ML20052G068
| ML20052G068 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Millstone  |
| Issue date: | 02/22/1982 |
| From: | Counsil W NORTHEAST NUCLEAR ENERGY CO. |
| To: | Martin T NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION I) |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20052G060 | List: |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 8205140280 | |
| Download: ML20052G068 (5) | |
Text
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NORTHEAST UTILFFIES 3
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WILUAM G. CouNSIL SEN8OR VICE PRESIDENT NUCLEAR ENGINEERING AND OPERATIONS February 22, 1982 Mr.
T. T.
Martin Director Division of Engineering and Technical Inspection Region I Office of Inspection and Enforcement U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission 631 Park Avenue King of Prussia, Pennsylvania 19406
Reference:
(1)
T. T. Martin letter to W. G. Counsil, dated January 22, 1982, forwarding Notice of Violation and I&E Inspection Report Nos. 50-245/81-15 and 50-336/81-13 Gentlemen:
Millstone Nuclear Power Station Unit Nos. 1 and 2 Response to Notice of Violation Pursuant to the provisions of 10 C.F.R.
S2.201, Northeast Nuclear Energy Company (NNECO) hereby submits the following information in response to Reference (1), which transmitted l
The alleged violation involved was based upon an inspection conducted on September 29, 1981, by an NRC inspector (Region II) at the Barnwell, South Carolina burial site of a shipment of radioactive waste sent from the Millstone Nuclear Power Station on September 25, 1981.
The alleged violation was described in the Notice of Violation as follows:
10 C.F.R.
S30.41 prohibits transfer of byproduct material unless it is in a form authorized by the recipient's NRC or Agreement State license.
South Carolina License No. 097, an Agreement State license O
O
, issued to Chem-Nuclear Systems, Inc., prohibits the receipt of solidified waste with " detectable f ree standing liquid" which is defined in the license as liquid in excess of 0.5 percent by waste volume for drums, which corresponds to 0.275 gallons per 55-gallon drum.
Contrary to the above, on September 29, 1981, a waste shipment of byproduct material containing 12.08 curies of solidified evaporator bottoms was transferred to Chem-Nuclear Systems, Inc. at Barnwell, South Carolina, with detectable free standing liquid (from 0.5 to 3.5 gallons) in each of three 55-gallon drums in the shipment.
This is a Severity Level III violation.
(Supplement IV.C.6).
At the outset, let us state that NNECO believes that it was unnecessary for NRC to take any enforcement action as a result of the alleged violation.
The NRC Interim Enforcement Policy is designed largely to ensure compliance with NRC requirements by deterring future violations and by encouraging licensees to identify, correct and (where required) report such violations promptly.
In view of the enforcement action already taken against NNECO by the State of South Carolina,
~
we1 elieve that no NRC regulatory policy will be furthered b
by the instant Notice of Violation, and that the Staff enould exercise its discretion in the Interim Enforcement Policy to ref rain f rom taking any enforcement action in response to the alleged violation.'
Additionally, in response to the Notice of Violation, this will~ advise that NNECO does not concur with the severity level assigned to'this matter.
In order for an item of violation to be categorized as Severity Level III violation in accordance with Supplement IV.C.6 in the Interim Enforcement c'
Policyx published in 45 Fed. Reg. 66754 on October 7, 1980, the item of violation must involve " disposal of licensed material-not covered in Severity Levels I or II."
The applicable items in Supplement IV for Severity Levels I and II are Items IV.A.5 and IV.B.6, respectively, both of which involve disposal of licensed material in quantities or concentrations in excess of the limits of 10 C.F.R.
S20.303 o r 10 C. F.11.
520.304.
Therefore the implication is that a
~~
Severity Level III violation per Supplement IV.C.6 must
~ 20.303 and/or S20.304, not S
involve a violation of 10 C.F.R.
covered by Severity. Levels I-or II.
s
I
, We do not interpret either 10 C.F.R. 520.303 or 10 C.F.R.
S20.304 as applying in this instance.
10 C.F.R. S20.303 governs the discharge of licensed material into a sanitary sewetage system, which clearly is not applicable.
- Also, 10 C.F.R. 520.304 applies to disposal of licensed material by a licensee int burial in soil.
We did not violate any of the requirements of 10 C.F.R. 520.304 since the item of violation does not involve the burial of any of the 55-gallon drums by us or the State of South Carolina.
Therefore, we contend that-the categorization of this item of violation as a Severity Level III violation per Supplement IV.C.6 is inappropriate.
