ML20043G526

Forwards Insp Rept 70-0036/90-02 on 900423-27.No Violations Noted.Unresolved Items & Concerns Identified for Which Response Requested within 30 Days

ML20043G526
Person / Time
Site:	07000036
Issue date:	06/13/1990
From:	Norelius C NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION III)
To:	Mcgill P ABB COMBUSTION ENGINEERING NUCLEAR FUEL (FORMERLY
Shared Package
ML20043G527	List: ML20043G526 ML20043G534
References
NUDOCS 9006200397
Download: ML20043G526 (7)

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Y E Docket No. 70-36 c

. Combustion. Engineering, Inc

' ATTN:

Dr. P. L. McGill i

Vice President Manufacturing

' Nuclear Power Systems Windsor, CT 06095

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Gentlemen:

This refers to the special. team' inspection conducted by Mr. D.

J.' Sreniawski, and other members o.f the NRC/ OSHA regulatory agencies on April 23-27, 1990, of activities at Combustion Engineering, Inc., Hematite Facility authorized by NRC Special Nuclear Materials License No. SNM-33.

The results of the inspection were discussed with'Mr. J. A. Rode and others at the conclusion of y -

the inspection.

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~ ? During.this inspecti.on the team noted that CE Hematite has made considerable

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progress in improving housekeeping.

Workers were,mutinely following health i

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c, and safety practices in scrap recovery operations ano operations associated ' '

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Your efforts in returning the plant to normal _

• t j, poperations after recovering from abnormalities caused oy unusual incidents were- -

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-Jalso1 commendable.

We will monitor your progress in those areasfduring' future;

.i; e, f gjnspections.

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y/T' eT, enclosed copy of our inspection report identifies areas examined 'during typy h

3-bg 3theinspection.. Within these areas, the inspection consisted of a? selective,, '

g Rt examination of procedures and' representative-records, observations,s and Y interviews with personnel.

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P No violations of NRC requirements were identified during the course of this ' "

inspection.

However, the inspection team identified several concerns and y,"i unresolved items where program improvements and-additional management,

) ~j attention are necessary. We are enclosing a summary 1ist of these items which-A

? O Jare described in more detail in the report.

We request that you submit a written' response within 30 days that describes yote-analysis of these items

-l and what actions.you have taken or plan to take to. resolve them.

Finally, as ' stated in the exit meeting,_ inspection findings documented,by OSHA

will be forwarded:to you.by the OSHA' inspector in a separate inspection report. ' Some. of 'their findings are considered outside agency issues, since they do not impact upon radiological safety.

Therefore, we request that you k

respond directly to OSHA concerning those findings, with copies of

documentation provided to the NRC Regional office.

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l 9006200397 900613 PDR ADOCK 07000036 C

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1 Combustion Engineering, Inc. 2

'2' ggg ; 3 1990 i

[' l Inaccordancewiih10CFR2.790of'theCommission'sregulations,a'copyof

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this. letter, the enclosures, and your response to this letter will._be'placed m

,in the NRC's Public Document Room.

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The responses directed by this letter'are not. subject to the change procedures _

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of: the Office of Management and Budget' as required by _the Paperwork Reduction 1

&.,o Act-of.1980, PL.96-511.

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We will/ gladly discuss any questions you have concerning this,ir.spection.'

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Sincerely,

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7 Chhr1 E. N relius, Director-I Division-

of Radiation Safety.

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andSafeguarqs

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Enclosures:

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List 0 pen / Unresolved Items '

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. Inspection Report No. 70-36/90002(DRSS) 4 e

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J. A.L Rode, Plant Manager >

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Jeremiah W. (Jay) Nixon, a Missouri State Senator

'Mrl'A. E; Scherer, Director

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Nuclear Licensing: ~

C. R.-Waterman-Vice President -

and General' Manager, Nuclear Fuel Manufacturing tir. C.:B. Brinkman, Manager 4

Washington Nuclear Operations-cDCD/DCB (RIDS).

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. I I) 13 Assessment Summary (Manual Chapter 2601)

Combustion Engineering, Inc.

Hematite Facility Docket No. 70-0036 An accident that caused a major release of uranium hexafluoride (ufo) at the Sequoyah fuels Corporation in Gore, Oklahoma on January 4,1986 spurred NRC to conduct operational safety assessments at 12 major fuel cycle facilities licensed by the NRC.

