pen" area and this*was before the lids had been put on the drums.
He said that cement had been put on the top of the material in the drums and he did not see any free standing liquid in the drums. He said he helped to repack some of the wooden crates containing lagoon A material into drums. He described this material as being damp and said that it did not hive any free standing liquid.
He said that there were approximately 30 crates filled with the lagoon A ' material and that some of them had been leaking.
He said that he helrad to repack 10 of the crates into drums and that none of those 10 crates were leaking when he saw them.
He said that he did not know if any of the drums containing the material which was in the crates had been shipped but he did note that the drums were lined with plastic bags and that the drum lids and gaskets were bolted in place.
He said that LSA stickers had been put on the drums and that the drums were stored either in front of the NGAS Building or in the " bull pen" storage area, both of which are recognized storage areas but they are not necessarily storage areas for material to be shipped for burial.
He said that he never saw any lagoon liner material being loaded into boxes or drums and he did not know if any such material was ever put into boxes or drums.
He said that he never saw any container being prepared for shipment which contained any free standing liquid.
He said that he did not know if any moisture tests were done on the lagoon A material which was craned into drums.
He said that he was surprised to see that they were craning lagoon A material into drums but he did not question that operation because he didn't see any free standing liquid in the l
material and it appeared to meet specifications in that it had h l
free standing liquid and that no water ran from it when he squeezed the material between his hands.
He said that the polymer which was added to the pross solids acted as a coagulant and that the press solids had 48% atoisture and 52*. dry solids.
He said he never saw i
l m/ comparable figures for the lagoon A sludge and did not know if
, y tests were done on that material prior to the craning operation, f
With regard to the preparation of containers of press material for shipment to burial, Wakefield said that he supervised the operators who put the LSA labels on the drums and boxes before they were weighed. With regard to the material that was craned from lagoon A into drums, he said that after the drums were filled, they were i
taken to t'he " bull pen" storage area where the lids were put on the drums and the drums were then weighed and LSA labels were put on them. The drums were then stored in the warehouse to await shipment for burial.
He said that he never saw any craning of material from lagoon D, but that when he saw material being craned from the top of i
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lagoon A, the crane's clamshell bucket was digging down "not much more" than 3 feet from the top of the lagoon.
He said that he r. aver saw any free standing liquid in the depressions made in lagoon A during the craning operation.
He said that the drums containing press material were marked with a "P" in front of the weight of the drum, which was recorded on the label, and that the drums containing the material craned from lagoon A were marked with a "C" in front of the weight.
He said, however, that he did not know if it was a uniform practice at the site to mark each drum with a "P" or a "C" as described above.
He said that he worked both the second and third shift (the midnight shift) from approximately September 8 until the end of September 1980 and that the only containers loaded onto the trucks for shipment were drums.
He said that when he worked these shifts he examined all of the drums which were being filled with press material and he saw no free standing liquid in any of them.
He said that the only drums that he filled with lagoon A material were the drums which were repacked from the wooden crates, as meritioned above.
He said that he didn't know when the material had been loaded in the crates and he suspected that it was material from lagoon A because the only lagoon solids which were craned into the drums were from lagoon A.
He said that the aforementioned crates were stored in the " dog pen" area and that all of the material in that area is now considered " rejected material" because it contains free stand-ing liquid or a combination of rocks and liquid which was pumped from the tank.
He said that the drums stored in this area are marked with red or green "X's".
He said that the " dog pen" area was not a storage area for material to be shipped for burial when he repacked the crates into drums, as menticned above. He said that he did not know of any restriction regarding the shipping of lagoon liners, provided they were dry and did not have any free standing liquid.
13.
Individual F, whose identity is being withheld upon request, was interviewed on December 5, 1980 and he furnished a signed statement (Exhibit 14).
During the interview with Individual F, he said that he worked in the Process Building and occasionally went to the i
lagoon area where he observed sludge material being craned from l
lagoon A into drums. He said, however, that his job responsibilities l
had nothing to do with the lagoon process operation.
He said that it appeared to him that the material was being craned from the top of lagoon A, down to a depth of about 3 or 4 feet.
He said that the bottom of the hole in the lagoon's surface which was created by the craning operation appeared to be dry and that he did not see any free standing liquid.
He said that he never saw any container being prepared for shipment that contained free standing liquid and that he never saw any container leaking prior to or at the time of shipment.
He said that he also saw lagoon liner material and sludge being craned from lagoon D into drums and that this material did not look l
suitable for shipment.
He said that it appeared to him that the l
h
_ _, - _ _ _ _ -... _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ~ _ _ _
1
30 drums containing the material from lagoon 0 were stored in the incinerator area.
Individual F said that he did not know of any container, which was shipped from the UNC facility to a burial site, that contained free standing liquid when it was shipped. With regard to the containers that were found to be leaking upon arrival at the Nevada burial site, he said that he did not know the cause of the liquid problem associated with those containers and that it was speculation on his part, based on what he heard during discussions of the problem with other UNC personnel, that the material could have separated while in transit.
14.
Individual G, whose identity is being withheid upon request, was interviewed on December 5, 1980 and he furnished a signed statement (Exhibit.15). During the interview with Individual G, he said that he never saw any container being prepared for shipment that contained free standing liquid. With regard to the containers which were found to be leaking upon arrival at the burial site in Nevada, he speculated that the contents may have separated while in transit.
He said that the craning of material from lagoon A started around July 1980 and that the material was craned fror, the northeast side of the lagoon, down to a depth of about 2 feet to 2 1/2 feet.
He said that he never saw any free standing liquid where a depression in the lagcon surface was created during the craning operation.
He said that he saw approximately 4 or 5 drums being filled with the sludge that was craned from lagoon A and that, although he did not have an opportunity to look inside the drums when they were being filled, he did see 1 or 2 drums of the lagoon A sludge which were in the " bull pen" storage area.and without covers on them.
He did not see any free standing liquid in those drums.
He said that he and Jim Wakefield emptied lagoon sludge from approximately 30 boxes into drums, on instructions from Robert Weber, and there was no free standing liquid in that material.
He said that the above boxes were stored in the warehouse and later transferred to the area near the
-NGAS Building at which time the sludge 17 the boxes was put into the drums.
He did not know how long the bo.es were stored in the warehouse.
Individual G said that he never saw any material being craned from lagoon 0 but he did see lagoon liners and lagoon covers being lifted by crane from lagoon F and transferred to the lagoon A trench which had dry lime in it.
