ML20246L672: Difference between revisions

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{{Adams
#REDIRECT [[IR 05000413/1989002]]
| number = ML20246L672
| issue date = 03/03/1989
| title = Insp Repts 50-413/89-02 & 50-414/89-02 on 890130-0203. Violations Noted.Major Areas Inspected:Preoutage Planning, Preparations & Mgt Support for Implementing Licensee Radiation Protection Program
| author name = Potter J, Wright F
| author affiliation = NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION II)
| addressee name =
| addressee affiliation =
| docket = 05000413, 05000414
| license number =
| contact person =
| document report number = 50-413-89-02, 50-413-89-2, 50-414-89-02, 50-414-89-2, NUDOCS 8903240244
| package number = ML20246L645
| document type = INSPECTION REPORT, NRC-GENERATED, INSPECTION REPORT, UTILITY, TEXT-INSPECTION & AUDIT & I&E CIRCULARS
| page count = 15
}}
See also: [[see also::IR 05000413/1989002]]
 
=Text=
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                                                                                                          5
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                    ,
            [                            NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION -
            'o.
                            lf-                            REGION il
                                                    101 MARIETTA ST., N.W.                              q
                    eo,,                            ATLANTA, GEORGIA 30323                                g
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                                                                                                          i
                                                          11AR 0 31989
                Report Nos.: 50-413/89-02 and 50-414/89-02
                Licensee: Duke Power Company
                              .422 South Church Street
                                Charlotte, NC 28242
                Dccket Nos.:      50-413 and 50-414                    License Nos.: NPF-35 and NPF-52
              -Facility Name: Catawba 1 and 2
  ,            . Inspection Conducte : J nuar 30 - February 3, 1989
                Inspector:                                                                8      /
                        A F. N(Wright                                                      pifeSigned
                Approved by:
                                J. M Potter, Chief
                                                                                            8 /f
                                                                                            D'at'e Signed
                                                            .
                                Facilities Radiation Protection Section
                                Emergency Preparedness and Radiological Protection
                                  Branch
                                Division of Radiation Safety and Safeguards
                                                            SUMMARY
                Scope
                This routine, unannounced inspection was conducted in the areas of pre-outage
                planning, preparations, and management support for implementing the licensee's
                radiation protection program. The review included: licensee organization and
                management controls; maintaining occupational exposures as low as reasonably
                achievable (ALARA); training and qualifications; outage preparations and
                provisions; and licensee action on previously identified inspection findings.
                Results
                Two violations of NRC requirements were identified:
                        1.  Failure to take adequate timely corrective action on NRC identified
                              violations.
                        2.  Failure to provide licensee workers adequate training on the
                            . significance of yellow flashing lights, and failure to post the
L
'
                              associated high radiation area. This was similar to a violation
                              concerning training cited in a Notice of Violation issued
                              September 16, 1988.
                              The input from section supervisors on methods to further reduce
l
                              occupational radiation exposure was found to be minimal, although the
!
            8903240244 890303                P
            gDR        ADDCK 05000413
                                    PNU    ig
        -      _ = - _ -
 
.
                                                                                                    .---
                                                                                                        - - - - - - . - - - _ - - - - - - - _ - _ _ _ ,
n. .
                                      .
                                          .
                                                                          2
                                            person-rem totals per unit were low for a facility having two partial
                                            refueling outages during the year.
                                            The outage radiological controls were generally effective even
                                            though there had been a reduction in radiation protection technician
                                            support when compared to previous outages.
                                                                                                                                                        l
                                                                                                                                                        !
                                                                                                                                                        l
                                                                                                                                                        l
                                                                                                                                                        1
                                                                                                                                                          l
    _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ . _ _ . - _ - _ - - -                                                                                                              i
 
    -                _
                        _ _ _ - _ _ - _ - _ - -                _.    _  _      _
                                                                                                          - _ _    _
                                                                                                                        - __ _
  .
      .
  .  .
                                                          .
                                                                            REPORT DETAILS                                      j
                                                                                                                                i
          L1.              Persons Contacted
                                                                                                                                '
                            Licensee Employees
                        *V. _Barbour, . Quality Assurance, Director of Operations                                                1
                          W. Bradley, Manager, Quality-Assurance Verification                                                  !
                        *W.                  Deal, Station Health Physicist                                                      :
                          A. Duckworth, Director, Technical Services Training
                        *R. Glover, Compliance Engineer
                      '*V. King, Compliance Engineer
                        *P. LeRoy, Regulatory Compliance
                          T. Owens~ Station Manager      ,
                            R. Rivard, ALARA Planning Supervisor
                          Other' licensee employees contacted during this inspection included
                            technicians and office personnel.
                          Nuclear Regulatory-Commission
                        *M.                Lesser, Resident Inspector
                        *W.                Orders, Senior Resident Inspector
                        * Attended exit interview
            2.            Organization'n and Management Controls
                          Through interviews with the licensee's staff, the inspector reviewed-the
                            licensee's health physics (HP) outage organization plans, staffing levels,
                            lines of_ authority and degree of interaction with other plant work groups,
                          a.                        Health Physics Organization
                                                    The licensee had a HP staff which was' highly specialized, in that,
                                                    the staff was divided into small units having specific areas of
                                                    responsibility.    During refuelina outages the licensee's four
                                                    surveillance and control (SC) orups were deployed to provide
                                                    continuous HP outage support in the auxiliary and containment
                                                    buildings.
                                                    The licensee used contract HP supervisors for steam generator and
                                                    auxiliary building work. The licensee contracted with approximately
                                                    ten supervisors and one hundred ANSI qualified HP technicians to
                                                    provide for outage surveillance and control activities. In areas
                                                    where. the licensee did' not have utility employee supervisors, the
                                                    licensee tries to place experienced ANSI qualified licensee HP
                                                  '
                                                    technicians to control work. The licensee also used contract
                                                    technicians and clerical help in the HP support units.
                                                                                                                                j
.      --_--_~_-.-a                            a    .--
 
