ML20056F371

Insp Rept 70-1113/93-05 on 930712-16.No Violations Noted. Major Areas Inspected:Radioactive Effluents,Environ Protection & Transportation of Radioactive Matl

ML20056F371
Person / Time
Site:	07001113
Issue date:	08/10/1993
From:	Decker T, David Jones NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION II)
To:
Shared Package
ML20056F370	List: ML20056F369 ML20056F371
References
70-1113-93-05, 70-1113-93-5, NUDOCS 9308270055
Download: ML20056F371 (11)

Text

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UNITED STATES

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o NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION y','b REGloN H

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G 101 MARIETTA STREET, N.W., SUITE 2930 1

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j ATLANT A, GEORGIA 30323-0199 E

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Report No.:

70-1113/93-05 Licensee: General Electric Company Nuclear Fuel and Components Manufacturing P. O. Box 780 Wilmington, NC 28402 Docket No 1113 License No.: SNM-1097 Facility Name: General Electric Company Nuclear Fuel and Components Manufacturing Inspection Conducted: July 12-16, 1993 Inspector: v 2 zuA ' A

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D. W. Jones

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T. R ' Decker, Chief, Dite' Signed l

Radiological Effluents and Chemistry Section Radiological Protection and Emergency Preparedness Branch

SUMMARY

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This routine, announced inspection was conducted in the areas of radioactive effluents, environmental protection, transportation of racioactive material I

and followup on a previously identified issue.

Results:

The licensee had implemented an effective program to monitor and control liquid and gaseous radioactive effluents and to maintain the activity released in those effluents to levels which were within the limits specified in 10 CFR 20 for release of radioactive material to unrestricted areas (Paragraph 2).

i The licensee had effectively implemented the required environmental protection program (Paragraph 3).

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The.l'icen'see had implemented effective quality assurance and management l

control programs for packaging, preparation, and transport of radioactive material (Paragraph 4).

Inspector Followup Item 91-06-16, contaminated soil beneath the FM0/FMOX l

building complex is closed (Paragraph 5).

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i REPORT DETAILS l

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Persons Contacted j

Licensee Employees 4

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• S. Babb, Manager, Uranium Recovery

• G. Bowman, Senior Program Manager, Compliance Improvement

• M. Chilton, Manager, Fuel Chemical Manufacturing T. Crawford, Senior Engineer, Environmental Protection i

R. Foleck, Senior Specialist, Licensing Engineer

• L. Gutermuth, Specialist, Industrial Safety

• T. Hauser, Manager, Environmental Health and Safety and Nuclear Quality Assurance R. Keenan, Program Manager, Compliance Auditing

• M. Lamb, Area Coordinator, Uranium Recovery

• R. McIver, Manager, Plant Engineering and Site Maintenance L. Nixon, Operator, Nuclear Material Management j

S. O'Connor, Engineer, Fuel-Chemical Manufacturing

• R. Pace, Senior Program Manager, Fuel Programs

• R. Patterson, Manager Technical Resources

• D. Silverthorne, Manager, Nuclear Fuel and Components Manufacturing i

• H. Strickler, Manager, Environmental Protection and Industrial Safety

• R. Torres, Manager, Radiation Protection

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• K. Toussaint, Specialist, Purchased Materials Quality Control

• C. Vaughan, Manager, Regulatory Compliance

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• F. Walker, Manager, Shipping and Traffic

• P. Winslow, Manager, Licensing and Nuclear Material l

Management i

R. Yopp, Fuel Shipping Specialist, Shipping and Traffic Other licensee employees contacted included engineers, technicians, and administrative personnel.

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• Attended exit interview 1

2.

Radioactive Effluents (88035) i

a. Liquid Effluents 1

i Safety Condition S-1 of Materia!s License No. SNM-1097, Amendment j

No. 30, authorized the use of licensed materials in accordance with statements, representations, and conditions contained in Part I of the License Application (LA) and approved supplements I

thereto. Section 5.1.2 of the LA described the sampling and l

analytical controls for treated process liquid waste discharged from process lagoons to the Northeast Cape Fear River. A composite i

sample of the liquid waste discharged tt 'the river was required to be collected daily and analyzed for uranium concentration. A weekly composite of those daily samples was required to be j

analyzed for gross alpha and gross beta activity. Section 5.1.4.2 j

2 of the LA described the sampling and analytical controls for treated nitrate waste transferred to the Federal Paper Board l

Company's biological waste treatment facility. Each tank truck of i

nitrate waste shipped was required to be grab sampled for uranium concentration. Daily composites of the grab samples were also required to be analyzed for uranium concentration and weekly composites were required to be analyzed for gross alpha activity.

