ML20216H377
| ML20216H377 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | 05000131 |
| Issue date: | 06/12/1987 |
| From: | Turcotte R DEPT. OF VETERANS AFFAIRS MEDICAL CENTER, OMAHA |
| To: | Yandell L NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION IV) |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 8707010390 | |
| Download: ML20216H377 (2) | |
Text
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Medic:1 Cent:r 4101 Woolworth Avenue Omaha NE 68105 i
WeWm Adm*in'istrat'on yj gy i
In Reply R e, u 036/151 June 12, 1987 Lawrence A. Yandell, Chief Radiological Protection and Safeguards Branch Region IV U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 611 Ryan Plaza Drive Suite 1000 Arlington, Texas 76011
Dear Mr. Yandell:
Re:
50-131/87-01 Pursuant to the provisions of 10 CFR 2.201, the following reply is submitted to the " Notice of Violation" for our NRC inspection conducted on April 13-17, 1987.
A.
Operator Requalification Program The Reactor Supervisor misinterpreted paragraph 5.6 chapter 5 of the application for renewal of License No. R-57 for the Omaha Veterans Administration Medical Center, dated May 10, 1979, which states
" Successful completion of the initial NRC licensing examination will be considered to satisfy the licensee's annual retraining requirements. Such an individual's retraining program would be started with the next comprehensive examination scheduled at least six months af ter the licensee's initial licensing date."
It was his impression that since the initial licensing exam was given November 12, 1985, the requalification training year would begin November 12, 1986 with a written examination in July 1987.
However, informal undocumented tutoring sessions for the Senior Reactor Operator were held between November 1985 and April 16, 1987, and the operator was systematically observed, and his performance and competency evaluated.
It is now realized that this was an erroneous a s sum ptio n.
In order to be in compliance with the Requalification Training Program, the following steps were initated on April 17, 1987.
1.
Lectures and tutoring will be scheduled at a set time each week.
The completed authenticated lecture series outline will be filed in the training requalification file.
2.
Manipulation of reactor controls as outlined in paragraph 5.3(a) will be carried out at a set time cach month and recorded in the reactor log.
3.
On-the-job training to demonstrate the understanding and operation of all apparatus and knowledge of operating procedures will be ca rried out by discussing and documenting one subject each month.
4.
Facility design changeo, procedure changes and facility license changes will be discussed and recorded as they occur.
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5.
Abnormal and Emergency Procedures will be revieved quarterly at a set time, and the review documented in the senior operator's requalification log.
6.
Systematic observation and evaluation of the performance of the senior operator will be documented monthly by means of a checklist.
7.
Written examination will be conducted annually and evaluated no later than September 1 of each year.
The above training will be conducted regardless of any research commitments on the scheduled day.
B.
Technical Specification Surveillance This violation was also due to a nisinterpretation by the Reactor Supervisor who also wrote the Technical Specification.
When he wrote "every two weeks," he was thinking twice a month and consequently set up the water surveillance frequency with that in mind.
However, it was noted that in addition to not measuring the pH every two weeks, the dates recorded on the Reactor Supervisor's computer checklist for some months did not have a pH recorded in the log.
Several of the missing pH measurements were due to a malfunction of the pH meter, but this fact should have been recorded in the log.
During some months, the pH was measured three times a month so the total number of pH measurements mede was 26.
Effective April 17, 1987, the standard operation procedure will be to measure the pH of the reactor water every week and, if the pH meter malfunctions, an entry will be made in the reactor log and the pH of the water will be meaoured with a meter in one of the hospital research laboratories. The reactor operating staff had not done this in the past since the probe they use is particularly suited for ultra-pure water, and the research laboratory probes are not.
Since the corrective action for the above vielations was taken immediately, the Omaha VA Medical Center is in full compliance as of the date of this letter.
Sincerely,
~
d I (.A % 3 R.L. TURCOTTE Director