ML20055A964

Forwards MT El-Ashry to EPA Summarizing Events Re 820119 Neutral Ground Transformer Explosion Which Discharged Polychlorinated Biphenyls to Diffuser Pool

ML20055A964
Person / Time
Site:	Sequoyah
Issue date:	07/14/1982
From:	Mills L TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY
To:	Harold Denton Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
References
NUDOCS 8207200189
Download: ML20055A964 (5)

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. TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY CH ATTANOOGA. TENNESSEE 37401 400 Chestnut Street Tower II July 14, 1982 Mr. Harold R. Denton, Director Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, DC 20555

Dear Mr. Denton:

In the Matter of ) Docket Nos. 50-327 Tennessee Valley Authority ) 50-328 Enclosed for your information is a letter from Mohamed T. El-Ar,hry (TVA) to Paul J. Traina (EPA) dated May 18, 1982 on "Sequoyah Nuclear Plant (SQN) - NPDES Permit No. TN0026450 Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)

Incident (M10,284)." The subject letter summarizes events surrounding the neutral ground transformer explosion that occurred on January 19, 1982 resulting in the discharge of PCBs to the diffuser pond.

If you have any questions, please get in touch with R. H. Shell at FTS 858-2688.

Very truly yours, TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY

. . Mills, M ager Nuclear Licensing Sworn to and subscr ed before me th day o // A 982.

l Nota m 2 6. L 8 -

Public 3 My Commission Expires Enclosure cc: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (Enclosure)

Region II O}/

Attn: Mr. James P. O'Reilly, Regional Administrator 101 Marietta Street, Suite 3100 Atlanta, Georgia 30303 l

G207200189 820714

PDR ADOCK 05000327 S PDR An Equal Opportunity Employer

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tir. Paul J. Traina, Director a

Water flanagement Division ' '

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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region IV 345 Courtland Street, NE.

Atlanta, Georgia i

SEQUOYAll NUCLEAR Pl. ANT, (SQN,) - NPDES PERf!!1(N,0.ffN 0026450 r . I!CB . INCIDENT (tflo,284)

Dear Mr. Traina:

As requested during a recent telephone conversation 'between your Douglas Lankford and flichael Hines of my staf f, the following is a summary .of the events surrounding the SQN PCB incident.

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On January 19, 1982 at approximately 7:41 p.m. , the neut ra! ground transformer located in the turbine building taniteil, resulting in an explosion. The [ '

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transformer was ripped apart, spreading an unknown quantity of the dielectric fluid as a sticky, very viscous residue onto the bu'i l d i ng ' structures, -

equipment, and floor in the immediate vicinity of the failed .transformerf . , -

The dielectric fluid supplied by Westinghouse for the, trans former was s manufactured under the t rade name inerteen (generally referred to as Askarel 1242) and is primarily composed of chlorobenzene and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).

At the time of the t ransformer failure, SQN was having a scheduled maintenance outage. As a result of this outage, the piping system from the turbine building sump was being repaired. The repa i rs to the piping system prevented us from realigning the sump discharge from the condenser cooling water channel  ?? -

to the chemical-holding pond until January 23, 1982. TVA notified EPA of this 'k J work in a December 21, 1981 letter from me to lloward D. Zeller. This work was ~

also discussed between A.11. Loudermilk of my staff and Mr. Lankford of your staff during a December 7,.1981 telephone conversation. ..

r The National Response Center and the Tennessee Division of Water Quality I' Control were notified on January 20, 1982 of the accident and hf the potential 'g

loss of PCBs. Water samples were collected f rom the sump on January 20, 1982 .. -

i because of the potential PCil contamination of part of the. turbine building '

j. drainage system and sump. Ti.e resnits of the turbine building sump samples M[

were obtained on the morning of January 21, 1982 and indicated a minor M.

concentration of PCBs in the snmp. A sampiing program was c'stahlished by TVA, in consultat ion with your ofiice and the State of Tennessee, and the

results are shown in Tables I and 11 (enclosed).

• n .3 c-r v .>:- no On January 26, 1982 we contracted the services of Calgon's Activated Carbon ~ . , (

Division to treat the PCB-contaminated water being held ir. the chemical- .. ;

holding pond. The Calgon filter units we re started up on January 31,*1982 and were shutdown on February 25, 1982 after treating 10 million gallons of Yg - '

PCB-contaminated water. Since Fehrnary 25, 1982, we have been discharging i directly from the chemical-holding pond (Table iI). Based on our calculations, i ~ _

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estimate that the maximum amount .of PClls released to the diffuser pond during the first three days of the accident was 12.02 pounds (Table I).

In our estimation, that amount has decreased to less than 0.5 pounds released to the diffuser pond since cleanup and treatment was started. The results of

.- our sampling program show no detectable concentrations of PCBs in the Tennessee River in the vicinity of SQN or downstream of the plant for approximately 70 miles. Our extensive efforts to monitor and minimize the PCB discharges to the Tennessee River by reront ing the turbine building sump lischarge and installing the Calgon unit have cost TVA approximately $250,000 so date.