He said that he had no knowledge of anyone being instructed to ship any material for burial which was not suitable for shipment.
He said that he had no knowledge of any boxes containing liners that were shipped.
He said that he loaded containers on 2 or 3 trucks during the second shift (3:30 p.m. to midnight) and that he obtained his instructions from Weber or Arthur DeCourcy with regard to the items that were to be shipped.
Z
i.
31 15.
Individual H, whose identity is being withheld upon request, was interviewed on December 9, 1980, and he furnished a signed statement (Exhibit 16).
During the interview with Individual H, he said that he saw lagoon liners, which were wet and had sludge on them, being craned from lagoon D and put into boxes.
He said that boxes were then put off to the side in back of the " dog pen" area and that he didn't know if they ever got shipped.
He said that he did not know of any box or drum being prepared for shipment, or which was actually shipped, that had free standing liquid in it or was leaking or was not otherwise suitable for shipment, at any time prior to or at the time of shipment.
16.
Karl Helgeson, Manager of Nuclear and Industrial Safety (NIS), was interviewed on December 9, 1980 and he furnished a sworn signed statement (Exhibit 17). With regard to the leaking containers and free standing liquid problem associated with the 6 shipments that were rejected for burial in Beatty, Nevada, Helgeson said that he could only assume that the people who loaded the trucks had inadver-tently loaded drums that were not intended for shipment.
He stid that the drums which were to be shipped were selected by John L'Heureux, or possibly by Jim O'Donnell.
He said that O'Donnell would normally call the NIS department a day or two before the date of shipment, at which time O'Donnell would inform NIS personnel that he had a list of drums to be shipped and that they needed to be " smeared." He said that Nicholas Vuono of NIS would then take smears of the drums which O'Donnell would designate as being on the shipping list.
Helgeson said that he was on leave from work beg'nning the first week in July until about the last week of September 1980.
He said, however, that he never saw any container that was destined for shipment that was leaking or contained any free standing liquid or an accumulation of liquid.
He said that he knows that there were
" standing orders" that there would be no free standing liquid in anything being shipped.
He said that there was some " stuff" that was not destined to be shipped and that it was set aside in the " dog pen" area.
He said that, to the best of his knowledge, anything that was put in the " dog pen" area was never intended for shipment.
i l
He also said that he saw markings o.
crate; which had the notation
" lag liner" on them and that he knew of no prohibition against shipping liners. He said that on a couple of occasions he saw material being craned from the top of lagoon A.
He described the I
material as being dry and said that the crane's clamshell bucket was digging down a couple of feet from the top of the lagoon when it scooped up the material.
Helgeson said that he saw some old pieces of lagoon liner, with some sludge attached to the pieces, being craned from lagoon D into drums or boxes.
He described that material as being sloppy and too wet to be shipped and he did not know if any of that mater'al was shipped.
i L
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o 32
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He said that he neve saw cement or lime being put into the drums or boxes which containcu the material taken frem lagoon D, but it was his understanding that cement was put into the drums containing the material from lagoon A.
17.
Individual I, whose identity is being withheld upor. request, was interviewed on December 16, 1980 and he furnished a sworn signed statement (Exhibit 18).
Individual I said that he had no knowledge of any containers of lagoon material whien were being prepared for shipment to a burial site that contairad any liquid or were leaking at any time prior to or during the loading of the container on the shipment vehicle.
D.
INTERVIEW OF FORMER UNC OFFICIAL Charles E. Bowers, former General Manager - President of the UNC facility in Wood River Junction, Rhode Island, was interviewed on December 17, 1980 and he furnished a sworn signed statement (Exhibit 19). With regard to the ifquid problem associated with the 6 shipments that were rejected for burial in Beatty, Nevada, Bowers said that it was basically due to human error and not intentional on anyone's part. He said that it was a human error in the system in that someone put the wrong material on the shipment vehicle and that there was no standard operating procedure for separating shippable material from the non-shippable material.
E.
INTERVIEW OF LICENSEE CONTRACTOR Richard Champlin, Sr. and his son, Richard Champlin, Jr., were interviewed on November 19, 1980.
Richard Champlin, Sr. said that on August 25 1980, they tried loading material from lagoon A into drums and the
- und it necessary to use a hopper for directing the material from the cr e's clamshell bucket into the drums.
He said that Robert Weber told them to take the dry material off the top of the lagoon and Weber kept telling them, "make sure that you don't get any wet stuff because the people at the burial ground will drill holes in the drums to see if there is any water in them." He said that Weber was working in the lagoon area 90*4 of the time that the craning operation was in progress.
Both Mr. Champlin and his son said that Weber told them that he would rather see taem sit around and do nothing for $40.00 per hour than to put any wet materia'i in the drums.
Mr. Champlin, Sr. said that on about August 25, he craned material from lagoon A inte some boxes, which could have totaled 30 in number, and he described the material as being dry.
He said that there was no liquid coming from the material when it was picked ep by the crane's clamshell bucket.
He said that the material which was loaded into drums was about the same as was put into the boxes.
He said that the material which was removed from lagoon A was taken at a depth of abcut one foot from the top of the lagoon's surface.
He said that they removed about one-fourth of the top of lagoon A on the east side of the lagoon.
u,
33 Richard Champlin, Jr..said that he filled about 30 drums with material from lagoon 0 and about 4 or 5 boxes with lagoon liner material.
He said that all of the boxes had silicone caulking, a double plastic bag liner, and cement on the bottom of the bag liner. He said that the liners from lagoon.0,.which he loaded by crane into the boxes, had wet sludge dripping from them. He said that he did not recall seeing anyong marking the boxes with red "X's."
III.
STATUS OF INVESTIGATION The status of this investigation is CLOSED.
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EXHIBITS 1.
Diagram of UNC, Wood River Junction, Rhode Island 2.
Statemant of Individual A, December 16, 1980 3.
Statement of Robert J. Gregg, December 17, 1980 4.
Radioactive Material License, No. 13-11-0043-02 5.
Moisture Test on Lagoon A Solids, July 28. 1980 6.
Lagoon Disposal Report, September 1980 l
7.
Statement of John L'Heureux, December 16, 1980 8.
Statement of Individual B, December 16, 1980 9.
Statement of Individual C, December 17, 1980 10.
Statement of Individual D, December 10, 1980 11.
Statement of Individual E, December 10, 1980 12.
Statement of Nicholas Vuono, December 10, 1980 13.
Statement of James H. Wakefield, December 4, 1980 14.
