ML20199L834
| ML20199L834 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | BWX Technologies, 07001201, 07000824 |
| Issue date: | 04/03/1986 |
| From: | Ketzlach N NRC OFFICE OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL SAFETY & SAFEGUARDS (NMSS) |
| To: | Crow W NRC OFFICE OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL SAFETY & SAFEGUARDS (NMSS) |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 8604100452 | |
| Download: ML20199L834 (4) | |
Text
-- .--
g-p L A+
om p 1 0 - I.2 O f 10 - YM T
APR 3 1986 MEMORANDUM FOR: W.T. Crow, Acting Chief Uranium Fuel Licensing Branch Division of Fuel Cycle and Material Safety-FROM: Norman Ketzlach Uranium Process Licensing Section Uranium Fuel Licensing Branch
SUBJECT:
SITE VISIT TO BABC0CK & WILCOX, URANIUM FUEL LICENSED FACILITIES, LYhCHBURG, VIRGINIA, (MARCH 10-14, 1986)
I. INTRODUCTION On March 10-14, 1986, N. Ketzlach, A. L. Soong, and M. A. Young visited the three licensed Babcock & Wilcox facilities to accomplish the following:
- 1. Review operations of the Naval Nuclear Fuel Division (NNFD, SNM-42) and to discuss controls to ensure nuclear criticality safety with the licensee and Region II staff.
- 2. Review operations of the Commercial Nuclear Fuel Plant (CNFP, SNM-ll68) and to discuss the license amendment application requesting organizational changes and an additional fuel handling operation.
- 3. Review operations of the Lynchburg Research Center (LRC, SNM-778), the status of the program to decontaminate Building C to limits acceptable for release to unrestricted use, and to discuss NRC comments on the LRC license renewal application.
II. DISCUSSION A. NNFD A review of the operations at the NNFD was held on March 10-11, 1986, with the i
following principal attendees:
i 4
NNFD Representatives l R. Cordani, Manager, Health, Safety and Licensing ,
R. Regan, Nuclear Safety and Licensing Officer '
l R. Taylor, Licensing Administrator G. Rosenberger, Health Physicist R. Vinton, Health Physicist i
I 8604100452 860403 PDR ADOCK 07000027 C PDR
r W. T. Crow 2 R3 986 NRC Representatives N. Ketzlach, NMSS A. L. Soong, NMSS M. A.. Young, NMSS J. B. Kahle, RII D. A. Kasnicki, RII A tour of the manufacture of the navy fuel, the manufacture of the test reactor fuel, the scrap recovery operations, and the waste disposal facilities 4as conducted by the supervisor of the respective operations. Mr. John Kahle, principal Region II Fuel Inspector of the fa'cility, identified areas on which.
he solicited NMSS comments. In particular, he solicited comments on the nuclear criticality safety controls in the drum-counting room and in the ventilation i system leading from the recovery area to the environment. He requested N. Ketzlach to attend a special meeting with Region II and NNFD personnel on March 13, 1986. -
The latter meeting was attended by the following: R. Cordani, N. Regan, R. Taylor, F. M. Alcorn, A. Kodelka, NNFD representatives; and N. Ketzlach, .
J. Kahle, D. A. Kasnicki, NRC representatives. '
Included in the discussion was the standards fo'r calibrating the drum counter and the method of storage of uranium wastes, particularly, those recovered from the ductwork related to the scrap. recovery operations, ar well as the nuclear safety analysis made by NNFD as the basis for establishing nuclear criticality safety storage criteria for the drum counting room. There are approximately 40 containers (3 mi to 55 gallon drums) containing U-235 varying from 10 g U-235/ liter in solution in 3 mi standards to 100 g U-235 in 55 gallon drums. The posted limits authorize the storage of 350 g contained U-235 on 23-inch squares. No criteria were specified for the minimum edge-to-edge distance between uranium in adjacent squares. The NNFD nuclear criticality safety analysis was based on models in which the 350 g were stored as point sources in the center of the drums or distributed uniformly over different radii within the drums. The analysis made apply only to the storage of U-235 in the center'of the 55 gallon drums or when distributed as indicated in the'model used for the analysis. It does not apply to quantities of uranium grouped in different' sizes of containers and in which there is no control over the minimum edge-to-edge spacing between groupings of containers with different quantities of U~235 in each grouping.
