Press Release-II-09-013, NRC to Begin Special Inspection at Nuclear Fuel Services

Press Release-II-09-013: NRC to Begin Special Inspection at Nuclear Fuel Services

ML090780364
Person / Time
Issue date:	03/19/2009
From:	Office of Public Affairs Region II
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Category:Press Release
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Press Release-II-09-013
Download: ML090780364 (1)

Text

NRC NEWS U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs, Region II 61 Forsyth Street SW, Atlanta GA 30303 Web Site: www.nrc.gov No. II-09-013 March 19, 2009 CONTACT: Roger Hannah (404) 562-4417 E-mail: OPA2@nrc.gov Joey Ledford (404) 562-4416 NRC TO BEGIN SPECIAL INSPECTION AT NUCLEAR FUEL SERVICES The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is scheduled to begin a special inspection at the Nuclear Fuel Services facility in Erwin, Tenn. next week. The team, consisting of one of the facilitys resident inspectors and another inspector based in the NRCs Atlanta office, will inspect and assess an issue with glove box drains discovered earlier this month by NFS. A glove box is an enclosure equipped with gloved openings that allow workers to handle materials inside, preventing contamination of the work area and workers.

On March 4, NFS filed an event report with the NRC after a company engineer found a discrepancy in the flow rate calculations of the overflow drains at the bottom of the glove boxes.

NFS found that the drains may not correctly limit the amount of liquid that could collect in the glove box. The company has shut down 23 affected glove boxes until the issue is resolved.

During the special inspection, the NRC inspectors will review the companys response and investigation; evaluate the adequacy of the companys root cause analysis after a similar event in 2005; and identify any generic issues for NFS or other nuclear fuel cycle facilities.

The special inspection will begin Monday, March 23, and is expected to continue for about a week. The NRC will issue a report within 30 days of the completion of the inspection.

News releases are available through a free listserv subscription at the following Web address:

http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/listserver.html. The NRC homepage at www.nrc.gov also offers a SUBSCRIBE link. E-mail notifications are sent to subscribers when news releases are posted to NRC's Web site.