Statecent of Individual F, December 5,1980 15.
Statement of Individual G, December 5, 1980 16.
Statement of Individual H, December 9, 1980 17.
Statement of Karl Helgeson, December 9, 1980 18.
Statement of Individual I, December 16, 1980 19.
Statement of Charles E. Bowers, December 17, 1980 e
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EXHIBIT 2 STATEMENT OF INDIVIDUAL A United Nuclear Corporation Recovery Systems Wood River Junction, Rhode Island December 16, 1980 1:28 p.m.
I hereby made the following voluntary statement to Mr. Raymond E. Shepherd who has identified himself to me as an Investigator with the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
I make this statement freely with no threats or promises of reward having been made to me. Mr. Shepherd is writing this statement for me at my request.
I am presently employed at the United Nuclear Corporation (UNC) facility at Wood River Junction, Rhode Island.
For personal reasons, I must ask that the NRC extend as much confidentality as possible to me in this matter.
I have no knowledge of any drums or boxes containing lagoon sludge, lagoon liners or lagoon covers which were being prepared for shipment to a burial site that contained free standing liquid or an accumulation of liquid or were leaking when the lagoon material was being put into the container or at any time prior to or during the loading of the container on a vehicle for shipment to a burial site.
I have read the foregoing statement consisting of two handwritten pages.
I have made any necessary corrections and have initialed them in ink.
I have signed the first page in the left hand margin. This statement is the truth to the best of my knowledge and belief.
(Signature) 2:10 Subscribed and sworn to before me this sixteenth day of December 1980 at United Nuclear Corporation Recovery Systems, Wood River Junction, R.I.
Raymond E. Shepherd 12/16/80 Witnessed:
R. Keith Christopher, Investigator, Region I, NRC 12/16/80 NOTE:
Information in Individual A's statement which would disclose his identity has been deleted or paraphrased in accordance with 10 CFR 9.
EXHIBIT 3 STATEMENT OF ROBERT J. GREGG United Nuclear Corporation Recovery Systems Wood River Junction, Rhode Island December 17, 1980 I, Robert J. Gregg, hereby make the following voluntary statement to Mr.
Raymond E. Shepherd who has identified himself to me as an Investigator with the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
I make this statement freely with no threats or promises of reward having been made to me.
Mr. Shepherd is writing this statement for me at my request.
I have been employed at the United Nuclear Corporation (UNC) facility at Wood River Junction, Rhode Island since December 1977 and sm presently employed at the above UNC facility as Plant Manager.
I have no knowledge of any drums or boxes containing lagoon sludge, lagoon liners or lagoon covers which were being prepared for shipment to a burial site that contained free standing liquid or an accumulation of liquid or were leaking when the lagoon matarial was being put into the container or at any time prior to or during the loading of the container on a vehicle for shipnient to a burial site.
I have no objection to the NRC using my name as the source of the information contained in this statement.
I have read the foregoing statement consisting of two (2) handwritten pages.
I have made any necessary corrections and have initialed them in ink.
I have signed the first page in the left hand margin.
This statement is the truth to the best of my knowledge and belief.
Robert J. Gregg, 12/17/80 3:02 P.M.
Subscribed and sworn to before me this seventeenth day of December 1980 at
~
United Nuclear Corporation Recovery Systems, Wood River Junction, Rhode Island.
Raymond E. Shepherd, Investigator Witnessed:
Jerome Roth, Fuel Facilities Inspector, Region I, NRC 12/17/80 3:06 P.M.
NOTE:
Information in Gregg's statement which concerns a separate NRC investigation, unrelated to this investigation, has been deleted and will be reported in NRC Investigation Report No. 70-820/80-27.
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- s. s/G EXHIBIT 4 STATC Or NCVADA DCPARTMcNT OrllU;. TAN AC' OURCc5 Div'is!oN OF HEALTH CAritot CourLcs CARSON CITY. NCVAD A 80710 NEVADA STATE E0ARD OF !!EALTH RADIDACIIVE 11ATERIAL LICE'!SE Pursuant to !!evada Revised Statute h59 0LO and State cf Nevada Rules and ReCulaticas for R diation Control and in relicnce en statenents and representaticas heret ne : 2de by the licensee, a license is hereby issued ettthori:inc the licensee to receive, possess, and dis-pose of by land burial radica :ive =atericIs.
Tnis license is subje:t to all appliccble rules, re;ulniens, and crders nov er hereafter in effect and to a:y ec=ditions specified belev.
1.
Licensee:
Nuclear Engineering Cenpany, Incorporated 2.
Address:
9200 Shelbyville Rep.d, Suite 526 L
Post Office Sox 72 6 Iouisville, Kentucky LO207 '
3 License Nunber:
13-11-00h3-62 k.
Expiratics Dcte:
June 30,1980 5
Reference:
NRC License No. OL-03766-01 CONDITIONS
- 6. Radioactive caterini shall be dispose? of by burin 1 at a site in Nye County, Nevada, within the bounds.f of the Icnd area described as follovs:
t NW 1/L NE 1/h; !!E 1/h I.'v.' 1/L of Section 35 Tevnship 13 South, Rance L7
~
East, Mount Diablo Baseline end Meridian T.
Tne licensee shcIl eceply vith the provisions of Article 3, "Stc.-
. dards for Protection A sinst Esdiction" of the Nevada Dules and C
Regulations for Itediation Control, " Radioactive Materials".
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A EXHIBIT 4 6.
The licensee shall no.t po::ess at any one time unburied radion:tive material in exce:: of:
A.
50,000 curie: of radioactive materici excludinC cource end spe-cial nuelcar =sterial.
Radiu:a 226 shall be limited to 1 curie.
B.
25,000 pound: of source =sterial.
C.
350 crc =2 of Uraniun 235; 200 cra:: of Uraniu: 233; 200 cra :
of Plutoniu=; er any co.bination of th:= in accordr.cc vith the follovinC fo:-.ula:
Fer es:h kind of specie.1 nuclear =aterial, deter =ine the ratio between the quantity of that spe ici nu:ltar caterini cnd the qui.tity specified above for the sc=e kind cf special nucler =sterial.
Tne su= of su:h r: ties f:r all kinds of special nu:ler =aterials in co=binatien shall not exceed unity.
D.
Notvithsicadin., the provisiens of 8.C above, the averace cen:en-tration of radioactive =aterials with etc=ic nu-l:ers gre"a- "--
92, includin; Flut:niu=, shall not enceed 10 n:.o: ries pen arc.=
cf vaste in any centainer.
