ML20039C153
| ML20039C153 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | 07000008 |
| Issue date: | 12/09/1981 |
| From: | Greger L, Peck C NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION III) |
| To: | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20039C152 | List: |
| References | |
| 70-0008-81-02, 70-8-81-2, NUDOCS 8112280503 | |
| Download: ML20039C153 (7) | |
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U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION REGION III Report No. 70-008/81-02 Docket No.70-008 License No. SNM-7 Licensee:
Battelle Columbus Laboratories 505 King Avenue Columbus, Oli 43201 Inspection At: Battelle Columbus Laboratories Inspection Conducted: November 17-20, 1981
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Inspector:
C. C. Peck
}&agn Approved By:
L. R. Greaer, Chief
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Facilities Radiation Protection Section Inspection Summary s
Inspection on November 17-20, 1981 (Report No. 70-008/81-02)
Areas Inspected: Routine, unannounced health and safety inspection, including:
organization, operations review, radiation protection, transportation activities, safety committees, environmental monitoring, emergency planning, and the retired reactor facility. The inspection required 29 inspector-hours onsite by one NRC inspector.
Results:
No violations were identified.
8112280503 811211 PDR ADOCK 07000008 C
DETAILS 1.
Persons Contacted
- L. A. Rancitelli, Nuclear Materials Technology Section Manager
- H. L. Toy, Nuclear Services Section Manager
- V. J. Pasupathi, Hot Cell Laboratory Manager
- G. E. Kirsch, Health Physics Supervisor P. Faust, Hot Cell Laboratory Supervisor E. R. Swindall, Health Physics Technician J. Wissinger, Health Physics Technician T. R. Emsweiler, Transportation Specialist D. G. Baker, Health Physics Technician 2.
General This routine, unannounced inspection began at 8:00 a.m. on November 17, 1981, at the West Jefferson Nuclear Facility. The inspector toured the Hot Cell Laboratory, Plutonium Laboratory, and retired reactor facility during the inspection. An exit interview was conducted on November 20, 1981.
3.
Licensee Action on Previous Inspection Findings (Closed) Noncompliance (70-008/80-02). The right hand of one employee was exposed to about 31 rems of gamma radiation on July 20, 1980. This inspection disclosed that measures to prevent recurrence are adequate (Section 6.C).
(Closed) Noncompliance (70-008/81-01). The right hand of one employee was exposed to about 23 rems of gamma radiation on July 2, 1980. This inspection disclosed that increased health physics coverage in the Hot Cell Laboratory to prevent recurrence is in effect (Section 6.C).
(Closed) Noncompliance (70-008/81-01). The overexposure of July 2, 1980 was not reported to the NRC within 30 days as required by 10 CFR 20.405(a)(i). The administrative changes designed to prevent recur-rence were found during this inspection to be in effect (Section 6.C).
(Closed) Noncompliance (70-008/81-01). Radiation hazards that led to the overexposure of July 2, 1980 were not properly evaluated.
The inspector determined that improved preplanning practices to prevent overexposures have been initiated (Section 6.C).
4.
Organization Mr. H. L. Toy has succeeded Dr. W. J. Madia as Manager of Nuclear Services which includes Nuclear Materials Accountability, Transpor-tation, Operational Health Physics, and Environmental Health Physics.
Mr. Toy continues as Coordinator for NRC licenses. - - - -
Dr. L. A. Rancitelli has succeeded Dr. W. J. Madia as Manager of Nuclear Materials Technology which includes the Hot Cell Laboratory and Plutonium Laboratory operations.
5.
Operations Review A.
Hot Cell Laboratory In a tour of the laboratory, the inspector observed normal work activities in progress.
Safety related instruments including criticality, area radiation, and stack monitors all appeared operable with alarm points appro-priately set.
Instrument operation is checked daily by assigned operations technicians and weekly by an instrument technician.
Three instruments were observed to be red tagged, indicating that they.had not been calibrated within the scheduled six-month interval. A licensee representative said the calibrations had not been completed because of the current heavy instrument calibration schedule. The matter was discussed during the exit interview.