In order to perform the safety: assessment, the' inspection requirements were modified to focus on the' licensee's processes that could pose radiological hazards and to cooperate with OSHA and USEPA agencies in looking at non-radiological problems.

As a result, the NRC

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' determined that - major fuel cycle facilities will automatically be selected for team assessments approximately 1 year ~ prior to license expiration or 5 years since the last team assessment.

3 Region III complied with this requirement by conducting a team inspection of Y

Combustion Engineering, Inc., Hematite Facility on April 23-27, 1990. -The licensee is the holder of Special Nuclear Material License No. SNM-33 which authorizes the licensee to possess and use SNM material for the purpose of converting' enriched-uranium hexafluoride (UFe) to uranium dioxide (UO ) powder 2

and pellets.

Ultimately, the.002 pellets are used for fuel in commercial power reactors.

The license expired on December 31, 1989, and the'new application is currently being reviewed'for renewal by NRC/NMSS.

<The assessment team headed by Region III was composed of four members, including two from Region III, one'from NMSS (on a rotational assignment to Region III), and one from.0SHA-St. Louis, Missouri office.

All concerns m,

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or inspection findings.related to radiological safety were identified as open ?

-items.

Concerns which do not impact upon radiological safety as identified 4

by the OSHA-inspector will be submitted by OSHA under a. separate inspection report.

The licensee was instructed to respond directly to the NRC:for j:.

t radiological concerns and to OSHA about non-radiological concerns,' concurrent *

[gltosubmittingacopyoftheresponsetoNRC,RegionIII.

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$ihe most significant findings of the Region III team assessment a k summar~ized beJow:

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Management Organization and Controls (IP 88005)

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The= licensee performs the various plant operations in accordance 3

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. with procedures designed with a radiological safety overview.

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,1 Radiologicalsafetyisassuredbyfrequentindependen$ audits f '" h y3 L

by members of the Hematite Facility staff by the plant managerr

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a corporate team and the licensee's insurance company.

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NRC will audit'how effectively the newly formed Safety Committe'e

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.(January 1990).will identify and resolve safety, issues; and thei

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E ;.g effectiveness of the Quality Improvement Teams which were formed '

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. rU c Jto place emphasis on safety relative to procedures and operations.

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bb 1 Radiation Protection (IP 83822) f, r

gjitz e'UTheilicenseecontinuestoprovideadequateradiologicalJprotection Tc

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jfor workers assigned to restricted areas.

M Significant progress was noted in the licensee's use of computer a' "

it technology.to plot trends of airborne radioactivity throughout plant

-operations; and documentation to support the radiological dose ~

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. assessment program. -

NRC is concerned with the lack of attention to personnel exit survey L

procedures in the change rooms and workers' awareness of those -

procedures.

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NRC is concerned with a weakness in the licensee's program to s

e identify the work assignments ~that require. individual air sampleci.

to be worn.

NRC is concerned with the licensee's failure to determine the radioactivity concentration that causes the continuous air ~ monitor to alarm.

.NRC is concerned with the. lack of radiological characterization of material. located in the storage barns.

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Operations Review (IP'88020)

's The licensee should_ review the problems associated with the deposit l

.of unknown quantities of U0i collected on the filter in the

-c poreformer hood.

The licensee should provide engineering controls to prevent operators from working ~in a dusty atmosphere when~ unloading dry scrubber (limestone-rock) material, d.

Criticality Safety (IP 88015)

The licensee should identity ways-to prevent moisture and foreign

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Maintenance and Surveillance Testing The licensee periodically uses outside vendors to establish alarm'

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points, and check operating parameters on sensitive instrumentatich to alert operators about safe operating conditions, q

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Radioactive Waste Management p

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• 1 A issue:that remains unresolved is the proposed use of low-level contaminated scrubber material (limestone rock) as fill material

'ai fprior to pouring a concrete floor.

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.a Resolution of 'a course of action that would enable the licensee to '

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pour concrete for building expansion over an. area with known LI low-level contamination.

.hi Options discussed between the licensee and the NRC.

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~(1) Perform an additional confirmatory survey to show the'results'

'of decontamination ~ efforts ~since the last survey.

. (2)2 Allow the licensee to proceed with appropriate. notation in the s

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" property; deed."