- lso, the suthori:..icn c:ntaine d in,thi.s license for possessien of special nuclear =aterial does not beec=2 effe:tive u.til !!?.C P. dica:tive "aterial License No. OL-03766-01 has been ter=inated.
9 A.
Any radica:tive liquids received fer disposal shall n:t exceed the concentratien li=its specified fcr the U. S. Depart =ent cf Transportatica transpert gr:ups listed bel,cv:
a Trcnspo:-t Grcup I
- 0.01 =icro: ries per =illiliter Transport G.::p II
- 0 5 tiero: ries per =illiliter Transport Grcup III and IV - 30 =iero:uries per =illiliter e
B.
All. liquid radicactive vastes shall be solidified prior to brial.
C.
Notvithete=dir.c th.. equirenents of 9 3, s=211 qn=tities of _
liquid vaste day be di:p: sed of vithout solidification provided that the cencentration, quantitics, and pachacinc of these liquids is in accordance with Section 5 of the licensee's " Site Operation: Manual".
D.
Certification of the concentration of all liquid vectes shall be obtained by the licensee and records thereof =sintained.
~
~
\\ E.
No specini nuelcar =aterial vill be received in liquid for=.
- 10..The licensee in authori:cd to po :ess and dispose of gaseous vaste, Krypton 65 and/or Hydrocen 3, provided that:
y
P.nce _j[, or 5 pn EXHIBIT 4 A.
Each primary container does not exceed 1000 curies. '
3.
Inch primsry container containinc 100 curies but less than 1,000 curies be enes:cd in concrete with at least sire (6) inche: of concrete surroundinC the primary container in every direction fro = the out:ide surfsees of the pri=ary containcr.
C.
Each primary container centsinin les: th:n 100 curie: r.:y be buried in it: U. S. Department of Trtnspcrtaticn approved shi;-
pinc container as received.
D.
No container of caseous vaste shall be received or buried if the pressure vithin the centainer exceeds one at= sphere.
11.
All vaste shall be pinced in a disp: sal trench er hele within three (3) vorking d:ys of re:eipt, except in the event cf en equip =ent brecidovn or other e=er;cncy.
A report of such breakd:vr. cr e=ergen:7 shall belgiven within 2L hours. to the Radiological Health Secti:n, Nevada Divisien of He-Ith.
12.
All radioactive vaste shall be dispesed of by the licensee vithin sixty (60) d ys fr:= the d te of receiyt.
Disp::rl :::11 =can that the containers of vast? h:ve been ecvtred by backfi'. ling vith thr-e (3) feet of carth er have been c:=;1e:ely covered by rand:= pla:e-ment of other vaste.
Certificatien'er disposal shall be =ade en the l
"Eadioa:tive Ship =ent Beccrd" by auth:rized =,anage=ent persennel, t
c 13 The licensee =2y seal er place in und'-'ged containers such packsces received by the licensee which have been d*-'ged in ' transit.
Da= aged l
packages shall not be cpened. -
1h.. The licensee shall not re==ve solid radioactive vasth frc= shipping containers except as follevs:
A.
Any inner containers with not =cre th:n 1600 curies of Ccbalt 60 l
l or radintica equivalent =2y be re=cved fro: shipping casks pre-l l
vided that tne inner centsiners are i==edistely buried without interi= storage or processing.
The 1500 curic li=it =sy be exceeded only if prior vritten sp;roval has been obtained frc=
- the licensce's Chief R:distien Centrol and Safety Officer and the Radiological Health Section, Nevads Division of Health.
3.
Any sealed cource with not nore than 50 curies of Cobnit 60 or the equivalent of 50 curics of Cobsit 60 in ter=s of radistica tay be removed frc= shippin; essk: provided that the sealed sources are ic=ediately disposed of in the special burini vells vithout interi= storace or processing.
The 50 curie limit = y be execeded only if prior vritten cpproval has been obtained frc=
+
the licenece's Chief Esdistion Control nnd Safety Office-and the l
Radiological Henith Section, Nevada Divicion of Hecith.
I 1
L
Pac,e F or 1 pace: _ _. _ _ _ _
EXHIBIT 4 15 Radioactive unnte hav.inr'. har.nrdou. propertien oth"r than rndiological haz ard: :hs11 not be oceepted for buris) by the licenece until the licen ce hsu evaluated all hs:ard: and han determined that care lenc-term burial can be effected.
Decord: of hs:ard evalustien of all such vastes performed by the licensec chs11 be nnintained fer in:pe:-
, tion by the P.adiolocical Health Section, Ucvsda Division cf Health.
- 16. Within twenty (20) days following the end of each calendar =enth, the licensec chn11 cubnit to the Supervicor cf Eadic]ocie:1 H::lth, Nevnds Divinion cf He lth, Capitol C = plex, Car:en City,i:evad:, E?;10, a report indicating the total volume in cubic feet, and a:tivity cf radioactive caterial, other than source and :pecial nuclear = teri:1s, in curie:; the totrl a::unt of source caterials in p unds (or hile-gra=s); and the tot:1 trount of special nuclear r_atericls in ETL:s buried durinG the referenced =enth.
The report shall also indica e the cu=ulative totals fer the above.
17 After the excavation of each burial trench has been ec=pleted, and prict to censence er.t of turi:1 in a trench, the beundaries ef the trench shall be lo::ted by en;ineering survey referenced in ben:h marks or other per=inent features su:h that the beundaries-ean be accurately relocated by future engineering surveys.
The tren:h shs;1 then be depicted on a se:le dravinc of the disposa] site (plet pl an) shoving its Io:stien vith respe=t to other tren:hes and other physi:11 features of the site such as buildin;s, fences, and s =pling veils.
A copy of this scale dravinc chall b-sut:itted to the ? di:1:ci::1 Health Secti:n, seved: Divisien of Health, vithin sixty (60) days cf cc=pletica of the engineering survey.
- 18. ' Up:n ec=pletica of burial operations in a burial trench, the licensee -
shall backfill the trench so that there is a cini=u= of three feet of ecrth betveen the Iss: layer of buried vaste and the surfs:e of the ground.
The licen:ce chall then und earth ever the trench to a minicus height of two feet at the trench centerline in such a =1nner as to drain runoff vatcr avty frc= the trench over which the earth is mounded and away from any trench in the proce:s of being filled.
The radiation icvels of cc=pleted trenche: shall not exceed 0 5 =?/ hour l
l at ground icvel.
