IR 05000018/2007001

IR 05000183/07-001, 05000070/07-001 and 05000018/07-001, Vallecitos Nuclear Center, General Electric Company, Inspection Conducted on 01/9-11, 2007

ML070360732
Person / Time
Site:	Vallecitos Nuclear Center, Vallecitos
Issue date:	02/05/2007
From:	Spitzberg D B NRC/RGN-IV/DNMS/FCDB
To:	Doreen Turner General Electric Co
References
IR-07-001
Download: ML070360732 (10)

Text

February 5, 2007

Mr. David Turner, ManagerVallecitos Nuclear Center General Electric Company 6705 Vallecitos Road Sunol, CA 94586

SUBJECT: NRC INSPECTION REPORT 050-00183/07-001, 050-00070/07-001 and050-00018/07-001

Dear Mr. Turner:

This refers to the inspection conducted on January 9-11, 2007, at the General Electric (GE)Vallecitos Nuclear Center in Alameda County, California. The inspection was an examination of decommissioning activities conducted under your licenses as they relate to safety and compliance with the Commission's rules and regulations and with the conditions of your licenses. The inspection included an examination of selected procedures and representative records, observations of activities, and interviews with personnel. Details of the inspection were presented to your staff at the conclusion of the onsite inspection. The enclosed report presents the results of that inspection. The inspection determined that you were maintaining the three units in SAFSTOR in compliance with regulatory and license requirements. In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 of the NRC's "Rules of Practice," a copy of this letter, itsenclosure, and your response (if any) will be made available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the NRC's document system (ADAMS), accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To the extent possible,your response should not include any personal privacy, proprietary, or safeguards information so that it can be made available to the Public without redaction. Should you have any questions concerning this inspection, please contact the undersigned at(817) 860-8191 or Mr. Robert Evans, Senior Health Physicist, at (817) 860-8234.

Sincerely,/RA/D. Blair Spitzberg, Ph.D., ChiefFuel Cycle and Decommissioning BranchDocket Nos.: 050-00183; 050-00070; 050-00018License Nos.: DR-10; TR-1; DPR-1 GE Vallecitos Nuclear Center-2-

Enclosure:

NRC Inspection Report No. 050-00183/07-001, 050-00070/07-001 and 050-00018/07-001cc w/enclosure:Radiation Control Program Director Gary Butner, Chief Department of Health Services Radiological Health Branch P.O. Box 997414 (MS 7610)

Sacramento, CA 95899-7414 GE Vallecitos Nuclear Center-3-bcc w/enclosure (via e-mail distribution):LDWert DBSpitzberg JTBuckley, FSME/DWMEP/DURLD KMWitt, NRR/ADRA/DPR/PRT RJEvans RITS Coordinator FCDB FileSUNSI Review Completed: RJE ADAMS:

O Yes G No Initials: RJE O Publicly Available G Non-Publicly Available G Sensitive O Non-SensitiveDOCUMENT NAME: S:\DNMS\!Fcdb\!RJE\60007001.wpd final r:\_DNMS\2007RIV:DNMS:FCDBNRR:DPR/RTRBC:FCDBRJEvansKMWitt via emailDBSpitzberg /RA/ /RA/

/RA/01/25/0702/05/0702/05/07OFFICIAL RECORD COPY T=Telephone E=E-mail F=Fax ENCLOSUREU.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION REGION IV Docket Nos.: 050-00183, 050-00070, and 050-00018License Nos.:DR-10, TR-1, and DPR-1 Report No.:050-00183/07-001, 050-00070/07-001 and 050-00018/07-001 Licensee:GE Facility: Vallecitos Nuclear Center Location:6705 Vallecitos RoadSunol, CA 94586Dates:January 9-11, 2007 Inspector:Robert J. Evans, P.E., C.H.P., Senior Health PhysicistFuel Cycle & Decommissioning BranchAccompanied By:Jason M. Razo, Health PhysicistNuclear Materials Inspection BranchJohn T. Buckley, Project ManagerOffice of Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management Programs Division of Waste Management and Environmental Protection Decommissioning and Uranium Recovery Licensing Directorate Reactor Decommissioning BranchKevin M. Witt, Reactor InspectorOffice of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Division of Policy and Rulemaking Research and Test Reactors BranchApproved By:D. Blair Spitzberg, Ph.D., ChiefFuel Cycle & Decommissioning Branch