Additionally, we do not interpret any of the other Severity Level III items identified in Supplement IV as being applicable to the subject violation, especially in light of the fact that the IfE Inspection Report itself states no violations or deviations were disclosed with respect to radiation levels.
Since the above item of violation involves the transfer cf byproduct material, we believe that if the NRC deems it i
necessary to issue any Notice of Violation this item should more appropriately be categorized in accordance with Supplement V (Transportation).
In accordance with Supplement V.C.
a Severity Level III transportation' violation must involve one of the following:
1.
Breach of package integrity; i
2.
Surface contamination or external radiation 1evels in excess of, but less than a factor of, three above NRC or DOT requirements, that did i
not result from a breach of package integrity; 3.
Any noncompliance with labelling, placarding, shipping paper, packaging, loading, or other L
requirements that could reasonably result in the following:
(
a.
Improper identification of the typc, quantity, or form of material; b.
Failure of the carrier or recipient to exercise adequate controls; or c.
Substantial potential for personnel exposure or contamination; or I
4.
Failure to_make required initial notification associated with Severity Level III violations.
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.- The Waste Packaging Inspections of Licensee-Shippers Report No. 81/10A attached to the subject I&E Inspection Report states that no violations or deviations were disclosed with respect to shipping papers, DOT placarding requirements, maximum radiation levels and packaging.
Review of thc shipping papers includes verification that the shipment was properly identified, and review for proper packaging includes confirmation of tight packages and no release of mate;ial.
Therefore, by virtue of the I&E Inspection Report itself, we contend that the above item of violation is not a Severity Level III violation per Supplement V.C.
In our view, this violation could be considered no higher than a Severity Level V or VI violation in accordance with Supplement V.E.
or V.F.,
respectively.
Therefore, we request the NRC Staff to reevaluate the need to issue any Notice of Violation as well as the severity level and categorization (i.e., Transportation vs. Health Physics) of this item of violation.
NNECO contends that a Severity Level III violation per Supplement IV.C.6 is clearly inappro-priate and that if the NRC still deems that a Notice of Violation is necessary that this item of violation should more appropriately be assigned a Severity Level V or VI in accordance with Supplement V.E.
or V.F.
Irrespective of the severity level and categorization of this item, the following information is provided regarding (1) the corrective steps which have been taken and the results achieved; (2) corrective steps which will be taken to avoid further violations; and (3) the date when full compliance will be achieved.
As a result of this violation, we have conducted a full investigation and have instituted appropriate measures to ensure that all future shipments of radioactive material are in compliance with applicable pro-visions of Federal and State Law.
The three 55-gallon containers found to have excess water had been solidified with urea-formaldehyde.
We had recog-nized the inherent potential to create free water when using urea-formaldehyde as a solidification agent, and consequently, special precautions were taken prior to shipment to ensure that the drums contained no free water.
Approximately three days prior to the shipment, the four 55-gallon drums, which contained waste solidified using urea-formaldehyde, were opened and examined.
Three of these drums contained small quantities of water (ranging between one cup and one gallon).
As a precaution, approximately one bag of cement was added to each of the four containers
to absorb the free water.
The following day all four containers were inspected and found to be dry.
An additional 4
bag of cement was added to the one drum which initially contained the most free water.
All four drums were sub-sequently inverted for 24 hours2.777778e-4 days <br />0.00667 hours <br />3.968254e-5 weeks <br />9.132e-6 months <br />.
No liquid was evident.
The drums were then packaged and shipped to Barnwell.
It was our judgment that these precautions were sufficient to remove all traces of free standing water.
We also believe that our actions in this regard were taken with utmost care and due diligence.
Subsequent to this shipment but prior to these inspections revealing the presence of quantities of water, NNECO initiated efforts to cease utilizing urea-formaldehyde for radioactive waste solidification.
Future solidifications will utilize either cement or the Dow process depending upon the availability of the necessary equipment.
Radioactive ion exchange resins and filter sludge will con-tinue to be dewatered and shipped in high integrity containers.
We are confident that these provisions will ensure that future shipments of radioactive waste comply with the applicable regulations.
We trust that the above information adequately responds to Reference (1), and we look forward to your prompt attention to our request for reevaluation of this item of violation.
In any event, we concur that no civil penalty should be assessed for this violation.
Very truly yours, NORTHEAST NUCLEAR ENERGY COMPANY
/W o
W. G. Counsil Senior Vice President
.