Table 5.1 of the LA established action levels for the results from each of the above required analyses except for gross alpha activity in the nitrate waste weekly composite sample.

l The inspector reviewed the following procedures and determined that they included provisions for collecting and analyzing liquid effluent samples in accordance with the LA.

Prod. No. 80-69, Rev. 8, "NF & CM Process Effluent Control / Site Process Lagoons / Storm Water Management" Prod. No. 80.85, Rev.12, " Nitrate Transfer to Federal Paper" COI 601, Rev. 5, " Environmental Lab Compositing" Method 1.2.21.12, Rev. 2, " Measurement of Uranium in Wastewater Using the Scintrex UA-3 Analyzer" Selected analytical results for discharged liquid waste and nitrate waste were reviewed by the inspector and found to have been well below the specified action levels. The uranium concentrations in the daily samples of the discharged liquid waste collected during June 1993 were s 0.02 ppm. The gross alpha and gross beta activities in the weekly composite samples of the i

l liquid waste were <1 E-7 Ci/ml for the period January through mid-May 1993. The uranium concentrations in the samples collected from each tank truck and in the daily composite samples for the nitrate waste shipments during May 1993 were <1 ppm. The gross alpha activities in the weekly composite samples of the nitrate waste were <3 E-6 Ci/ml for the period January through mid-May 1993.

b. Gaseous Effluents Section 5.1.1 of the LA described the sampling and analytical controls for gaseous effluents. Each exhaust stack from uranium processing areas was required to be continuou:,1y sampled from a point between the final HEPA filter and the discharge to the atmosphere. The filters in the stack samplers were required to be collected at least weekly and measured for gross alpha activity.

Action levels were established for the measured activity The inspector reviewed the following procedures and determined that they included provisions for collecting and analyzing gaseous effluent samples in accordance with the LA, summarizing the

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analytical results in weekly reports, and notifying management if the action levels were exceeded.

EPI No. 0-6.0, Rev. 28, " Stack Sampling Program" NSI No. 0-30.0, Rev. 5, "Tennelec LB-5100 Series II Alpha / Beta Counting Systems I & II" The inspector reviewed the Weekly Stack Program Reports for fiscal weeks 2 through 27, 1993, and determined that the specified action levels had not been exceeded.

c.

Semiannual Effluent Release Reports (88035) 10 CFR 70.59 required the licensee to submit a report to the NRC Region II office, within 60 days after January 1 and July 1 of each year, specifying the quantity of each of the principal l

radionuclides released to unrestricted areas in liquid and gaseous effluents during the previous six months of operation.

t The effluent data presented in Table I were compiled from the j

licensee's effluent reports.

l Table 1 Effluent Summary for General Electric Total Microcuries Released l

Period Gaseous Effluents Liouid Effluents Jan.-June 1989 73.3 26,600 July-Dec. 1989 47.3 57.500 Jan.-June 1990 49.1 124,000 t

July-Dec. 1990 27.0 41,100 Jan.-June 1991 47.1 31,700 July-Dec. 1991 36.8 30,000 Jan.-June 1992 56.3 26,500 i

July-Dec. 1992 62.0 142,876 The inspector reviewed the reports for the last three periods listed above and discussed their content with the licensee. The report for the period July through December 1992 indicated that 108,000 Ci of Th-234 and a total of 34,876 Ci of the uranium isotopes 234, 235, 236, and 238 were released in liquid effluents 1

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4 during that period. The Th-234, which is a beta emitting daughter product of U-238 with a 24.1 day half-life, ms released in the nitrate waste shipped to the Federal Paper Board Company. The F

licensee indicated that only one of two nitrate collection lagoons was used during most of 1992. This practice resulted in decreased residence time for the nitrate waste in the lagoon and increased the beta activity in the nitrate waste shipments. During 1993 the licensee switched back to two lagoon operations and the beta activity in the nitrate waste shipments returned to previous levels. The licensee anticipated that the activity released in the liquid effluents during 1993 would return to historical levels.