Once a trench has been ec=pleted and counded, the licensee shall not condt:t any activities, other th:n these necessary i
for r.sintenance, which di:turbs the counding over the trench and the drainage pottern: around the trench.
19 Within thirty *(30) days of conpletien of burini eperations in "a trench, 1
concrete conuments shall be installed on the centerline at es:h end of the trench.
A perr. nent trn:s sign with the following infer:: tion c1carly encraved or stccped into it shall be permanently affixed to each monu=ent:
A.
The nu=ber assicr.c to the trench.
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EXHIBIT 4 B.
The date of start and conpletion of burial operation: in the trench C.
The total activity of radionctive materir21: in curie, excluding source materis : and special nuclear material:; the tots 1 :::unt of source esterial in pounds (or kilocre:.:); cnd the total a=:u.,
of special nuelcar materisic in crn=s.
D.
The total volune in cubic feet of vaste buried in the trench.
E.
The dimensions of the boundaries of t'he trench.
The infon=stion required by this condition, in additien to being referenced en the per=1nent trench =enu=ents, shall be filed by writ-ten report to the Superviser of R:dioleC cal Eetath, Divisica of i
Health Capitol Cc= plex, Carsen City, Nevade, 89710. vithin thirty (30) days after closinc cf a trench.
- 20..All _ rad..ica:tive =aterials a:cepted rer dispe:c1 shall.be t. ackared in ac_co.r.da.nce with current U. S. Depart =ent of Trensper atica (D.C.T. )
regulalicas for the transp:rtatien of radicartise :: egial, and shall.
be disp sed of in these D.O.T. c: tainers unless other ise spe:ifici 'cy this license.
I: properly pt:ha ed radica:tive n terials shall* n:- te dis-posed of by th,e licensee unless specifi: authc.-i:a-i:n.f_cr di'sp:s al is granted by the Radiological Eealth Sectien, Uevada rivisica of Health.
- 21. Except as specifically provided othervise by this 31eense, the licensee shall receive, p:ssess, and dispese of radic :tive =:terials in accordance with state:ents, representatiens, and precedures cen-
.tained in the following docc=,ents:
A.
Nevada State Ecard of Health Fer: URO-5, "Applicatien for Radioactive !*ateriti License", signed by.Jc=es H. Heel, dated.
Dece=ber 8, 1976.
3.
"Belicensing Application and Geotechnical and Wa'ste Manage =ent Studies for the Beatty Huelear Disp: sal Site, Hye County, Nevada Dece=ber 1976".
C.
" Nuclear Engineerinc Co=peny. Inc., Radiolecical controls L:d Safety for Burial Sites Manual".
D.
" Site Operation: Manual for Lov Level Endion:tive Waste Disp: sal at Seatty, Nevada".
J0!IN k. CAP.R. M.D.
STATE !!EALTH 0TFICEE
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TOR Tile NEVADA STATE BOARD OF liFALTH
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A,. B. 9, / 9 7.7 my
- Dcta
- d W. C. Ilorton, Supervicor, Radiological Hecith e
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EXHIBIT 7 STATEMENT OF JOHN L'HEUREl}X United Nuclear Corporation Recovery Systems Wood River Junction, Rhode Island December 16, 1980 3:05 p.m.
I, Joh.c l'Heureux, hereby, make the following voluntary statement to Mr.
Raymond E. Shepherd who has identified himself to me as an Investigator with the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
I make this statement freely with no threats or promises of reward having been made to me.
Mr. Shepherd is writing this statement for me at my request.
I have been employed at the United Nuclear Corporation (UNC) facility at Wood River Junction, Rhode Island since June 25, 1979 and am presently employed at UNC as Manager of Quality Assurance.
I have no objection to the NRC using my name as the source of the 1.";.'mation contained in the following statement.
I have no knowledge of any drums or boxes containing lagoon sludge, lagoon liners or lagoon covers which were being prepared for shipment to a burial site that contained free standing liquid or an accumulation of liquid or were leaking when the lagoon material was being put into the container or at any time prior to or during the loading of the container on a vehicle for sh1pment to a burial site.
I have read the foregoing statement consisting of two handwritten pages.
I have made any necessary cor*ections and have initialed them in ink.
I have signed the first page in the left hand margin. This statement is the truth to the best of my knowledge or belief.
John L'Heureux 12/16/80 3:26 P.M.
Witnessed:
Raymond E. Shepherd, Investigator, RI, NRC 12/16/80 3:27 P.M.
R. Keith Christopher Investigator, RI, NRC 12/16/80 3:27 P.M.
l l
NOTE:
Information in L'Heureux' statement which concerns a separate hRC investigation, unrelated tc this investigation, has been deleted and l
will be reported in NRC Investigation Report No. 70-820/80-27.
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EXHIBIT 8 STATEMENT OF INDIVIDUAL B United Nuclear Corporation Recovery Systems Wood River Junction, Rhode Island December 16, 1960 10:05 a.m.
I hereby make the following voluntary statement to Mr. Raymond E. Shepherd who has identified himself to me as an Investigator with the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
I make this statement freely with no threats or promises of reward having been made to me.
Mr. Shepherd is writing this statement for me at my request.
I am presently employed at the United Nuclear Corporation (UNC) facility at Wood River Junction, Rhode Island.
For personal reasons, I must ask that the NRC extend as much confidentiality as possible to me in this matter.
I have no knowledge of any drums or boxes containing lagoon sludge, lagoon liners or lagoon covers which were being prepared for shipment to a burial site that contained free standing liquid or an accumulation of liquid or were leaking when the lagoon material was being put into the container or at any time prior to or during the loading of the container on a vehicle for shipment to a burial site.
I have read the fc.-egoing statement consisting of four handwritten pages, including the following page where I have signed my name.
I have made any necessary corrections and have initialed them in ink.
I have signed the first page in the left hand margin.
This statement is the truth to the best of my knowledge and belief.
(Signature) 11:12 A.M.
Subscribed and sworn to before me this sixteenth day of December 1980 at United Nuclear Corporation Recovery Systems, Wood River Junction, Rhode Island.
Raymond E. Shepherd 12/16/80 i
Witnessed:
l Keith R. Christopher, Investigator, RI, NRC 12/16/80 11:14 A.M.
l l
NOTE:
Information in Individual B's statement which would disclose his j
identity has been deleted or paraphrased in accordance with 10 CFR I
9.
