ML20198L312

Provides Addl Info Requested in Re Transfer of Two Depleted U Bullets from Cimarron Site to State of Wa Dept of Health.State of Wa License & Shipping Records of Transfer Encl

ML20198L312
Person / Time
Site:	07003073
Issue date:	12/01/1998
From:	Lux J KERR-MCGEE CORP.
To:	Brown S NRC OFFICE OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL SAFETY & SAFEGUARDS (NMSS)
References
NUDOCS 9901040151
Download: ML20198L312 (6)

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. KERR-McGEE OORPORMION KERR-McGEE CENTER e OKLAHOMA CITY. OKLAHOMA 73175 L

December 1,1998 Mr. Stewart Brown-l Low level Waste & Decommissioning Projects Branch

' Division of Waste Management j

Office of Nuclear Materials Safety & Safeguards l

U. S._ Nuclear Regulatory Commission

. Washington, D.C. 20555 Docketh'o. 70-307h Re:

License N. SNM-T999

Dear'Mr. Brown:

Kerr-McGee Corporation (KMC) received your letter dated November 13,1998 regarding the transfer of two depleted uranium bullets from the Cimarron site to the State of Washington's

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Department of Health. You requested additional information from KMC because the bullets apparently originated from the Cushing facility.

The two depleted uranium bullets were machined from depleted uranium originally generated at l

the Cushing site. The' depleted uranium was reportedly shipped to New York, where it was ble' ded with' molybdenum and shaped into rods. The rods were returned to Cushing and then n

sent to a machine shop in New Mexico, to be machined into 50-caliber tracer bullets. Finished -

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l rounds were shipped to a Frankfort, Kentucky arsenal; off-spec bullets and scrap were returned I

to Cushing.

As the Cushing license with AEC was being terminated in the 1960's, off-spec bullets and uranium / molybdenum scrap was transferred to Cimarron. Two bullets were kept by Cimarron to

!be used as check sources for their decommissioning efforts. The remaining off-spec bullets and scrap were buried in Burial Area #1 at Cimarron.

Cimarron decommissioning eventually progressed to a point where all of Burial Arma #1 was exhumed and shipped to a licensed disposal site. Upon nearing completion of the Cimarron decommissioning efforts the check sources were no longer needed. Cimarron received an expression of interest in the two off-spec DU bullet check sources from the State of Washington Department of Health and upon verifying their license allowed such possession, the two off-spec bullets were transferred to Washington State Dept. of Health with shipment occurring on October 22,1997.

Personnel at the Cushing and Cimarron sites are not aware of any remaining depleted uranium

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" bullets at either site. There has been speculation that some off-spec bullets may have been L

removed from the Cushing site as personal souvenirs, but KMC has no evidence c*

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. documentation'of that and cannot confirm or deny the speculation.

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It is important to note that much of this information is anecdotal. KMC has fomxt no records regarding the uranium bullets at Cushing, but records do exist of the shipment of the two DU

' bullets to the State of Washing. n by Cimarron. I attach a copy of the State of Washington license and the shipping records of that transfer.

If you have any quenons or comments regarding these bullets, please call me at (405) 270-2694 (OKC) or (918) 225-7753 (Cushing).

Sincerely, 7

eff Lux Project Manager Attachments xc:

C. L. Cain, NRC Region IV Cushing Citizens' Oversight Committee i

Earlon Shirley, ODEQ Darrell Shults, ODEQ l

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NOTICE OF SHIPMENT l

FROM l

CIMARRON CORPORATION A SUBSIDIARY OF KEI.R-McGEE Corporation P.O. BOX 315 - CRESCENT, OK 73028 company GARY ROBERTSON, DEPT. OF HEALTH N rop"'y doenbw belowin appmut god ader acept as noid (coments and condition or P

. STATE OF WASHINGTON contents of packages unknown), marked, consigned and destined as indicated below which said c i,tas w.d cam, being

d. stow m,oughoui mis contract as me.ing.y -.

Corporation in possession of the property under the contract) agrees to carry to its usual place of address AIR DUSTRIAL CENTER, BLDG,5 delivery at said destination. If on its own route, otherwise to deliver to another camer on the route to said destination. It is mutnur agrew a to each carrier of all or any of said property that every service to be performed bereunder shall be subject to all the terms and conditions of the Uniform City OLYMPIA Domestic Straight Bill oflading set forth (!)in Official, Southern, Western and Blinois freight clanincation in effect on the daie hereof, f this is a rail or a rail weer shipment, or (2) in the apphcable motor carrier classification or tariff if this is a tuotor carrier shipment.