Attachment:

Supplemental Inspection Information

-2-EXECUTIVE SUMMARYGE Vallecitos Nuclear CenterNRC Inspection Report No. 050-00183/07-001; 050-00070/07-001 and 050-00018/07-001This inspection was a routine, announced inspection of activities being conducted at the threeshutdown research and test reactors located at GE Vallecitos Nuclear Center. The inspection included site tours and verification of compliance with Technical Specifications requirements. In summary, the licensee was maintaining the three reactors in SAFSTOR in compliance with regulatory and license requirements. Class III Research and Test Reactors*The licensee had qualified individuals, as required by site surveillance procedures, tomaintain compliance with Technical Specifications. The licensee had established atraining program for maintaining worker qualifications. Audits were being conducted as required by the licenses (Section 1.2.a).*The licensee's oversight programs were in compliance with Technical Specificationsincluding development of procedures, conduct of annual inspections, conduct of annual radiological surveys, and documentation of these annual inspections and surveys (Section 1.2.b).*Surveillances were conducted in compliance with Technical Specifications. Site tourswere conducted, and no radiological or safety hazards were identified. Water was identified in the basement of the Vallecitos Boiling Water Reactor, and the licensee was considering options for removing the water. The licensee's records indicated that the safe storage of the three reactors had no impact on the environment (Section 1.2.c).

-3-Report DetailsSummary of Plant StatusThe GE Test Reactor (GETR) was constructed in 1957. Full power operations were achievedin 1959 at 33 megawatts-thermal (Mw(t)). The reactor was uprated to 50 Mw(t) in 1966. The unit was shut down in 1977 in response to an NRC Show Cause Order. The Show Cause Order was issued because of seismic concerns that were identified at that time. In 1982, the NRC lifted the Show Cause Order, but the licensee elected to permanently discontinue operation of the GETR. The Empire State Atomic Development Associates Incorporated Vallecitos ExperimentalSuperheat Reactor (EVESR) achieved full power operation in 1964 but was shut down in 1967.

The reactor achieved a maximum power level of 17 Mw(t). Finally, the Vallecitos Boiling Water Reactor (VBWR) achieved full power operations at 50 Mw(t) in 1957 but was permanently shut down in 1963. At the time of the inspection, reactor fuel had been permanently removed from all three sites.Each of the three licenses allowed possession of the associated reactor and related byproduct material. The three units were in SAFSTOR, the decommissioning alternative in which a nuclear facility is safely stored for an extended period of time. The main purpose of SAFSTOR is to allow for the decay of cobalt-60 to reduce exposures to occupational workers during future decommissioning activities. The GETR and EVESR licenses are scheduled to expire in 2016. The VBWR license has noexpiration date. The licensee does not intend to decommission the three reactors in the near future. Each of the three licenses allows the licensee to remove and dispose of components other than the reactor pressure vessels. Decommissioning work completed in recent years were conducted in outdoor areas as specifically authorized under the licensee's State of California byproduct material license. This work included boiler and cooling tower removal.

Work planned for 2007 includes decommissioning of outdoor tanks under the State license.1Class III Research and Test Reactors (69002)1.1Inspection ScopeThe inspection objective was to determine if site activities were being conducted safelyand in accordance with regulatory requirements and licensee commitments. Areas reviewed included site staffing, license audits, Technical Specifications (TS) compliance, radiological surveys, and surveillance activities. The inspection included tours of all three reactor sites. The emergency preparedness program was not reviewed because the licensee maintains a common, site-wide program that is routinely inspected in conjunction with the other NRC licenses.