I Information in Individual B's statement which concerns a separate NRC investigatica, unrelated to this investigation, has been deleted and will be reported in NRC Investigation Report No. 70-820/80-27.
l I
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i.
EXHIBIT 9 STATEMENT OF INDIVIOUAL C United Nuclear Corporation Recovery Systems Wood River Junction, Rhode Island I hereby make the following voluntary statement to Mr. Raymond E. Shepherd who has identified himself to me as an Investigator with the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
I make this statement freely with no threats or promises of reward having been made to me.
Mr. Shepherd is writing this statement for me at my request.
I am presently employed at the United Nuclear Corporation (UNC) facility at Wood River Junction, Rhode Island.
For personal reasons, I must ask that the NRC extend as much confidentiality as possible to me in this matter.
I have no knowledge of any drums or boxes containing lagoon sludge, lagoon liners or lagoon covers which were being prepared for shipment to a burial site that contained free standing liquid or an accumulation of liquid or were leaking where the lagoon material was being put into the :ontainer or at any time pri1r to or during the loading of the container on a vehicle for shipment to a burial site.
I have read the foregoing statement consisting of two (2) handwritten pages.
I have made any necessary corrections and have initialed them in ink.
I have signed the first page in the left hand margin. This statement is the truth to the best of my knowleo;e and belief.
(Signature) 12/17/80 11:37 A.M.
Witnessed:
Raymond E. Shepherd, Investigator, Region I, NRC, 12/17/80 11:38 A.M.
NOTE:
Information in Individual C's statement which would disclose his identity has been deleted or paraphrased in accordance with 10 CFR 9.
Information in Individual C's statement which concerns a separate NRC investigation, unrelated to this investigation, will be reported in NRC Investigation Report No. 70-820/80-27.
EXHIBIT 10 STATEMENT OF INDIVIDUAL D United Nuclear Corporation Recovery Systems Wood River Junction, Rhode Island December 10, 1980 11:43 A.M.
I hereby make the following voluntary statement to Mr. Raymond E. Shepherd who has i_dentified himself to me as an Investigator with the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
I make this statement freely with no threats or promises of reward having been made to me.
Mr. Shepherd is writing this statement for me at my request.
I am presently employed at the United Nuclear Corporation (UNC) facility at Wood River Junction, Rhode Island.
For personal reasons, I must'ask that the NRC extend as much confidentiality as possible to me in this matter.
I have no knowledge of any drums or boxes conta*ning lagoon sludge,. lagoon covers or lagoon liners which were being prepa.ei for shipment to a burial site and which contained free standirg liquid or an accumulation of liquid or were leaking liquid when the lagoon material was being put into the container or at any time prior to or during the loading of the container on a vehicle for shipment to a burial site.
I have read the foregoing statement consisting of four (4) handwritten pages.
I have made any necessary corrections and have initialed them in ink.
I have signed the first page in the left hand margin.
This statement is the truth to the best of my knowledge and belief.
(Signature) 12:32 P.M.
Subscribed and sworn to before me this tenth day of December 1980 at United Nuclear Corporation Recovery Systems, Wood River Junction, Rhode Island Raymond E. Shepherd, Investigator Witnessed:
Jerome Roth, Fuel Facilities Inspector, RI, NRC 12/10/80 NOTE:
Information in Individual D's statement which would disclose his identity has been deleted or paraphrased in accordance with 10 CFR 9.
Information in Individual D's statement which concerns a separate NRC investigation, unrelated to this investigation, has been deleted and will be reported in NRC Investigation Report No. 70-820/80-27.
EXHIBIT 11 STATEMENT OF INDIVIDUAL E United Nuclear Corporation Recovery Systems Wood River Junction, Rhode Island December 10, 1980 8:43 A.M.
I hereby make the following voluntary statement to Mr. Raymond E. Shepherd who has identified himself to me as an Investigator with the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
I make this statement freely with no threats or promises of reward havi.ig been made to me.
Mr. Shepherd is writing this statement for me at my request.
I am presently employed at the L-ited Nuclear Corporation (UNC) facility at Wood River Junction, Rhode Island.
For personal rersons, I must ask that the NRC extend as much confidentiality as possible to me in this matter.
I have no knowledge of any drums or boxes containing lagoon sludge, lagoon liners or lagoon covers which were beino prepared for shipment to a burial site and which contained free standing liquid or an accumulation of liquid or were leaking when the lagoon material was being put into the container or at any time prior to or during the loading of the container on a vehicle for shipment to a burial site.
I have read the foregoing statement consisting of two (2) handwritten pages.
I have made any necessary corrections and have initialed them in ink.
I have signed the first page in the left hand margin.
This statement is the truth to the best of my knowledge and belief.
(Signature) 0927 Subscribed and sworn to before me this tenth day of December 1980 at United Nuclear Corporation Recovery Systems, Wood River Junction, Rhode Island.
Raymond E. Shepherd, Investigator 12/10/80 Witnessed:
Jerome Roth, Fuel Facilities Inspector, RI, NRC, 12/10/80 NOTE:
Information in Individual E's statement which would disclose his identity has been deleted or paraphased in accordance with 10 CFR 9.
Information in Individual E's statement which concerns a separate NRC investigation, unrelated to this investigation, har been deleted and will be reported in NRC Investigation Report No. 70-820/80-27.
k EXHIBIT 12 STATEMENT OF NICHOLAS VUONO United Nuclear Corporation Recovery Systems Wood 'dver Junction, Rhode Island December 10, 1980 10:06 A.M.
I, Nicholas Vuono, hereby make the following voluntary statement to Mr. Raymond E. Shepherd who has identified himself to me as an Investigator with the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
I make this statement freely with no threats or promises of reward having been made to me.
Mr. Shepherd is writing this statement for me at my request.
I have been employed at the United Nuclear Corporation (UNC) at Wood River Junction, Rhode Island since May 1969 and am presently employed at UNC as a Health Physics Technician.
I have no knowledge of any drums or boxes containing lagoon sludge, lagoon liners or lagoon covers which were being prepared for shipment to a burial site and which contained free standing liquid or an accumulation of liquid or were leaking when the lagoon material was being put into the container or at any time prior to or during the loading of the container on a vehicle for shipment to a burial site.
I have read the foregoing statement consisting of two (2) handwritten pages.
I have made any necessary corrections and have initialed them in ink.
I have signed the first page in the left hand margin.
This statement is the truth to the best of my knowledge and belief.
Nicholas Joseph Vuono 10:46 A.M.