State WASHINGTON SWpper bueby c tina eat he is famh4 aX ee tants.d cMtions d6e nid NH d ladmg including those on the back thereof set forth in the classifications or tariff which governs the tnesportation of this shipment and the said tenns and conditions are hereby agreed to by the shipper zip 98504-7827 "d"''d'"'i"""d""

gross wt.

Date Of Shipment 10/22/97 Customer Order Number MATERIAL DESCRIPTION Pounds N/A tonbe of NOT DOT REGULATED TransportID No.

Shipment No.

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N/A CF-1372 ilak-falla RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL, EXCEPTED PACKAGE ARTICLES MANUFACTURED FROM NATURAL OR DEPLETED URANIUM OR NATURAL TIIORIUM.

Shipping Method FED-X PICKUP NO.# 79 218 GMS. DEPLETED 68 Oross Ib Total Phone: 1-800-238-5355 E Dep. Uranium O

%U-235 O U-238 O U-234 0,,,,,, %U-235 OTC" O

%U-235 O Other ST M lTY CLASS UNSTABLE WASTE FORM CLASS CLASS A PHYSICAL FORM DEPLETED URANIUM METAL m-ACTIVITY OF SHIPMENT mci.07 RADIOACTIVE LABEL APPLIED EXCEPTED Mbq 2.59 FISSILE CLASS TRANSPORTINDEX FISSILE ACCEPTED CHEMICAL FORM OXIDES HAZARD CLASS EXCCPTED RADIONUCLIDE

.OFF-SITE.

SMEARABLE CONTAMINATION PAllSURFACE DOSE RATE ( < 0 00 k mSv) { /0,2. mrem /ht).

<22OO d/m-100 cm2 beta gamma Shipment '

PAIL DOSE RATE @ 6 ft ( 4 0,90 h mSv) ( sp, A mrem /hr).

<'OQD d/m-100cm alpha 2

DATA 1 IDENTIFICATION # 5 GALLON PAIL UNIA2 37A80 Y368 INCASE OF EMERGENCY CALL (405)282-2935 Dy (IIcalth Physicist) <77j

[QM This is to certify that the above-named materials are properly classified, described, packaged, marked and labeled and are in proper condition for transporte according to the applicable regulations of the Department of Transportation and NRC.

51f the shipment moves between two parts by a carrier by water, the law requires that the bill oflading shall state whether it is " carriers' or shippers weight" NOTE-Where the rate is dependent on value, shippers are required to state specifically in writing the agreed or declared value of the property. The agreed or decla the poperty hereby specifically stated by the shipper to be not exceeding.

CIMARRON CQRPORATION BY 4-DATE /0~22 O ~7 VIR(.ill RICI DS DRIVER'VSIGNATURE Cy M.W. HODO

OCT C3 '97 12:05Ft1 DCH RAD PROTECTION P.3/5 l,-

Stata of Washington

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,u Radioactive Materials License q

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ress C0 ERECTED COPY 04/15/94 I

Pursuant to the Nuclear Energy and Radiation Control Act, RCW "/0.98, and the Radiation Control Regulations, Chapters 24220 l

throu5h 2E-255 WAC, and in reliance on statements and representations heretofore made by the licensee designated below, a license is hereby issued authorizing such licensee to transfer, receive, possess and use the radioactive material (s) designated below; and to use such radioactive materials for the purpose (s) and at the place (s) designated below. This liccuse is subject to all applicable rules and regulations promulgated by the State of Washington Department of Health.

AMENDMENT NO. 6

5. g-3.u== w UN-LO111-1 is amended in its DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH entirety to read as follows:

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DIVISION OF RADIATION PROTECTION

• bp enoa 30 June 1999 Post Office Box 47827 Olympia, Washington 98504-7827

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A, Atomic Number 1-83.

A. ANY.

a. 100 mci (3700 megabecquerels) of any single isotope, not to exceed 500 mC1 (18,500 megabecquerels) total.

mci B. Atomic Number 86-101.

B. ANY.

B. 10 rtt-i- (370 megabecquerels) of any single isotope, not to exceed 100 mci (3700 megabecquerels) total.

C. Any Radioactive C. ANY.

C. As necessary for uses author-Katerial.

ized by License condition 9.C.

