ML20066B780
| ML20066B780 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Point Beach  |
| Issue date: | 09/27/1982 |
| From: | Fay C WISCONSIN ELECTRIC POWER CO. |
| To: | James Keppler NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION III) |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20066B769 | List: |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 8211090187 | |
| Download: ML20066B780 (3) | |
Text
-
a e
ntsconsin Electnc mcwn 231 W. MICHIGAN, P.1. BOX 2046, MILWAUKEE Wl 53201 J
0 September 27, 1982 Mr. J. G. Keppler, Regional Administrator Office of Inspection and Enforcement, Region III U.
S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 799 Roosevelt Road Glen Ellyn, Illinois 60137
Dear Mr. Keppler:
DOCKET NOS. 50-266 AND 50-301 RESPONSE TO IE INSPECTION REPORT NOS. 50-266/82-13 AND 50-301/82-13 POINT BEACH NUCLEAR PLANT, UNITS 1 AND 2 Pursuant to the provisions of 10 CFR 2.201, provided herewith is our response to the Notice of Violation contained in NRC IE Inspection Report Nos. 50-266/82-13 and 50-301/80-13 dated August 26, 1982.
As you note in your cover letter to the inspection report, this incident has already been the subject of enforcement action by the State of South Carolina and has been resolved to the satisfaction of the State of South Carolina Health Department.
We believe that the corrective action we have taken should also be satisfactory to the NRC.
We would note, however, that this matter resulted from an unanticipated material difficulty which was resolved at the time of the inspection, and we believe the inspection report should have recognized the fact of its satisfactory resolution.
On July 16, 1982, the burial site operator in South l
Carolina noted excess free-standing liquid in one of our low-level waste drums in the course of a routine inspection and notified us.
We immediately investigated, found the new brand of cement to be the cause, and returned all remaining cement of the new brand to the vendor on July 21, 1982.
On July 27, we received formal notification of the excess water in one drum from the State of South Carolina.
The following corrective action is taken from our response to South Carolina Health Department dated August 12:
' '8211'090187'821027 PDR ADOCK 05000266 i
SEP 3 0 E02 0
s Mr. J. G. Keppler September 27, 1982 "This is in response to your letter of July 27, 1982, in which you notified us of a violation of Condition No. 26 of S. C. Radioactive Material License No. 097 with respect to Radioactive Waste Shipment No. 0782-078 from our Point Beach Nuclear Plant.
The viointion-consisted of the presence of liquid in one of the drums in excess of the prescribed limits set forth in License No. 097.
As you are aware, Chem-Nuclear Systems, Inc., had notified us of the problem upon discovery.
Corrective action was implemented immediately by our Point Beach Nuclear Plant staff.
The difficulty originated when our local cement supplier changed brands and informed us that the new brand was equivalent to the old.
However, our initial use of the new material proved to be difficult, although apparently satisfactory solidification was achieved with some additional treatment.
In the drum in question, it would appear that a measurable quantity of water desorbed from the rest of the mass in the course of transportation.
By contacting the manufacturers of both the old and the new brands, we determined that there are signi-ficant differences in the chemical compositions of the two cements.
The original brand consists of hydrated
- lime, i.e.,
calcium hydroxide, while the new brand consists of ground lime, i.e.,
calcium carbonate.
This difference explains the better ability of the original brand to bind water permanently.
Accordingly, we have returned the remainder of the new brand and have switched back to the original brand which has been satisfactory in our application for more than ten years.
Five drums prepared with the new cement remain at the plant.
These are being held for additional processing and will not be shipped until wholly satisfactory solidification has been demonstrated by repeated core drilling."
i As indicated in our response to the State of South Carolina, all remaining drums prepared with the unsatisfactory cement were scheduled for 100% reexamination and subsequent reprocessing as required.
The reprocessing of the five drums was completed on September 3, 1982.
s.
Mr. J. G. Keppler September 27, 1982 By letter dated August 23, 1982, the State of South Carolina advised us that the remedial action documented in our letter of August 12 is satisfactory.
Very truly yours, Assistant Vice President C. W. Fay Copy to NRC Resident Inspector
_ _ _ _ - _ - _ _