Radiation areas were adequately posted. High radiation areas in the waste storage area and the fuel pool maintenance room were posted and access restricted by locked doors.
Current fuel handling ar.d storage procedures established by the Radiological Safety Committee were posted at the High Energy Cell window as required.
B.
Plutonium Laboratory Decontamination of the interior of the laboratory has been completed. Rooms 4116, 4117, and 4118 were released for unre-stricted use early in 1981 and are being used for res arch on non-radioactive materials (Report No. 70-008/81-01). Cleanup of the remainder of the laboratory was completed in mid-1981, and a contamination survey was conducted in accordance with regulatory guidelines. The licensee is awaiting a confirmatory survey by the Department of Energy.
Outside the laboratory, excavation of two old concrete holding tanks is in progress. As anticipated, there is evidence of some liquid leakage into the soil which will pose problems with soil assay and removal.
6.
Radiation Protection A.
External Exposure Examination of TLD badge records for 1981 disclosed that the highest whole body cumulative exposure through October 1981 for i
any employee assigned to the Hot Cell Laboratory was 2.7 rems.
The highest cumulative extremity exposure was 6.0 rems. The badges are exchanged weekly.
Records for employees in the Nuclear Services Section and the radiography and biosciences laboratories at King Avenue indicated no measurable exposures.
B.
Internal Exposures Whole body counting of employees assigned to the Hot Cell Labora-tory was conducted in March and September 1981. A mobile counting service is engaged to detect mixed fission products. Trace amounts of cesium-137, slightly above the minimum detectable limit, were detected in over 90 percent of the employees in March, but in' less than 10 percent in September. This inconsistency appeared to be a statistical aberration.
Quarterly urinalyses are required for Plutonium Laboratory and Hot Cell Laboratory workers. The samples are analyzed for pluto'aium by an outside laboratory. No radioactivity has been detected in any 1981 samples.
C.
Exposure Control Radiological Work Permits generated in the current year were examined. The form was modified in March 1981 to include additional precautionary measures designed to prevent incidents such as the two overexposures that occurred in July 1980. A statement requiring that work performance be consistent with ALARA principles was added.
Spaces for recording handling times, estimated doses, and the need for a dry run were added. The completed permits reviewed by the inspector indicated that these preplanning measures are in effect.
The licensee has initiated a log book for recording all com-munications with contractor laboratories pertaining to employee exposures. The log is intended to provide assurance that prompt attention is given to all exposures reported by telephone.
D.
Su rveys The inspector examined survey records maintained by the health physics technician in the Hot Cell Laboratory. These included air and stack sample records, routine smear and radiation survey records, and fuel pool water analyses. The records were up to date and indicated compliance with applicable regulatory limits.
The licensee's pending application for renewal of License SNM-7 states that resin bags in the ion exchange columns used for cleanup of fuel pool water are replaced when their radiation level is 300 mR/hr. No measurement distance is specified. Survey records e
indicate that this level is too lev to be practicabl' e.
Licensee representativea agreed to select an appropriate contact radiation level, consistent with ALARI. principles, and to revise the license application accordingly. This matter was discussed at the exit inte rview.
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7.
Transportation Activities Records were reviewed indicating that the licensee's four shielded shipping casks received the annual quality assurance tests required by the NRC Cask Certificates, as follows:
Cask Test Date BMI-1 4/18/81 BCL-2 4/29/81 BCL-3 7/21-23/81 BCL-4 7/24/81 The licensee has complied with requirements of the State of Nevada to permit burial of low-level waste at the Beatty site. An audit team representing Nevada Inspection Services inspected the licensee's waste handling facilities and procedures in September 1981. The inspector examined the audit report which indicated the procedures are acceptable.
High level waste and plutonium-containing waste generated from licensed materials continue to be stored because of the. unavailability of commercial burial sites licensed to receive these materials.