-4-1.2Observations and Findings a.Staffing and AuditsThe inspector reviewed site staffing to determine if the licensee had sufficient qualifiedpersonnel to implement TS requirements, including routine facility inspections and radiological surveys. The individual responsible for oversight of the three shutdown reactors was the manager, facilities maintenance & quality assurance. Personnel to conduct the radiological surveys was provided by the manager, regulatory compliance.

These two groups had a sufficient number of qualified maintenance and radiation safety technicians to implement TS requirements. The VBWR surveillance procedure provides the experience requirements for thepersonnel conducting the annual inspections. The inspector reviewed the training records for selected technicians conducting the inspections and concluded that these individuals had received hazardous materials, confined space, and radiation safetytraining. The inspector noted that the licensee had established and implemented extensive radiological and industrial safety training and retraining programs for all siteworkers.By letter dated June 26, 2006, the licensee informed the NRC of several changes in sitemanagement. The former regulatory compliance manager was promoted to the position of manager, Vallecitos Nuclear Center. The licensee subsequently hired a new regulatory compliance manager/radiation safety officer. The facilities maintenance and quality assurance manager's position, the individual responsible for oversight of the three shutdown reactors, was not impacted. Both the EVESR and GETR licenses state that periodic reviews will be conducted by theNuclear Safety Group. The licensee implemented this requirement through annual audits by a member of the regulatory compliance group. The inspector reviewed the most recent audits. No license violations or unsafe conditions were identified by the auditors for the EVESR and the GETR licenses. The December 2006 audit report for the VBWR documents the discovery of about 2-inches of water on the basement floor.

The auditor concluded that the water may have been either condensation or in-leakage from a pipe with a cracked-open valve. Corrective actions included shutting the suspect valve to eliminate the in-leakage of water. As discussed below, the water was still present during the inspector's tour of the VBWR, and the licensee was considering its options for removing the water from the building. b.Active License StatusThe inspector reviewed the licensee's implementation of TS requirements. The TS forthe EVESR and the GETR require written procedures for both access control and periodic inspection of the facilities. Facilities Maintenance Procedure 6.1, "Access Control," provided the access control requirements, while Procedure 6.2,

"EVESR/VBWR/GETR Surveillance Procedures," provided the inspection requirements.

In summary, the licensee had established and implemented these procedures in compliance with TS requirements.

-5-The three licenses require annual inspections, annual radiological surveys, anddocumentation of these inspections and surveys. The annual inspections and surveys are controlled by Facilities Maintenance Procedure 6.2 which provide the three inspection checklists. The licensee had documentation demonstrating that the inspections and surveys were conducted annually since 2004. Although not required by the licenses, the licensee also conducted weekly exterior inspections of all threefacilities and quarterly inspections of the GETR.The licensee is required to submit annual reports to the NRC. The inspector confirmedthat the licensee had submitted annual reports for all three facilities to the NRC since the last inspection.Since the previous inspection, the licensee had not operated any of the three facilityventilation systems, therefore, the TS requirements for emissions sampling were not implemented. Further, there were no design changes approved since the previous inspection, so the inspector did not verify compliance with 10 CFR 50.59 requirements. c.Radiological Surveys and Surveillance ActivitiesThe licensee conducted annual radiological surveys including ambient exposure ratemeasurements, air sampling, and swipe sampling. No acceptance criteria has been established for the sample results, but the licensee compared the year-to-year results to monitor for abnormal changes in radiological conditions. The radiological sample results were included in each of the three annual reports that were submitted to the NRC.The licensee's occupational exposure records were not reviewed because the licenseehad a site-wide monitoring program that is reviewed by the NRC during inspection of the other site licenses. Further, radiation exposures to site personnel during these routine, annual inspections are expected to be small compared to other activities in progress at the Vallecitos Nuclear Center.The inspector conducted tours of the inside and outside of the three reactor facilities. The tours included an independent radiological survey of ambient exposure rates using a Ludlum Model 2401-P survey meter (NRC No. 21190G, calibration due date of 09/25/07). Radiation protection postings were adequate at each facility. The licensee was observed to have sufficient radiological equipment to conduct the annual surveys.