Based on the above reviews and discussions, it was concluded that the licensee had implemented an effective program to monitor and control liquid and gaseous radioactive effluents and to maintain the activity released in those effluents to levels which were within the limits specified in 10 CFR 20 for release of radioactive material to unrestricted areas.

No violations or deviations were identified.

3.

Environmental Protection (88045)

Section 5.2 of the LA described the program requireunts for monitoring the radioactivity i.n the environs of the plant. The sampling locations, types of samples, collection frequency, types of analyses, action levels (for most but not all analytical results), and analytical lower limits of detection were specified in Table 5.1 of the LA.

The inspector reviewed the procedures listed below and determined that they included provisions for collecting samples from specified locations at the required frequencies and for analyzing those samples for the specified parameters in accordance with the LA.

EPI No. 0-2.0, Rey, 16, " Environmental Sampling of the Final Process Lagoon System and Site Dam" l

EPI No. 0-3.0, Rev.14, " Sample Collection at GE River Dock, Castle Hayne and Hilton Park" EPI No. 0-7.0, Rev. 15, " Soil, Vegetation and State Split Sampling Programs" EPI No. 0-8.0, Rev. 20, " Sample Collection from Monitoring Wells" EPI No. 0-9.0, Rev.11, " Environmental Ambient Air Sampling Stations" The inspector also reviewed the analytical results for the environmental samples collected during January through April 1993 for the following media and locations: ambient air at the onsite sampling locations, surface water from the Northeast Cape Fear River upstream and downstream

5 of the site, surface water from the Cape Fear River upstream and downstream of the Federal Paper Board papermill, soil from offsite locations and from the onsite drainage ditch, and groundwater from the site supply wells. The sampling data indicated that the samples had been l

collected at the frequencies specified in the above procedures and that the analytical results were below the action levels specified in the LA.

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Based on the above reviews, it was concluded that the licensee had l

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effectively implemented the required environmental protection program.

No violations or deviations were identified.

4.

Transportation of Radioactive Material (86740 and 84850) l 10 CFR 71 established the requirements for packaging, preparation for l

shipment, and transportation of licensed material.10 CFR 71.5 required l

each licensee who transported licensed material outside of the confines of their plant, or who delivered licensed material to a carrier for i

transport, to comply with the applicable requirements, appropriate to l

the mode of transport, of the Department of Transportation (DOT) in l

49 CFR Parts 170 through 189.10 CFR 71 Subpart H established the l

quality assurance (QA) program requirements applicable to transportation l

l of radioactive materials.10 CFR 20.311 specified the requirements for l

control of transfers of radioactive waste intended for disposal at a l

land disposal facility and established a manifest tracking system.

10 CFR 61.55 and 61.56 established the requirements for classification l

and characterization of radioactive waste shipped to a near-surface disposal site.

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a. Management Controls 10 CFR 71.103 required the licensee to establish a quality assurance l

program which clearly establishes and delineates in writing the authority and duties of persons and organizations performing safety-related functions of structures, systems, and components. The inspector reviewed Section 1 of NED0-11209-04A, Rev. 8, "GE Nuclear Energy Quality Assurance Program Description" and determined that it established the licensee's corporate policy regarding organizational structure and I

functional responsibility assignments. With regard to transportation of radioactive material, the licensee implemented that policy through Practices and Procedures (P&P) No. 90-01, Rev. 7, " Receiving and Shipping Radioactive Materials" which established the organization structure and assignments of responsibilities for activities related to shipping and receiving radioactive material.

10 CFR 71.111 and 71.113 required the licensee to prescribe activities affecting quality by documented instructions, procedures, or drawings and to establish measures which assure that those documents, including changes thereto, were reviewed for adequacy and approved for release by authorized personnel. The inspector determined that instructions for transportation activities were included in the licensee's procedure system entitled " Traffic Instructions" (tis) which was a series of

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procedures for shipping and receiving radioactive material. Other i

i quality related instructions were included in the procedure system entitled " Quality Control Operator Requirements" (QCORs). The inspector reviewed selected tis and QCORs and determined that they had been I

approved by licensee management.

