ML20209G101

Employee Concern XX-85-048-001, Adequacy of PSO Uniform in Nuclear Plant Environ

ML20209G101
Person / Time
Site:	Sequoyah
Issue date:	07/30/1986
From:	Lagergren W, Mcvay J, Shewbridge E TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY
To:
Shared Package
ML20209G085	List: ML20209G082 ML20209G101 ML20209G115 ML20209G140 ML20209G161 ML20209G176
References
1275T, 312.01-SQN, NUDOCS 8609120369
Download: ML20209G101 (4)

Text

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Y TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY SEQUOYAH NUCLEAR PLANT EMPLOYEE CONCERNS TASK GROUP OPERATIONS CEG -

Subcategory Adequacy of PSO Uniform in Nuclear Plant Environment Employee Concern: XX-85-048-001 Report No.: 312.01 SQN I

l Evaluator: b( . h/ i [M ' 7!hd/7[

J. L.' McVay l / Ddte' Reviewed by: h 7/3C[8f OPS CEG Memberf Date Approved by: . . ~,e 7[30/IS W. R. Lagerg ren d Date 860912O369 860909 PDR ADOCK 05000327 P PDR m.

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I. Adequacy of Public Safety Officer Uniforms This evaluation centers around the concern that Public Safety Services uniform trousers may attract airborne contamination or contribute to injury to the wearer during the performance of firefighting activities normally expected of the PSO, II. Specific Evaluation Methodology i This report evaluates one concern, XX-85-048-001, which states that Public Safety Officer trousers, (which are made of synthetic materials) pose two safety problems. These are:

1. Clothing made of synthetic materials does not burn, but melts to a person's skin.

. 2. The trousers build up a great deal of static electricity and will attract airborne contamination in the event of an airborne radiation leak.

The methodology for this evaluation addresses four aspects of the Concern.

1. The validity of the concern

2. The adequacy of any recommendations resulting from NSRS or line investigation

3. Verification of any line response to recommendations

4. Verification of any corrective actions The concern is considered as a closed issue as a result of a line management response dated August 19, 1985. The concern and the associated response were reviewed and some additional background information is included for clarity. Physical Security Instruction, PHYSI-13 was also reviewed to determine Public Safety Services responsibilities during fire emergencies.

III. Findings Background Information (Airborne Contamination)

When an individual is exposed to airborne contamination, there are two primary concerns: Internal disposition of radionuclides and/or external radiation exposure from the airborne cloud.

TVA Nuclear Plants are required to monitor radiation areas and to post the area as an " Airborne Contamination Area" whenever the concentration of airborne radionuclides reach 25 percent of the maximum permissible concentration (MPC). Entry into an airborne contamination area is Page 1 of 3

o 5- e strictly controlled by a Radiation Work Permit (RWP). All security officers who would have a need to enter an airborne contamination area would be required to wear full,C-zone clothing and respiratory protective equipment. General Employee Training which is required for Public Safety Officers who require access to the Power Block, fully explains these controls and processes and includes the dress out procedure for removing street clothing and donning protective anti-C clothing. The TVA radiation protection program prohibits wearing street clothing in areas designated and controlled as airborne contamination areas. ,

General Employee Training also addresses controls in place to detect accidental releases of airborne contamination through discussions relating to the purpose of Continuous Air Monitors (CAM), the alarm function of the CAM and instructions to the individual should he/she be in an area when a CAM alarms. The individual is trained to immediately evacuate the area and to call Health Physics (HP) to ensure that any resultant contamination, either internal or external, is detected and the clothing, hair, skin is appropriately decontaminated. Should the Public Safety Officer approach his/her internal quarterly MPC limit, which is continually monitored and documented on individual exposure records by HP, then that individual would be prohibited from working in a radiation or regulated area for the remainder of the quarter.

Adequate training and controls are in place at SQN to ensure that airborne contamination attracted to Public Safety Officer uniforms would represent only a small fraction of the radiological hazard to an individual exposed to radioactive gaseous releases even though doubleknit trousers may attract airborne contamination more than would, for instance, cotton trousers. Although radioactive noble gases decay to rubidium 88 and cesium 138, which exhibits a high affinity for clothing and hair, these elements have a very short half-life (17 and 30 minutes respectively) and within an hour's time, these elements will decay to nondetectable limits.

Background Information (Heat versus Synthetic Material)

Public Safety Officer uniform trousers are made of polyester doubleknit materials which are generally recognized as being susceptible to melting and burning at high temperatures. The concern expressed centers around the requirement for Public Safety Officers to assist the ONP fire brigade in fighting plant fires.

The plant implementation procedure PHYSI-13 defines the Public Safety Officer role in fighting fires as a support function with actual firefighting to be conducted by plant operators specifically trained for this function. Public Safety Officers do not have a primary fire brigade membership responsibility and, as a consequence, the use of polyester doubleknit trousers as a part of their uniform, should not be a problem related to their firefighting responsibilities.

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g Line Management Investigation Report The line management response dated August 19, 1985, to this concern did not find the employee concern to be valid and does not contain any recommendations or corrective actions. The response is adequate. The response references earlier evaluations done by the Plant Uniform Committee composed of Public Safety Officers and line management which support the August 19, 1985 report findings. The additional background details contained in this report was not included in the response, however, line management has responded appropriately'.

Conclusion This evaluation of concern XX-85-048-001 concurs with the line management report findings. The uniform trousers do not present an unacceptable level of risk to the officers wearing synthetic trousers 4 and the concern is not a valid concern.

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IV. Root Cause None V. Generic Applicability This element does have a generic applicability for TVA because the Public Safety Officer uniform worn is the same at each Nuclear .

Generating Plant. However, a site specific evaluation for other TVA Nuclear Plants is not required because site specifics relative to these concerns will not change between plants.

VI. References

1. Physical Security Instruction Manual, PHYSI-13, Revision 48,

2. Line Management Investigation Report, August 19, 1985.

VII. Proposed Immediate or Long-term Corrective Action None Page 3 of 3