In addition, isotopic analyses disclosed that 28 drums of low-level waste generated in the cleanup after a contamination incident in 1980 contained transuranic nuclides in concentrations exceeding 10 pCi/g, making them unacceptable at commerical burial sites.
No violations were identified.
8.
Safety Committees Minutes of monthly meetings of the West Jefferson safety committee and quarterly reports of the Radiological Safety Officer were reviewed.
Recent reviews by the Radiological Safety Committee were examined.
Facility modifications and new research projects require the documented approval of the appropriate subcommittee of the RSC. One case (RSC 1-129) involved the encapsulation of a failed fuel ass.embly and the need for cleanup of the fuel pool water which became contaminated during unloading of the assembly. The assembly was subsequently placed in a container. Circulation of the pool water through ion exchange columns has reduced radioactivity concentrations to less than the control limits of IE-3 pCi/ml beta and IE-4 pCi/al alpha. However, the licensee has determined that there is considerable particulate radioactivity on the pool bottom which should be removed as time and resources permit. _ _ - _ -
9.
Environmental Monitoring The licensee conducts an environmental monitoring progra:n. Annual reports summarizing the data are submitted to the Department of Energy, and copies are made available to the NRC. Air, water, vegetation, soil, and fish are routinely monitored. The report for 1980 discloses that offsite levels of radionuclides attributable to the West Jefferson and King Avenue nuclear facilities were in general indistinguishable from normal background levels.
The licensee completed the excavation of obsolete filter beds located outside the restricted area in 1980. About 300 drums of slightly con-taminated soil were packaged for burial.
In the absence of regulations defining "de minimis" levels of radioactivity, the licensee has requested approval from the NRC Office of Nuclear Material Safety and l
Safeguards to backfill the excavation.
l 10.
Emergency Planning l
An annual emergency evacuation drill was conducted during the inspec-l tion. The scenario involved a simulated fire in the High Energy Cell l
l of the Hot Cell Laboratory with subsequent damage to the exhaust stack l
l filters and the release of radioactivity to the environment. Personnel evacuated to the emergency control center in JN-3, the retired reactor building, from which members of the emergency teams were dispatched to control the emergency and monitor the environment. Offsite agencies were notified but were not involved in the drill.
s In a preliminary evaluation of the drill it was concluded that per-sonnel response and alarm functions were satisfactory. The public address system used to announce the emergency over the entire area was not heard in-the Plutonium Laboratory, however.
11.
Retired Reactor Facility Compliance with the technical specifications of Amendment 13 to reactor l
license R-4 were inspected. The specifications require monitoring of radioactivity in water. released from a; basement sump to the storm sewer, periodic radiation surveys, and maintenance of barriers preventing access to the retired reactor.
Specification Finding 2.1 Radioactivity levels in the water discharged from the basement sump have not exceeded 10 CFR Part 20 limits.
3.1 Records disclose that annual calibrations and weekly channel tests of the water monitor are performed.
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Specification Finding 3.2a Quarterly radiation and contamination surveys are performed. Removable beta contamination did not 2
exceed 100 dpm/100cm and radiation levels were generally less than 2 mR/hr.
3.2b Environmental radiation surveys were conducted.
3.2c Physical barriers are inspected quarterly.
5.5.1 An annual report describing radiation survey results, facility status, and surveillance and security measures is sent to NRC.
The report for 1980 was submitted August 11, 1981.
No violations were identified.
12.
Exit Interview The inspector met with the licensee representatives denoted in Section 1 at the conclusion of the inspection on November 20, 1981.
The inspector summarized the scope of the inspection; the following matters were discussed.
Licensee representatives commented that health physics coverage in the Hot Cell Laboratory had improved since the inspection in March 1981 (Report No. 70-008/81-01). The inspector stated that his observations during the inspection indicated this to be true.
I The licensee agreed to make an appropriate change in the criterion l
for replacing ion exchange resin (Section 6.D).
Licensee representatives acknowledged the inspector's comments about failures to meet instrument calibration schedules (Section 5.A).
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