Based on our review of the data and the present PCII concentra tions being det ected, we request permissioe to realign our turbine building piping system back to its normal route through the yard drainage pond and diffuser pond to the Tennessee River and to discontinue all PCB sampling. If you have any

~I questions conce rning this i n fo rrca t ion , please call flichael Hines at FTS 872-8971 or (205) 386-2971 in Fluscle Shoals, Alabama.

Sincerely, -

.Ortginal Signed By M. T. El-Ashry flohamed T. El-Ashry, Ph.D.

Assistant flanager of Natural Resources (Environment)

JWil:SMl:SRW: PSR:JGD Enclosures cc (Enclosures): 3 flr. D. Elmo Lunn, Dir< ct or Tennessee Department of Public Ilealth Division of Water Quality Control 150 Ninth Avenue, North TERRA Building Nashville, Tentessee 37203 '

flr. Jack ticCormic!;, 'dasin Manager Chattanooga Basin Office Division of Water Qualit y Cont rol 2501 tiilne Sticet Chattanooga, Tennessee 37406

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_ TABLE I - SU!?tARY OF PCB ANALYSES PCB CONC FROM -

LB3 PCB CALCON LBS FCB DIFFUSER TB3 FCB TBS FLOW BELEA0ED EFFLUENT PCB CALGCN UNIT RELEASED FROM DISCHARGE l

Cate CONC (rrb) (f tCD) FROM TD3 CONC (prb) FLO'4 (MCD) CALCON UNIT (ppb)

{

1/20/82 326 0.15 C 0.41 - - - -

1/21/32 213 0.20 C 0.36 - - - < 10 1/22/82 4650 0.29 C 11.25 - - - 7 (12.02 lbs) ,

1/23/82 1920 0 32 C 5.12 - - - -

1/24/S2 100 0.36 0.33 - - -

<0.1 1/25/32 48 0.50 0.20 - - -

< 0.1 1/26/82 - 0.54 - - - - -

1/27/32 1500 0.22 2.75 - - -

<0.1 '

1/23/82 36 0.50 0.15 - - - < 0.1 1/29/92 500 0.22 0.92 - - -

<0.1 1/30/82 110 0.20 0.13 - - -

<[0.1 1/31/82 110 0.75 C 0.69 < 0.1 0.29

• 2.4 X 10-5 <o.1 2/01/92 290 0.90 C 2.18 0.2 0.29 4.8 X 10-5 <0.1 2/02/82 130 0.43 C 0.47 <0.1 0.29 2.4 X 10-5 '

<0.1 .

2/03/92 140 0 38 C 0.44 <0.1 0.29 2.4 X 10-5 <o.1

• l 2/03/32 56 0.56 C 0.26 0.2 0.29 4.8 X 10-5 ?i < a .1 l 2/05/92 110 0.29 C 0.27 0.2 0.29 4.3 X 10-5 <c.1 l 2/;6/82 44 1.05 C 0 39 0.2 0.40 6.6 X 10-5 < 0 .1 2/07/32 -

0.51 C -

09 0.65 4.8 X 10 ? < 0.1 2/03/32 8 0.47 0.03 03 0.36 9.0 X IC-3 <0.1 2/09/32 15 0.57 >

0.07 0.7 0.65 3.8 X 10-4 < 0 .1 2/10/82 200 0.43 0.72 0.5 0.29 1.2 X 10-4 < 0.1 2/11/S2 16 0.77 0.10 0.5 0.37 1.8 x 10-4 < 0.1 2/12/S2 26 0.54 0.12 0.4 0 37 1.2 X 10-4 < 0.1 -

2/13/82 -

0.52 - - - - -

2/14/82 - 0.71 C - - - , - -

2/15/82 75 0.55 C 0.34 0.5 0.56 2.3 X 10-4 < 0 .1 1 2/16/82 83 1.20 C 0.88 03 0.57 1.4 X 10-4 <0.1 l i 2/17/32 48 0.43 0.19 0.a 0.62 1.9 X 10-4 <0.1 l 2/13eB2 450 0.59 2.21 <0.1 0.60 5 X 10-5 < 0 .1 l l 2/19/32 28 0.51 0.12 <0.1 0.57 4.8 X 10-5 <0.1 l 2/20/82 -

0 31 - - - -

I 2/21/92 -

0.35 - - -

2/22/82 33 1.04 0.29 <0.1 C.32 2.7 I 10-4 < 0.1 2/23/82 29 1.07 0.?6 < 0.1 0.22 1.8 X 10-4 < 0.1 l 2/24/32 8.8 0.4) 0.03 < 0.1 0.22 1.8 x 10-4 < 0.1 ,

2/25/82 19 0.78 0.12 - - ,

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