ML20059C799

Completes Evaluation Assessing Environ Impacts of Past Unmonitored Gaseous Effluent Releases from Lagoon U Recovery Operations Per 10CFR70.59

ML20059C799
Person / Time
Site:	Framatome ANP Richland
Issue date:	10/12/1993
From:	Maas L SIEMENS CORP.
To:	Faulkenberry B NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION V)
References
NUDOCS 9311020019
Download: ML20059C799 (3)

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=c October 12,1993 oT U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Region V Attn: B. H. Faulkenberry, Regional Administrator 1450 Maria Lane, Suite 210 Walnut Greek, CA 94596 License No. SNM-1227 Docket No. 70-1257

Dear Mr. Faulkenberry:

Gaseous Effluent Corrections For Semi-annual Effluent Reports Required Under 10CFR70.59 Siemens Power Corporation (SPC) has cornpleted an evaluation to assess the environmental impacts of phet unmonitored gaseous effluent releases from the Lagoon Uranium Recovery (LUR) operations. This evaluation was conducted to address inspector followup item 70-1257/92-01-04 which required SPC to assess the impact of these emissions and amend its semi-annual environmental reports as appropriate. This letter provides the results of that evaluation.

LUR processing started in August,1985, and continued through 1990. The process involves precipitating the uranium from the lagoon solution; then settling, washing and dissolving the precipitate. A ventilation blower was insts, led in September,1986 to control the oxides of nitrogen fumes that were generated during the dissolution step. The blower discharged the unfiltered gaseous effluent horizontally over the lagoon. Limited air sampling data indicating the potential for uranium emissions were obtained in 1991 during " red mud" uranium recovery.

Red mud was the residual solids from uranium oxide dissolution; processing of red mud was comparable to typical LUH processing.

Based on the 1991 sampling data, air emissions for uranium were directly correlated to the quantity of uranium recovered. This correlation was then applied to the quantity of uranium recovered for each prior year to estimate the air emissions for that year. These annual emission quantities were divided by two and the result was added to the gaseous radioactive emission quantity that was reported fcr each semi-annual period. The summary of the originally-reported and corrected quantities is shown in Table 1 for the second half of 1985 through the second half of 1991.

All of the corrected semi-annual quantities are less than SPC's license limit of 50 uCi per quarter. It can therefore be implied that the quarterly quantities are also less than the

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o Page 2 October 12,1993 quarterly limit. The total gaseous radioactive emissions for any calendar quarter with the LUR contribution included would not have exceeded any action levels for the reporting periods from 1985 through 1991.

The LUR process has not been operated since 1991 and will not be restarted until appropriate HEPA filtration and emission monitoring equipment have been installed,'as required by SPC's NRC license. An upgrade project for LUR which addresses these actions has been initiated within SPC's Waste Management Engineering group.

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if you have questions regarding this evaluation or the operation of our LUR facility, please contact me on 509-375-8537.

Very truly yours, Gr%

U" L. J. Maas, Manager Regulatory Compliance l

LJM:pm cc:

Robert M. Bernero, Director, Office of Nuclear Material Safety & Safeguards, US NPC Debra McBaugh, State of Washington Dept. of Health l

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TABLE 1 GASEOUS EFFLUENT CORRECTIONS FOR SPC SEMI ANNUAL ENVIRONMENTAL REPORTS REQUIRED UNDER 10CFR 70.59 l

Monitoring Year Semi Annual Originally _

Estimated LUR Corrected Semi Report Date Reported Contribution, pCl Annual Total, pCl Radioactive Emissions, pCi 1985 01/17/86

< 7.96 4.46

< 12.42 07/15/86

< 9.28 16.25

< 25.53 1986 01/07/87

< 7.99 16.25

< 24.24 07/23/87

< 9.82 25.75

< 35.57 1987 01/26/88

< 7.53 25.75

< 33.28 07/26/88

< 12.45 17.95

< 30.40 1988 01/20/89

< 7.71 17.95

< 25.66 07/18/89

< 7.17 2.4

< 9.57 1989 01/15/90

< 7.74 2.4

< 10.14 07/20/90

< 9.95 3.55

< 13.50 1990 01/23/91 7.16 3.55 10.71 08/06/91 6.57 4.55 11.12 1991 02/11/92 10.50 4.55 15.05 i

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