The Nuclear Criticality Safety Engineers for the NNFD (LRC personnel) will make i
the appropriate study to encompass all conditions of storage in the drum counting room. The study will serve as a basis for setting the storage limits for the room.
The second topic discussed was the control of nuclear criticality safety in the i
ductwork leading from the scrap recovery area to the environment via the packed wet' scrubbers. The importance was stressed on having knowledge of the buildup of U-235 in the ductwork so that corrective action levels can be established long before a potential criticality condition can develop. The NNFD is again reviewing its controls to ensure nuclear criticality safety in the ductwork.
l
- _ . , - - - , , ._ _~~_. - ~ .__.,_ _ , _ ,. . -. _ _ _ . _ - - - -
APP 3 eqq W. T. Crow 3 B. CNFP The review of the operations of the CNFP included a tour of the LWR fuel fabrication facility, the areas of storage and maintenance of a Failed Fuel Rod Detection System, and the storage of natural and enriched (<5.0 percent U-235)
UFs in cylinders and natural uranium oxides. The license amendment request to authorize a change in the CNFP organization and an additional fuel handling operation were also discussed. The following personnel participated in the review and discussion: D. W. Zeff, Manager, Operations Support; J. P. Watters, License & Control Administrator, CNFP representatives; and N. Ketzlach, A. L.
Soong, M. A. Young, G. L. Troup, NRC representatives.
The CNFP will review our comments and submit page changes to resolve our comments. .
C. LRC The following personnel participated in the review of the LRC operations and/or 1 discussion of the NRC comments on the license renewal application and amendment application requesting authorization for'a change in organization:
LRC Representatives A. F. Olsen, Senior License Administrator R. L. Bennett, Manager, Safety and Licensing G. S. Hoovler, Manager, Decommissioning M. McFarlane, Contracting Supervisor, Health and Safety (employee of LRC contractor)
S. W. Schilthelm, LRC Health Physicist
- F. M. Alcorn, Nuclear Safety Officer Mr. Olsen conducted the tour of the facility highlighting the current activities, the status of the various decontamination activities under both reactor and nuclear materials licenses, the storage facilities for irradiated materials, and the formerly contaminated hillside.
Mr. G. Hoovler discussed the supplementary information on Phase I of the decontamination of Building C and the responses to the Region II comments the latter made after its confirmatory radiological survey of Phase I (memo K. P.
Barr to W. T. Crow, dated February 19, 1986). The decontamination work was very extensive and included the digging of a number of deep trenches within the building to remove contamination from the floor. The LRC is anxious to receive NRC concurrence indicating the Phase I meets the criteria for unrestricted use so LRC can gainfully continue to employ the decontamination crew in making the building useable.
The NRC draft comments on the LRC license renewal application, including Region II comments previously discussed with Mr. J. B. Kahle, Region II Principal Facility Inspector, were discussed with LRC personnel. In anticipation of receipt of our formal comments, LRC is preparing its responses.
l
APR 3 IS6S W. T. Crow' 4 III. CONCLUSION The site visit provided-the HMSS staff with an update of the activities at the three Babcock & Wilcox (B&W) licensed-facilities in Lynchburg, Virginia. It served as a good training introduction to fuel handling operations at licensed facilities to a new NMSS staff member. It also provided NMSS the opportunity
.to discuss its comments on the LRC renewal application, and the concerns of Region II regarding activities at the NNFD.
Ori Cin31 SiSned By:
N. Ketulach Norman Ketzlach Uranium Process Licensing Section Uranium Fuel Licensing Branch Division of Fuel Cycle and Material Safety, NMSS 3
DISTRIBUTION
,0?cket;70-8247
~
NMSS R/F FCUP R/F
- s. VLTharpe Beveridge/ Cornell 1-23 PDR NKetzlach ALSoong
.MAYoung
_i
_1__
NAME:NK
., _____1__ /21___ _
_T ivf loch /vt:ALSoong:MAYoung :VLTharpe :WTCrow
$ib : :
DATE hbb 3hffh8b b/h /8b k/b hbb
/
['
OFFICIAL REC 0pr <npy bb 1
'J ,
i
.k