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b. Indoctrination and Training Program 10 CFR 71.105(d) required the licensee to provide for indoctrination and training of personnel performing activities affecting quality ar t

j necessary to assure that suitable proficiency is achieved and i

maintained. Section 2.1 of the QA program description established the j

licensee's indoctrination and training program which was implemented through P&P No. 70-1, Rev. 8, " Indoctrination and Training for Quality l

Related Activities" and P&P No. 30-41, Rev. 5, " Training for Low-Level i

Radwaste Activities". The inspector reviewed training records maintained i

in the Shipping and Traffic offices for selected personnel involved in i

transport of radioactive materials and determined that training had been l

provided in accordance with the above procedures.

c. Special Form Documentation 49 CFR 173.476 required each shipper of special form radioactive materials to maintain documentation that the material meets the test requirements for special form specified in 49 CFR 173.469. An IAEA i

Certificate of Competent Authority issued for the special form material i

may be used to satisfy this requirement. The inspector reviewed the licensees records for the most recent shipment of a californium-252 source and determined that the required documentation had been

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j maintained. Those records included an IAEA Certificate of Competent i

j Authority for the source.

d. Preparation of Packages for Shipment 10 CFR 71.85 and 71.87 required the licensee to perform preliminary l

determinations, prior to the first use of any packaging, and routine determinations, prior to each shipment, that the packaging has no physical defects which could significantly reduce the effectiveness of j

the packaging and that the package meets the applicable packaging and l

license requirements. The inspector reviewed the licensee's procedures i

for inspecting inner containers for fuel assembly shipping packages and i

BU-7 shipping containers and determined that they included provisions for performing the required preliminary and routine determinations for each saipping container used. Those procedures were included in the 2

licensee's procedure systems entitled " Quality Control Operator i

Requirements" (QCORs) and " Quality Control Inspection Instructions" (QCIIs). The inspector also reviewed selected records of those inspections performed during June and July 1993 and determined that the inspections had been performed in accordance with the QCORs and QCIIs.

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e. Packaging Marking i

j 49 CFR 172.300 required the licensee to mark each package of hazardous

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material offered for transport in the manner specified in 49 CFR 172

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Subpart D. The inspector reviewed procedure TI-06, Rev. 6, "BU-7 j

Refurbishing Criteria" and determined that it included provisions for j

marking the shipping containers as required. The inspector also observed the marking on approximately 10 containers being prepared for shipment

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and determined that they had been marked in accordance with the above procedures.

f. Package Labeling i

1 49 CFR 172.400 required the licensee to label each package of hazardous material offered for transport in the manner specified in 49 CFR 172 j

Subpart E. The inspector reviewed procedures TI-19, Rev. 4, "Radionuclide Names, Shipping Papers and Labels" and TI-20, Rev. 2, J

" Radiation, Radioactivity and Transportation Index of Shipment Packages"

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and determined that they included provisions for labeling packages as i

required and for recording the required information on the labels. The inspector observed the labeling on approximately 10 packages of uranium i

dioxide powder prepared for shipment and determined that the labels had j

been applied and the required information had been recorded in accordance with the above procedures.

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g. Radiation Monitoring

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i 10 CFR 71.87(i) and (j), 49 CFR 173.475(i), 49 CFR 173.441, and l

49 CFR 173.443 delineated the limits for exteraal radiation levels and i

for removable surface contamination levels of packages offered for i

shipment. The inspector reviewed the following procedures and determined that they included provisions for performing the required surveys and i

for assuring that the radiation and contamination limits were met for each package offered for shipment.