Subscribed and sworn to before me this tenth day of December 1980 at United Nuclear Corporation Recovery Systems, Wood River Junction, Rhode Island.
Raymond E. Shepherd, Investigator 12/10/80 Witnessed:
Jercme Roth, Fuel Facilities Inspector, RI, NRC 12/10/80 NOTE:
Information in Vuono's statement which concerns a separate NRC investigation, unrelated to this investigation, has been deleted and will he reported in NRC Investigation Report No. 70-820/80-27.
'o EXHIBIT 13 STATEMENT OF JAMES H. WAKEFIELO United Nuclear Corporation Recovery Systems Wood River Junction, Rhode Island December 4, 1980 1:30 p.m.
I, James H. Wakefield, make the following voluntary statement to Mr. Raymond E. Shepherd who has identified himself to me as an Investigator with the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
I make this statement freely with no threats or promises of reward having been made to me.
Mr. Shepherd is writing this statement for me at my request.
Beginning in early June 1980 I was Production Supervisor during the lagoon processing operation at United Nuclear Corporation, (UNC), Wood River Junction, Rhode Island and reported to Mr. Charles Bowers.
I was absent from work due to illness from July 9, 1980 until September 8, 1980. During my employment at UNC I never saw any free standing liquid in any container holding lagoon sludge press material or in i
any material which was removed frca wooden boxes and transferred to drums for shipment to burial.
I never saw any material such as lagoon sludge or lagoon liners or lagoon. covers being craned from lagoon D and packed into boxes or drums for shipment to burial or for storage on the UNC site. When I had occassion to observe lagoon sludge being removed by crane from the top.of lagoon A, the crane appeared to me, to be digging down not much more than three (3) feet from the top of the lagoon and I never saw any free standing liquid in the depressions made by the crane's clamshell bucket or scooping device.
I have read the foregoing statement consisting of three (3) handwritten pages.
I have made any necessary corrections and have initialed them in ink.
I have signed _the first page in the left hand margin.
This statement is the truth to the best of my knowledge and belief.
i James H. Wakefield 1352 hrs.
1 Subscribed and sworn to before me this fourth day of December 1980 at United l
Nuclear Corporation Recovery Systems, Wood River Junction, Rhode Island.
Raymond E. Shepherd, Investigator 12/4/80 Witnessed:
William W. Kinney, Fuel Facility Inspector, USNRC 12/4/80 NOTE:
Information in Wakefield's statement which concerns a separate NRC l
investigation, unrelated to this investigation, has been deleted and i
will be-reported in NRC Investigation Report No. 70-820/80-27.
l i
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EXHIBIT 14 STATEMENT OF INDIVIDUAL F United Nuclear Corporation Recovery Systems Wood River Junction, Rhode Island December 5,1980 I make the following voluntary statement to Mr. Raymond E. Shepherd who has identified himself to me as an Investigator with the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
I make this statement freely with no threats or promises of reward having been made to me. Mr. Shepherd is writing this statement for me at my request.
I.am presently employed at United Nuclear Corporation Recovery Systems (UNC), Wood River Junction, Rhode Island.
During my employment at UNC I never saw any containers being prepared for shipment to burial sites or which were shipped to burial sites that contained any free standing liquid or were leaking prior to or at the time of shipment.
For personal reasons, I must 5.sk that the NRC extend as much confidentiality as possible to me in this matter.
I have read the foregoing statement consisting of two (2) handwritten pages.
I have made any necessary corrections and have initialed them in ink.
I have signed the first page in the left hand margin.
This statement is the truth to the best of my knowledge, recollection and belief.
(Signature) 1400 hours0.0162 days <br />0.389 hours <br />0.00231 weeks <br />5.327e-4 months <br /> Witnessed:
Raymond E. Shepherd, Investigator, U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 12/5/80-William W. Kinney, Fuel Facility Inspector, USNRC 12/5/80 NOTE:
Information in Individual F's statement which would disclose his identity has been deleted or paraphrased in accordance with 10 CFR 9.
Information in Individual F's statement which concerns a separate NRC investigation, unrelated to this investigation, has been deleted and will be reported in NRC Investigation Report No. 70-820/80-27.
,my
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EXHIBIT 15 STATEMENT OF INDIVIUDAL G United Nuclear Corporation Recovery Systems Wood River Junction, Rhode Island December 5, 1980 9:05 A.M.
I hereby make the following voluntary statement to Mr. Raymond E. SF.epherd who has identified himself to me as an Investigator with the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
I make this statement freely with no threats or promises of reward having been made to me.
I am presently employed by United Nuclear Corporation Recovery Systems, (UNC), Wood River Junction, Rhode Island. Mr.
Shepherd is writing this statement for me at my request.
For personal reasons, I must ask that the NRC extend as much confidentiality as possible to me in this matter.
During my employement at UNC I never saw any containers being prepared for shipment to burial sites or which were shipped to burial sites that contained any free standing liquid or were leaking prior to or at the time of shipment.
I never saw any material such as lagoon sludge or lagoon liners or lagoon covers being craned from lagoon 0 and packed into boxes or drums for shipment to burial sites or for storage on the UNC site.
I have read the foregcing statement consisting of three (3) handwritten pages.
I have made any necessary corrections and have initialed them in ink.
I have signed the first page in the left hand margin. This statement is the truth to the best of my knowledge and belief.
(Signature) 0945 Witnessed Raymond E. Shepherd, Investigator, U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 12/5/30 William W. Kinney, Fuel Facility Inspector, USNRC 12/5/80 NOTE:
Information in Individual G's statement which would disclose his identity has been deleted or paraphrased in accordance with 10 CFR 9.
Information in Individual G's statement which concerns a separate NRC investigation. unrelated to this investigation, has been deleted and will be reported in NRC Investigation Report No. 70-820/80-27.
1 c'(HIBIT 16 STATEMENT OF INDIVIDUAL H United Nuclear Corporation Recovery Systems Wood River Junction, Rhode Island December 9, 1980 9:30 A.M.
I hereby make the following voluntary statement to Mr. Raymond E. Shepherd who has identified himself to me as an Investigator with the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
I make this statement freely with no threats or promises of reward having been made to me.
Mr. Shepherd is writing this statement for me at my request.
I am presently working at United Nuclear Corporation Recovery Systems (UNC).
I have no knowledge of any drums or boxes, containing lagoon sludge, lagoon covers or lagoon liners which were being prepared for shipment to a burial site or which were shipped to a burial site and which contained free standing liquid or an accumulation of liquid in the container or was leaking liquid when the container was prepared for shipment or at anytime prior to shipment or at the time the container was loaded onto the shipment vehicle.
