ML20132E034
| ML20132E034 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 12/18/1996 |
| From: | Michele Burgess NRC OFFICE OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL SAFETY & SAFEGUARDS (NMSS) |
| To: | Peterson B ARMY, DEPT. OF |
| References | |
| SSD, NUDOCS 9612200257 | |
| Download: ML20132E034 (2) | |
Text
-
~
~.
.~. -
t, % )
ji-j
_ h l
l-
'?
l 1
I December 18, 1996,
Ms. Betty Peterson s
- Dept. of the Army Headquarters, U.S. Army Armament
- Munitions and Chemical Command
' ATTN: - AMSMC-SFS (385-11m) i
. Rock Island, IL 61299-6000 i
Dear Ms. Peterson:
We have recently become aware that the Army has identified a possible leakage i
1 problem with the cell module in the M43A1 Chemical Agent Detectors (CAD). Please provide an analysis of this problem, including cause of failure, rate of failure, how much leakage per i
' cell, and a discussion of any corrective actions taken and proposed corrective actions.
Please provide the requested information within thirty (30) days of the date of this letter. If j
j you have any questions, please contact me at (301) 415-5868 or Mr. Steven Baggett at j
(301) 415-7273.
k Sincerely, Dri inal si:ned by' t
i Michele L. Burgess, Mechanical Engineer Sealed Source Safety Section Medical,' Academic, and Commercial Use Ssfety Branch.
Division of Industrial and Medical Nuclear Safety Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards
~
9612200257 961218
(
I PDR RC i
SSD PDR l
Distribution:
f, y 4,,. t SSSS r/f
- NE02-SSDF/
r A'
l Document name: C:\\SSSS\\ ARMY.OUT Ta receive a copy of this document, Indicate in the box: "C" = Copy without attachment / enclosure "E* = Copy' with attachment / enclosure "N" = No cny
~
~
~dFFiDE IMAB lC lidXB Q
- l jl l
l
]
l NAME MBurgess/mbg SBaggett
~BKT'E -
12/ /r/ /96 12/ f@ /96 l
OFFICIAERECDRDTCOPY NRCyM CMS W
)
dM9 ' MO 'cgi.
A'nigstiva'razult on a wipa hasE~ ~
^ ' ~ ^ ~
^
~
crthing'cacectchie cbove normf %ckground) says thzt h
M8A1 or CAM ccn ba safely ha mldierc
/
pithout unknowingly exposing tt
/ radiation.
A positiva wipe t-f)[
disintegrations per minute (dp
/ for the CAM will cause additic What about Radiation Testing (RATTS)? Wel1 the RATTS is
[
is simply a recorder of infc
[
hM g [
to give us, the licensee, vf device (radioactive source) baing wipe tested so that 5
(,,4 g door, we can show them tha'
,,, 4 3 (j<,./
control over the sources.
the subject of controverr
-6g m de that calling an M8A1 ef jp for lack of a wipe test y
'Q W a [ps,:-
is the fault of the RATT.
y c
(f N -*
offense, but that is non ghg If you can document that _,
(
["'
7 h-on yratr M8A1 or CAM as requireo,,
dsvice regardless of what might be in t....
- (
database.
Proof can be the maintenance form w.,
N the test and the result received from the laboratory.
Q Rock Island Test lab always sends results back to the Wk k
maintenance activity performing the test.
If you get kd
'3,4?,.
notices from RATTS that a wipe test is overdue and you T'
did the test as required, get this straightened out with the reporting activity in the Directorate of Logistic:-
(Serialization Officer) of your installation.
If you are gatting overdue wipe test notices for devices you no r)(
longer have then records of those turn ins have not been l
'h/
properly recorded in the RATTS and, again, the reporting activity is the proper person to see, along with
/)
I the property book officer.
/
/
VII.
M43Al Chemical Detector Turn In:
Know the Code g!
/
Wa have been getting word from item managers for
{
some time that M43Al Chemical Agent Detectors
\\
/ '. /
L,s (CAD) are being turned in on reports of excess coded H I
f (unrepairable).
Since the Defense Logistics Agency
[4 (DLA) has taken over the supply shipping and receiving function for all the services, they have established a-policy that no radioactive commodities will be accepted Y,
p that are in Code H condition.
This is to prevent depots
{
j under DLA control from becoming warehouse sites for radioactive waste. Any M43Al CAD that is unrepairable, j
]
therefore, must be turned over to the post Radiation g
Protection Officer (RPO) to store for disposal as radioactive waste.
We figure there could be several reasons for coding H the M43Al CAD.
The first being that it has been run
\\
over by a vehicle and smashed nearly flat.
This would i
generally warrant a code H but it also means you should notify the RPO who should come out and locate the cell module, gather up the pieces in a plastic bag and do wipe tests to make sure that the source itself was not damaged.
In ten years we are not aware of one incident where a cell module was found to be leaking after getting
'\\
run over.
i Another reason might be that since January 1995, we have been restricting maintenance to pull and replace of i
I major assemblies. This is a..eafety precaution established
}
due to some possible leakage problems detected with the call module.
The aim is to prevent exposure of DS f
maintenance personnel to americium-241.
People may