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j NSI No. 0-17.0, Rev. 21, " Shipment and Receipt of Radio tive Materials

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and Shipping Containers" j

NSI No. 0-11.0, Rev. 14, " Surveys for JNF Powder Shipments" i

NSI No. 0-3.0, Rev.18, " Sealed Source Control" i

The inspector noted that procedure NSI No. 0-17.0 did not include j

provisions for performing radiation surveys for all vehicles used to transport licensed material. The procedure specified that dose rate i

surveys were to be performed in the truck cab for shipments of UF, cylinders and UF, overpacks. For shipments of U02 powder, U02 pellets, fuel rods, fuel assemblies, and scrap, the procedure indicated that dose rate surveys were to be performed in the truck cab if the dose rate from any of the containers in the shipment exceeded 2 millirem / hour at a distance of >3 feet from the container. The dose rate limits specified 1

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8 in 10 CFR 71.47 for vehicles transporting licensed material were:

200 millirem / hour at any point on the outer surface of the vehicle or the vertical planes of the outer edges of an open vehicle; 10 millirem / hour at any point 2 meters from the vertical planes of the outer surface of the vehicle or the outer edges of an open vehicle; and 2 millirem / hour in any normally occupied positions of the vehicle. The licensee indicated that compliance with these limits was assured if the dose rate from the individual containers was less than 2 millirem / hour 3 feet from the surface of the container. The inspector reviewed selected licensee shipping records which indicated that the surveys had i

been performed and the radiation and contamination limits had been met.

h. Shipping Paper Documentation i

49 CFR 172.200 required the licensee to prepare shipping papers describing hazardous materials offered for transport in the manner specified in 49 CFR 172 Subpart C.10 CFR 20.311(d)(4) required the licensee to prepare shipping manifests for each shipment of radioactive waste to a licensed land disposal facility such that they meet the requirements of 10 CFR 20.311. The inspector reviewed procedure TI-23, Rev. O, " Low Level Radioactive Waste Shipments" and determined that it included provisions _for recording the required information on shipping manifests. The inspector also reviewed the shipping papers for a shipment of waste made on July 7,1993, and determined that the shipping papers had been prepared in accordance with the applicable procedure,

i. Drivers Instructions for Exclusive Use Shipments 49 CFR 173.441(c) and 173.425(b)(9) required the licensee to provide specific written instructions for maintenance of the exclusive use shipment controls to the carrier of packages of radioactive material consigned as exclusive use. Those instructions were required to be included with the shipping paper information. The inspector determined that procedure TI-23 referenced above included provisions for providing drivers with the required instructions and that the shipping papers for the above referenced waste shipment included a copy of those instructions.

j. Advance Notifications 49 CFR 173.22 required the licensee to make prior notification to the i

consignee of the dates of shipment and expected arrival of shipments of l

fissile ;adioactive naterials.10 CFR 71.97 required the licensee to make prior notification to the governor of a state whenever licensed material was being transported to, through, or across the state's boundaries to a disposal site. The inspector determined that licensee's records for the above referenced waste shipment included copies of the forms used to make the required notifications.

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9 Based on the above reviews and observations, it was concluded that the licensee had implemented effective quality assurance and management control pregrams for packaging, preparation, and transport of radioactive material.

No violations or deviations were identified.

5.

Followup on Previously Identified Issues (92701)

(Closed) Inspector Followup Item (70-1113/91-06-16) Contaminated soil beneath the FM0/FM0X building complex. As previously discussed in NRC Inspection Report Nos. 70-1113/91-06, 70-1113/91-08, and 70-1113/92-01, the licensee reported in November 1991 that uranium contamination had been discovered beneath a portion of the floor of the FM0/FM0X building complex. The majority of the uranium was removed by excavation and a shallow groundwater collection system to mitigate the migration of the residual contamination from beneath the building was installed. On March 6,1992, the licensee filed a remedial action plan with the NRC and the State of North Carolina in which the licensee committed to installing additional monitoring wells along the perimeter of the building and routine reporting of monitoring data. The inspector reviewed selected sections of the report for the first quarter of 1993 which provided an assessment of the groundwater monitoring program results for that quarter. The conclusion section of the report indicated that the groundwater contamination in the upper sand layer continued to be limited to the area outside the FM0/FM0X building and that migration of contaminants was limited both vertically and horizontally. This Inspector Followup Item will be closed.

5.

Exit Interview The inspection scope and resuits were summarized on July 16, 1993, with those persons indicated in Paragraph 1. The inspector described the areas inspected and discussed in detail the results listed above. No dissenting comments were received from the licensee. Proprietary information is net contained in this report.

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