I have read the foregoing statement consisting of three (3) handwritten pages.
I have made any necessary corrections and have initialed them in ink.
I have signed the first page tn the left hand margin.
This statement is the truth to the best of my knowledge.
For personal reasons, I must ask that the NRC extend as much confidentiality as possible to me in this matter.
(Signature) 10:57 A.M.
r Witnessed:
Raymond E. Shepherd, Investigator, U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 12/9/80 Jerome Roth, Fuel Facilities Inspector, U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commmission 12/9/80 NOTE:
Information in Individual H's statement which would disclose his identity has been deleted or paraphrased in accordance with 10 CFR 9.
Information in Individual H's statement which concerns a separate l
l NRC investigation, unrelated to this investigation, has been deleted l
and will be reported in NRC Investigation Report No. 70-820/80-27.
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1 EXHIBIT 17 STATEMENT OF KARL HELGESON United Nuclear Corporation Recovery Systems Wood River Junction, Rhode Island December 9, 1980 2:20 P.M.
I, Karl Helgeson, hereby make the following voluntary statement to Mr. Raymond E. Shepherd who has identified himself to me as an Investigator with the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
I make this statement freely with no threats or promises of reward having been made to me.
Mr.. Shepherd is writing this statement for me at my request.
I have been employed at United Nuclear Corporation Recovery Systems (UNC), Wood River Junction, Rhode Island since September 1976 and am currently employed at UNC as Manager of Nuclear and Industrial Safety.
I have no knowledge of any drums or boxes, containing lagoon sludge, lagoon covers or lagoon liners which were being prepared for shipment to a burial site or which were shipped to a burial site and which contained free standing liquid or an accumulation of liquid in the container or was leaking liquid when the container was prepared for shipment or at any time prior to shipment or at the time the container was placed on the shipment vehicle.
I.have read the foregoing statement consisting of three (3) handwritten pages.
I have made any necessary corrections and have initialed them in ink.
I have signed the first page in the left hand margin. This statment is the truth to the best of.my knowledge.
Karl Helgeson 1517 hours0.0176 days <br />0.421 hours <br />0.00251 weeks <br />5.772185e-4 months <br /> Subscribed and sworn to before me this ninth day of December 1980 at United Nuclear Corporation Recovery Systems, Wood River Junction, Rhode Island.
Raymond E. Shepherd, Investigator 12/9/80 Witnessed:
Jerome Roth, Fuel Facilities Inspector, RI, NRC 12/9/80 NOTE:
Information in Helegson's statement which concerns a separate NRC investigation, unrelated to this investigation, has been deleted and will be reported in NRC Investigation Report No. 70-820/80-27.
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EXHIBIT 18 STATEMENT OF INDIVIDUAL I United Nuclear Corporation Recovery Systems Wood River Junction, Rhode Island December 16, 1980 I hereby make the following voluntary statement to Mr. Raymond E. Shepherd who has identified himself to me as an Investigator with the U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
I make this statement freely with no threats or promises of reward having been made to me.
I am presently employed at the United Nuclear Corporation facility at Wood River Junction, RI.
I have no knowledge of any drums or boxes containing lagoon sludge, lagoon liners or lagoon covers which were being prepared for shipment to a burial site and which contained free-standing liquid or an accumulation of liquid or were leaking when the lagoon material was being put into the container or at any time prior to or during the loading of the container on a venicle for shipment to a burial site.
I have read the foregoing statement consisting of two handwritten pages.
I have made any necessary corrections and have initialed them in ink.
I have signed the first page at the bottom.
This statement is the truth to the best of my knowledge and belief.
(Signature) 12/16/80 1620 hours0.0188 days <br />0.45 hours <br />0.00268 weeks <br />6.1641e-4 months <br /> Subscribed and sworn to before me this sixteenth day of December 1980 at United Nuclear Corporation Recovery Systems, Wood River Junction, Rhode Island.
Raymond E. Shepherd, Investigator 12/16/80 1621 hours0.0188 days <br />0.45 hours <br />0.00268 weeks <br />6.167905e-4 months <br /> Witnessed:
t R. Keith Christopher, Investigator, RI, NRC NOTE:
Information in Individual I's statement which would disclose his identity has been deleted or paraphrased in accordance with 10 CFR 9.
Information in Individual I's statement which concerns a separate NRC investigation, unreletted to this investigation, has been deleted and will be reported in NRC Investigation Report No. 70-820/80-27.
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'p EXHIBIT 19 STATEMENT OF CHARLES E. BOWERS United Nuclear Corporation Recovery Systems Wood River Junction, Rhode Island Lecember 17, 1980 I, Charles E. Bowers, hereby make the following voluntary statement to Mr.
Raymond E. Shepherd who has identified himself to me as an Investigator with the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
I make this statement freely with no threats or promises of reward having been made to me.
Mr. Shepherd is writing this statement for me at my request.
I was employed as General Manager -
President of United Nuclear Corporation (UNC) Recovery Systems, Wood River Junction, Rhode Island from December 1974 to December 1980 and am presently employed as General Manager - President of Nickel Battery Division of Yardney Electric Corporation, Pawcatuck, Connecticut.
I have no objection to the NRC using my name as the source of the information contained in this statement.
I have no knowledge of any drums or boxes containing lagoon sludge, lagoon liners or lagoon covers which were being prepared for shipment to a burial site that contained free standing liquid or an accumulation of liquid or were leaking when the lagoon material was being put into the container or at any
-time prior to or during the loading of the container on a vehicle for shipment to a burial site.
I have read the foregoing statement consisting of two (2) handwritten pages.
I have made any necessary corrections and have initialed them in ink.
I have signed the first page in the left hand margin. This statement is the truth to the best of my knowledge and belief.
Charles E. Bowers 12/17/80 5:00 P.M.
Subscribed and sworn to before me on this seventeenth day of December 1980 at United Nuclear Corporation Recovery Systems, Wood River Junction, Rhode Island.
Raymond E. Shepherd, Investigator 12/17/80 5:02 p.m.
Witnessed:
Jerome Roth, Fuel Facilities Inspector, Region I, NRC 12/17/80 5:03 P.M.
NOTE:
Information in Bowers' statement which concerns a separate NRC investigation, unrelated to this investigation, has been deleted and will be reported in NRC Investigation Report No. 70-820/80-27.
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