ML20245B872
| ML20245B872 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 04/13/1989 |
| From: | Garcia E, Tenbrook W NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION V) |
| To: | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20245B867 | List: |
| References | |
| CON-NRC-32-83-681, REF-QA-99990005-890417 99990005-89-01, 99990005-89-1, NUDOCS 8904260335 | |
| Download: ML20245B872 (4) | |
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l U. $. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION, REGION ~V.
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2 Performance Appraisal Report No. 99990005/89 01 Cooperative Agreement NRC-32-83-681-Contractor: Arizona Radiation Regulatory. Agency 4814 South 40th,. Street p
. Phoenix,. Arizona.85040-Appraisal at:
ARRA Headquarters and Environmental Surveillance Laboratory l
Phoenix, Arizona l
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March 20-21, 1989 Appraisal Conducted:
Inspected by:. /
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't//3/e7 W. K. TenBrook, Radiation Specialist Date= Signed Approved by:
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TMJ//7' E. M. Garcia, Acting Chief Date Signed; 3
Facilities Radiological Protection Section oc v
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Summary,:
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Areas' Appraised:
Overall program', status, annual report,. facilities,. personnel and procedures.
NRC Inspection Manual Chapterl14151 criteria'and guidance were.
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Results: Overall program status wasfsuperiori The State'i. staffing, facilities-and equipment were. excellent.
- s. State and' licensee; measurements'of consistently identified radionuclides in. airyand water were3 n,agrehment.
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DETAILS 1.
Persons Contacted G. Freeland, Radiation Regulatory Officer, ARRA J. Lamb, Radiation Regulatory Officer,' ARRA P. Weeden, Manager, ARRA Environmental Surveillance Laboratory 2.
Management Suppert The State of Arizona had maintained a strong emphasis on radiological environmental monitoring around the Palo Verde site.. In particular, the State budget had been supportive of. ARRA and its Laboratory through monies received from the Nuclear Emergency Management Fund,.a fund supported by the utilities participating in the Arizona Nuclear Power Project.
These resources, and the resulting improvements to the NRC-contract performance, were indicative of superior management support for eilvironmental surveillance, including the NRC contract.
3.
Organization, Staff and Training A new employee had.been hired for the environmental surveillance staff in 1989.
This inc " M 91 had had experience in the Palo Verde _ Chemistry Department.
No otiie, significant changes had occured in,the program organization.
The staffing of the State's environmental monitoring program remained satisfactory.
4.
Facilities and Equipment The State's laboratories had benefitted significantly from Nuclear Emergency Management Fund monies designated for maintenance and; replacement of radiological instrumentation.
Many improvements had been completed or proposed for gamma spectroscopy capabilities, both high-resolution germanium detectors for general environmental samples and sodium iodide detectors for radon daughter sampling.
These improvements included new detector electronics, uninterruptible power supplies, a i
centralized liquid nitrogen automatic dewar fill system, and additional desktop computers in a local network. The State had also purchased a highly efficient (56% of 3x3 NaI(Tl)) germanium' detector, which would permit the analysis of Ba/La-140 at the NRC contract detection limit in 1
significantly less time.
New gamma spectroscopy standards for soil were also obtained by the State.
Fcur standards, each prepared at varying densities from 0.7 g/cc to 2.5 g/cc, would allow the laboratory to accurately calculate detector gamma efficiencies for differing soil compositions.
l The overy.11 layout of the State laboratory facilities was unchanged since the previous NRC visit.
The State's laboratories were considered superior.
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Annual Report The NRC Project Officer reviewed the annual report.for disagreements between State and Licensee results: and: State. compliance with contract requirements.
The following~ observations were noted:
o Air particulate sample beta measurements agreed especially well.
o The State reported no' positive measurements of I-131 in air.
Palo
'erde reported seven positive results.
Palo Verde's positive, V
measurements were consistcnt with the State detection limit, within the overall uncertainty of the' measurements. The State's detection j
limit for I-131 analyses'of air samples was 0.01 pCi/ cubic meter, l
slightly higher than the 0.007~pCi/ cubic meter detection limit specified in the NRC agreement.
Palo Verde reported a detection limit of 0.007 pCi/ cubic meter.
I Given the low activity of Palo Verde's positive I-131 measurements, the State verification measurement would be more informative if the J
State detection limit was reduced to 0.007 pCi/ cubic meter as consistent with the NRC Agreement and Palo Verde practice, l
o Evaporation Pond samples (" Surface Water") possessed I-131 activity from the reclaimed water from the city.of Phoenix.
The I-131
.l measurements by the State and ANPP trended well together.
Specific 1
activity was below technical specification reporting limit of 20 pCi/l for non-drinking water.
o The State's measurements of Quality Assurance samples provided by the Environmental Protection Agency were sufficiently accurate within three times the sample variance.
3 The annual report did not contain any significant disagreements between State and Licensee measurements.
The licensee's analyses of environmental media appear valid.
The State's annual report was acceptable.
6.
NRC TLD Network The Project Officer and a State representative inspected each environmental thermoluminescent dosimeter (TLD) station in the Palo Verde TLD network.
The location and driving instr"ctions for each TLD were verified, and the condition of the TLDs was checked.
Several minor-changes to TLD locations were noted, chiefly where TLDs had been moved i
from one utility pole to another close by.
The project officer noted the changes, and took photographs of.four TLD station: to clarify the postirig l
location.
Six TLDs were not at their designated locations.
Four of the l
six had fallen to the ground, while the remaining two could not be found.
The two lost TLDs had been posted next to roaos, and one of the lost TLD '
canisters had been tightly bound to a road sign' with two nylon tie wraps, indicating that loss of the canister, pnd. TLD was probably due to tampering.
All fallen TLDs were retrieved and would be flagged as " lost or missing" in the quarterly TLD exchange.
Some of the TLDs had fallen m
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Others may havenfallen due to high winds in the area prior to the field inspection.
r The State representatives indicated that six " lost or missing" TLDs was far more than had been previously observed, and that steps would be taken during the next TLD exchange to better secure the TLDs against weather conditions and possible tampering.
7.
Overall Program Status The NRC Project Officer and State representatives discussed outstanding
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1 problems in obtaining split samples from the licensee.
The'-only difficulty cited was the unavailability of sediment. sample's from the Palo.
Verde evaporation pond liners.
The sediment samples had been obtained by Palo Verde, and the State had subsequently requested that these samples, be forwarded to them for comparative analysis.
However, the sediment j
samples had not been forwarded, and the State had continued to substitute soil samples for sediment per agreement with the NRC.
The State cited the lack of requested sediment samples as an example of an overall lack of communication between the Palo Verde staff and ARRA, which had the potential to affect other aspects of the' program.
8.
Summary and Recommendations The State's performance under the cooperative agreement was superior, due to continued improvements in equipment, staffing, and State support for the environmental surveillance program.
Other evaluated areas were satisfactory, such as quality assurance intercomparison performance and depth of the annual report to NRC.
The NRC Project Officer will cooperate with the State in resolving the following issues:
o Reestablishing points of contact between ARRA and ANPP environmental monitoring personnel.
Facilitating State receipt of evaporation pond soil / sediment o
samples.
The Project Officer will verify that the State's techniques for measurement of I-131 in air are consistent with the NRC agreement.
The State will take steps to ensure that NRC TLDs are securely affixed to their designated locations such that inclement weather will not affect.
the functioning of the network.
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