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,"TH (3) Continue decommission effort to assure that contaminated L

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^f levels are below the current Branch Technical Position paper i

requirements (30 pCi U/ gram).

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Licensee Requir'ments to NRC i !k e

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,=The licensee is. sensitive to safety issues.

Since the unplanned release

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ofySeptember 1989, the licensee has installed an additional monitor to i

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i q measure airborne radioactivity.

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yThree iss'ues' remain concerns from past inspections, but are(not dis us' sed, e ~ t 4 ' ', 'in?this report:

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,1,. I) l Resolution lof procedure to close two evaporation ponds.

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. Radiological characterization of ground water from past operations, n+

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(Potential; seepage of buried ' radioactive waste into ground water).'

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. Resolution of the use or' disposal of low-level contaminated 1

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limestone ~ rock (fill material' for waste ponds; fill material 4

for other onsite' locations).

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Plant Condition' L

The housekeeping efforts have; improved significantly since the last' e

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.(1986) team inspection.

Most notable was the cleanliness;of;the plant's 1

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' interior surfaces, and 'an absence of the waste drums-in certain-exterior-N.

locations around the plant.

However, some notable areas of poor.

housekeeping were identified by the inspectors when touring the. storage u

barns.

L The inspectors also,noted that new electronic controls are used to program operating ~ temperatures for the R-2 oxide reactor.

The control room panel is equipped with b'oth audio and visual enunciators-to alert co'ntrol room operators when temperature set points are' exceeded; 3

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USNRC TEAM INSPECTION:

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j Report No. 70-0036/90002 OPEN ITEMS.

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the following' items As a result of the inspection conducted' April,23-27,1990, were identified and require your examination and response.- The items are listed here and described in more detail in the r ferenced section of the report..

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Radiation Protection (IP 83822)'(Section 4. )-

t 01-Open' Item Document surveys to show that. radioactive material intake for workers who do not receive whole body counts is below the measurement levelcspecified in 10 CFR 20.'103(a)(3).

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02-Open Item Document surveys for jobt not under lapel sampling surveillance; show tnat airborne: concentrations for workers in these areas is below the measurement level g

specified in 10 CFR 20.103(a)(3)g 4

a 0.3-Open Item-Develop a procedure to indicate both-the; routine jobs 7f,* f and specific tasks tha't're, quire lapel sampling ( '

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' Open Item Determine.the range of airborne concentrations or.th'e '

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i maximum airborne 1 concentration for theicontinudus air =

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monitor alarm set points that"are used..

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.05-Open Item Monitor' employee compliance;with' exit?siurveys'before

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leaving the change room;' height 4n awareness;among.the

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f-workers about change 4 room procedures.,4e 1

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'! i 06-OpeniItem

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Sample liquid effluents from the' storm and sanitary e

C sewer systems at the point whereuthey' leave'tne a

. discharge pipes; report the'combinededata in the A m

s semiannual Liquid l Effluent' report.

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LO7-OpenI' tem

'Obtain/ adopt 5 recognized procedure for' obtaining;..

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j well water samples'.

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Determine thro, ugh documented. surveys;that material /

equipment in' storage barns is 'below the ' licensee's q.

t release levels, or perform surveys'to establish' n

contamination levels; return any equipment contaminated.

l above the3 release level tocthe, restricted area for.

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storage until final disposition:.alternatiyely, i1

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? petition for license amendment to treat the storage-

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barn as a radiation area.in &ccordance with'10 CFR-20' O V d j ),

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requirements.

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'Opbrations Review (IP 88020) Section 6.)

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Review the problems' associated with filter oxide 1 jO V-e / h 09-Open Item loading in,the performer operations hood; assure =

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00 buildup behind the filter.

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Q L 10-Open Item-Develop engineering controls to mitigate the

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generation-of limestone dust during the changeout

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of spent scrubber materiale,

,3 11-Open Item Repair / replace the; temperature _ indicator gauge onlthe scrubber exhaust of No. 1 incinerator.

L 12-Open Item Develop an< inspection procedure to identify: cracked

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packing glands.. Submit a report of licensee findings-

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ss-(UFe release)Lto NRC-NMSS.

Include bioassay / dose 4

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-assessment data.

3... Criticality Safety (IP'88015)'(Section 7.):

13-Open Item.

Identify ways,to prevent moisture or other foreign l

material from intruding:into an' uncovered blender j

vessel.

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