ML20236L168
| ML20236L168 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | 07000854 |
| Issue date: | 01/21/1977 |
| From: | Roy G, Thompson D, Warnick R NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE) |
| To: | |
| References | |
| PNO-77-012, PNO-77-12, NUDOCS 9807100251 | |
| Download: ML20236L168 (2) | |
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l PRELIMINARY NOTIFICATION i
January 21, 1977 l
i PRELIMINARY NOTIFICATION OF EVENT OR UNUSUAL OCCURRENCE-PNO-77-12
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This preliminary notification constitutes EARLY notice of an event of l
POSSIBLE safety or public interest significance. The information i
presented is as initially received without verification or evaluation and is basically all that is known by IE staff on this date.
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Facility: -AVC0 Corporation, Tulsa,. Oklahoma License No. SNM-791 (Formerly Dresser Industries) t
Subject:
PRESENCE OF RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL AT DECOMMISSIONED FACILITY i
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l Nuclear Sources and Services, Houston, Texas, informed Region IV by l
telephone on January 4,1977, that they had been employed by AVC0 Corporation, a current NRC licensee, to decontaminate facilities at the AVC0 plant in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in order to sell the properties.
The facilities were formerly owned and operated by Dresser' Industries, Dresser Research Division and used to fabricate cesium-137 sealed i
sources and other sources under an AEC license until operations 3
were transferred to the State of Texas in 1963.
In the early fifties,
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prior to licensing by the AEC, radium-226 was irradiated in reactors I
in Canada to produce actinium-227. The actinium was separated at the Tulsa facility in " hot" cells and actinium-beryllium neutron sealed i
l sources were manufactured.
I At the time of the transfer of activities to Texas, the licensee had decontaminated the facility to meet the criteria established by AEC l
Licensing in a letter to the licensee dated June 27, 1963. The licensee l
decontamination was confirmed by surveys made by Region IV and the license was terminated on September 4, 1963. The established criteria i
did not preclude the presence of byproduct material in the septic tanks or tile field as long as radiation was not detectable at the surface.
AVC0 Corporation, Tulsa, Oklahoma, was provided ccpies of the contamination surveys made by the licensee and Tracerlab at the time they acquired the l
properties and a copy of the AEC June 1963 report in June 1976.
Nuclear Sources and Services, Houston, Texas, has been engaged by AVC0 Corporation to decontaminate the buildings and recove t;he tile field and septic tank.
x Inspection by NRC on January 17, 18 and 19, 1977, disclosed that currently,
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removable alpha contamination ir. excess of release limits exists in one O[l of the buildings, and that the soil being removed from the tile and septic f'
tank area indicates a concentration of actinium-2:7 of 2 X 10-2 uci/gm.
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m-2 CONTINUED
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9807100251 770121 PDR I&E PNG-77-012 PDR
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s Page 2 PNO-77-12 Continued January'21, 1977 The State of Oklahoms has been notified. They are aware of the history of the facility and are advising AVC0 as to the current release limits for radium.
There has been no publicity and none is planned. Region IV will review the decontamination efforts of Nuclear Sources and Services who are performing the decontamination under an NRC general license granted pur-suant to 10 CFR 150.20, " Recognition of Agreement State Licenses." There has been no apparent radiological impact on the public.
Region IV-(Arlington, Texas) was notified of the plan to decontaminate the facility by telephone communication from Nuclear Sources and Services.
Houston, Texas, on January 4, 1977.
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Contact:
RFWarnick, IE x27261 GWRoy, IE x27261 DThompson, IE x27541 Distribution:
Chairman Rowdep S..J. Chilk, SECY G. F.
airphy, JCAE l
Commissioner Gilinsky
.C. C. Kannerer, CA Commissioner Kennedy W
L. V.'Gossick, EDO K. R. Chapman, NMSS R. G. Ryan, OSP S. H. Hanauer, EDO E. Volgenau, OIE J. A. Harris, PA B. C. Rusche, NRR' H. K. Shapar, ELD T. J. McTiernan, OIA Transmitted: PBldg 7;rf 11 St 9. TM MNBBAYM; Luge Av PRELIMINARY NOTIFICATION
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