PNO-II-97-019, on 970327,portable Filtration & Demineralization Unit from Chem-Nuclear Sys,Inc Missing Valve.Unknown How or Where Valve Dislodged.Nrc Region I & EPA Contacted
| ML20137F137 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | 03020159 |
| Issue date: | 03/28/1997 |
| From: | Bryan Parker NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION II) |
| To: | |
| References | |
| PNO-II-97-019, PNO-II-97-19, NUDOCS 9703280440 | |
| Download: ML20137F137 (1) | |
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l March 28, 1997 PRELIMINARY NOTIFICATION OF EVENT OR UNUSUAL OCCURRENCE PNO-II-97-019 l
This preliminary notification constitutes EARLY notice of events of POSSIBLE
[ safety or public interest significance. The information is as initially 7
received without verification or evaluation, and is basically all that is known by Region II staff in Atlanta, Georgia on this date.
f Facility Licensee Emeroency Classification i
Chem-Nuclear Systems, Inc.
Notification of Unusual Event i
Columbia, South Carolina Alert Dockets: 03020159 License No: 39-23004-01 Site Area Emergency General Emergency X Not Applicable I
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Subject:
LOSS OF VALVE FROM EQUIPMENT IN TRANSIT On March 27, 1997, personnel at the Millstone Nuclear Plant reported to j
i the NRC Operations Center (Event No. 32040) that a portable filtration and demineralization unit from Chem-Nuclear Systems' Barnwell, South Carolina facility, was missing a valve.
The truck driver discovered the j
valve missing during a stop in New Jersey when he found one of the four i
. bolts used to connect the valve to the assembly lying on the flatbed of 4
the truck. According to Chem-Nuclear, the valve was in place at the time 1
the unit was shipped from the Barnwell site.
It is unknown at this time where or how the valve became dislodged.
f The stainless steel, 3-way ball valve was co-located on the process piping of the unit with three other valves. Survey information prior to shipping indicated the valves had general, near contact readings of roughly 30 milliroentgen per hour (mR/hr) with one small " hot spot" of 60 mR/hr. Millstone personnel reported that the flanges around the missing i
valve measured 32 mR/hr, with a removable contamination level (inside the
{
2-inch pipe ends) of 200,000 dpm/100 square cm, when they received it. No contamination was found on the truck flatbed or in the driver's cab / sleeper area. The bolt found by the driver was slightly contaminated, and a small amount of contamination was found on the driver's hip pocket and removed by Millstone personnel prior to releasing the driver and vehicle. Chem-Nuclear estimates that, based on the 60 mR/hr reading, the valve would contain less than 0.1 millicuries of mixed fission products.
NRC Region I contacted the Department of Transportation and the Environmental Protection Agency.
NRC Region I and Region II are in the process of contacting the State Radiation Protection Programs of each of the States in which the truck traveled from Barnwell to Millstone.
This information is current as of 12:00 Noon on March 28, 1997.
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Contact:
B. A.
PARKER (404)331-2675 0
9703200440 970328 P DR I&.E PNO-II-97-019 Pnn
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