/ltiviilvltivlilviriviilvlilvisivitivitivinis CONDITIONS 9.

Authorized use.

A.

Sealed sources for calibration and reference use; and contamination present on articles, wipes, and environmental samples.

B.

,Same as C.A.

C.

Any sealed or unsealed radioactive material being safeguarded for the protection of the public health.

Ni M414 (N9*.1/I1) 10/08/97 WED 14:03 ITX/RX NO 51301

OCT E3 'c37 12:0 EPM DOH RAD PROTECTION P.4/5

,1 State of Washington

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o Radioactive Materials License

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Amendment No. 6 10.

Radioactive materials shall be stored and/or used at Bldg. 5, Airdustrial Center, Olympia, Washington or temporary inspection sites within the l

boundaries of Washington state.

11.

The licensee shall comply with the provisions of Chapter 246-220 WAC,

" Radiation Protection Ceneral Provisions";

Chapter 246-221 UAC.

" Radiation Protection Standards";

Chapter 246-222 UAC,

" Radiation Protection -- Worker Rights"; Chapter 246-235 WAC, " Radioactive Material Specific Licenses"; Chapter, 246-247 WAC, " Air Emissions"; Chapter 246-269 WAC, "Use of Commercial Disposal Site".

12.

The Radiation' Safety Officer for this program shall be Terry C. Frazee, Supervisor, Radioactive 11aterials Section.

13.

Radioactive material shall be used by or under the supervision of Terry C.

Frazee, Radiation Safety Officer, J.A. Waite, Assistant Radiation Safety officer, op designated Health Physicist of the office of Radiation Protection.

14.

The radioactive materials authorized in this license shall not be used in human beings or in products distributed to the public; 15.

The transport of licensed material by the licensee, or the delivery of licensed material to a carrier for transport, shall be in accordance with WAC 246-232-090 " Transportation "

16.

The licensee's emergency procedures shall conform to procedures outlined in the Washington State Radiation Emergency Handbook revised November 1991 or subsequent revisions, 17.

A.1.

Each sealed source containing licensed material shall be tested for leakage and/or contamination at intervals not to exceed six months.

In the absence of a certificate from a transferor indicating that a test has been made within six months prior to the transfer, a sealed source received from another person shall not be put into use until tested, 2.

Notwithstanding the periodic leak test required by this condition, any licensed sealed source is exempt from such leak tests when the source contains 100 microcuries (3.7 megabecquerels) or less of beta and/or gamma emitting material or 10 microcuries (370 kilobecquerels) or less of alpha emitting material.

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OCT 08 '97 12:OEPM DOH RAD PROTECTION P.5/5

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State of Washington Radicactive Materials License 1

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Amendment No. 6 B.

The test shall be capable of detecting the presence of 0.005 microcurie (185 becquerels) of radioactive material on the test sample.

The test sample shall be taken from the sealed source or from the surfaces of the device in which the sealed source is permanently mouM ed or stored on which one might expect contamination to accumulate. Records of leak test results shall be kept in units of microcurie's (or becquerels) and maintained for inspection by the department.

C.

If the test reveals the presence of 0.005 mierecurie (185 becquerels) or more of removable contamination, the licensee shall immediately withdraw the sealed source from use and shall cause it to be decontaminated and repaired or to be disposed in accordance with department regulations.

A report shall be filed within five (5) days of the test with the department describing the equipmen't involved, the test results, and the corrective action taken.

D.

The licensee is authorized to perform leak test sampling in accordance with their Radioactive Materials License Application. The analysis shall be performed by persons specifically authorized by the department, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, an Agreement State, or a Licensing State to perform such services.

Alterna-tively, leak test samples may be collected and/or analyzed by other personr. specifically authorized by the department, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, an Agreement State, or a Licensing State to perform such services.

Licensing State authorization applies to naturally occurring and accelerator produced radioactive material (NARM) only.

18.

Except as specifically provided by this license, the licensee shall possess and use radioactive material described in Items 6, 7,

and 8 of this license in accordance with statements, representations and procedures contained in the documents listed below.

The department's Rule s and Regulations for Radiation Protection" shall govern the licensee's statements in applications or letters, unless the statements are more rescrietive than the regulations.

A.

Application and attachments dated 6 Au$ust 1992,,

Fot THE STATE of WASHINGYoM DEPARTMENT or MALTH pday 828 oate January 28. 1904

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Radioact e Materials Licensing i

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