Overall, no significant radiological or safety hazard was identified during the site tours. The GETR was found to be in good condition for the age of the facility. Some crackingof exterior insulation was observed. The licensee was exploring its options for resolving the problem. The solutions being considered included early removal of the insulation material. No obvious water leaks were observed inside or outside of the building. The licensee stated that the GETR reactor pressure vessel was filled with water.

Independent radiological surveys identified exposure rates up to 6 millirems per hour inside the facility, results that were comparable to the licensee's most recent annual survey.

-6-The VBWR was observed to have a thin layer of water on the basement floor, acondition that was previously identified during the licensee's December 2006 annual inspection. As noted above, the fluid was suspected to have originated from either in-

leakage or condensation. The licensee was considering its options for removal of the water. The options include pumping the water out of the building and using a de-

humidifier to enhance evaporation of moisture from the building. The ambient exposure rates ranged up to 15 millirems per hour in discrete locations in the basement of the building. Similar to the GETR, the VBWR reactor pressure vessel was filled with water.The EVESR containment was observed to be dry. Water damage was evident in thelower level, a result of a 1993 water intrusion event. The EVESR TS has a special requirement for controlling access to areas below the 549-foot elevation. The licensee previously constructed and installed a locked cover over the access stairs leading to the lower levels. A de-humidifier was used to help keep the EVESR building dry. The condensation was being collected in portable tanks. The exposure rates ranged up to 15 millirems per hour in discrete locations in the building. Unlike the GETR and VBWR, the EVESR reactor pressure vessel was dry.The inspector observed that the three reactor buildings appeared intact with no obviousliquid or gaseous effluent points. In recent years, the licensee submitted summaries of the site-wide effluent monitoring program with the GETR annual reports. The effluent monitoring information indicated that the shutdown reactors had no impact on the environment.1.3ConclusionThe licensee had qualified individuals, as required by site surveillance procedures, tomaintain compliance with TS. The licensee had established a training program for maintaining worker qualification. Audits were being conducted as required by the

licenses.The licensee's oversight programs were in compliance with TS including development ofprocedures, conduct of annual inspections, conduct of annual radiological surveys, and documentation of these annual inspections and surveys.Surveillances were conducted in compliance with TS. Site tours were conducted, andno radiological or safety hazards were identified. Water was identified in the basement of the VBWR, and the licensee was considering options for removing the water. The licensee's records indicated that the safe storage of the three reactors had no impact on the environment.

2Exit Meeting SummaryThe inspector presented the inspection results to members of licensee management atthe exit meeting on January 11, 2007. The licensee did not identify as proprietary any information provided to, or reviewed by, the inspector.

ATTACHMENTPARTIAL LIST OF PERSONS CONTACTED LicenseeC. Bassett, Manager, Facilities Ma intenance & Quality AssuranceL. Martin, Manager, Regulatory Compliance and Environmental Health & Safety H. Stuart, Specialist, Radiological Engineering D. Turner, Manager, Vallecitos Nuclear CenterINSPECTION PROCEDURE USEDIP 69002 Class III Research and Test ReactorsITEMS OPENED AND CLOSEDOpened None Closed None Discussed NoneLIST OF ACRONYMSEVESREmpire State Atomic Development Associates Incorporated Vallecitos Experimental Superheat ReactorGETRGE Test Reactor IPNRC Inspection Procedure Mw(t)megawatts-thermal TSTechnical Specifications VBWRVallecitos Boiling Water Reactor