                                                                        - - . - _ .- - - - - _ - - - - . - - - - - - - - - - - - -
    .
  .
  .
                                        2                                                                                        i
                                                                                                                                    l
        Through interviews with licensee representatives, the inspector
        determined that the ' licensee had used approximately 180 contract HP
        support personnel during previous outages. During the Unit 1 Cycle 3
        outage, the licensee had reduced the number of contract support
        personnel by 10 percent and was planning to have 15 fewer contract                                                        j
        support personnel during the Unit 2 Cycle 2 refueling outage. These                                                        j
        reductions were being made in the licensee's radiation protection                                                            j
        staffing levels in an effort to reduce utility expenses.        Licensee
                                                                                                                                      '
        representatives, in the HP section, reported that the reductions in
        outage staffing levels had not adversely affected the licensee's
        ability to implement the radiation protection program.      Except as
        noted in Paragraph 2.c. and 4 of this report, the inspector found that
        appropriate radiological controls were being implemented with this
        reduced staffing-level.
        No violations or deviations were identified.
      b. Licensee Audits                                                                                                            3
                                                                                                                                    !
        Technical Specification (TS) 6.11 requires that procedures for
        personnel radiation protection be prepared consistent with the
        requirement of 10 CFR 20 and be approved, maintained, and adhered to
        for all operations involving personnel radiation exposure.
        Catawba Nuclear Station (CNS) Directive        3.8.3, Contamination
        Prevention,    Control    and  Decontamination  Responsibilities,
,
        Revision 24, dated November 29, 1988, requires in Section 4.6.2.2
        that personnel perform a survey for contamination when leaving a
        radiation control area (RCA). If frisking just the hands and feet, a
        minimum frisk of 40 seconds is required.
        CNS Directive 3.8.6 (TS), Radiation Exposure Control, Revision 17,
        dated November 21, 1988, requires in Section 2.7 that all individuals
        complete a Daily Exposure Time Record Card (DETRC) for each entry
        into the RCA/ radiation control zone (RCZ) and each change of                                                            I
        radiation work permit (RWP).
        The inspector reviewed licensee Quality Assurance (QA) Surveillance
        Audit CN-88-34 which was conducted December 5-9, 1988.                            The
        surveillance reported the following radiological control findings on
        January 27, 1989.
        (1) Employees were exiting an RCA from areas that cre not normal                                                          i
              exit points    (i.e.,  back door of Auxiliary Building,                                                              !
              elevation 594' and Unit 1 Control Room location).
          (2) Hand held items were not being frisked.
          (3) Dose cards were not being completed for each entry / exit of RCA
                (mostly at Unit 2 entry / exit point)
                                                                                                                                  .
 
                                                                                  - - - - - - - -
                                                                                                  ,
      .
  .
  .    .
                                          3
          (4) A HP Technician (Vendor) was reaching into the RCZ and
                performing work without being dressed in accordance with the
                RWP.
          As a result of the findings, the licensee terminated the vendor HP
          technician that had violated the RWP requirements. The Station
          Health Physicist also issued a letter to station management
          concerning the audit. The letter, Intrastation Letter to Group
          Superintendents and Section H ea.ds , issued December 29, 1988,
          addressed radiation protection practices relative to the QA
          -Surveillance Audit CN-88-34.      The letter, in part, discussed the
          following conditions:
          -    Employees were observed exiting the RCA at points other than the
                Single Point Access (SPA). The exit points observed did not
                meet procedural requirements for emergency conditions or
                escorting of material.      One observed exit at the Material                      j
                Control Point did not include the required hand and foot frisk.                    i
                Several exits were discovered to be into and out of the Control
                Room using the Unit 1 side access, as well as the access door to
                the ventilation equipment room. Both doors were clearly marked
                as not being an exit and, in addition, did not have any frisking
                equipment.
          -    A similar situation was discovered by HP when personnel were                        !
                detected exiting at the 560' elevation below the SPA. This exit
                also had no frisking equipment available. This door was clearly
                marked as not being an RCA exit. These persons were challenged
                and given preper instruction.
          -    Frisks of hand held items were observed to be inadequate (not
                frisked at all or frisked too fast). Many of these observations
                were made at the Unit 2 Control Room entrance / exit.
          -    Dose cards were not completed for each entry / exit from the RCA.
                Most of these observations also occurred at the Unit 2 Control
                Room extrance/ exit. For these observations, the individual was
                identified by the auditor, and dose card records were audited
                the next day and no dose record was available.
          -    A contract HP technician was observed reaching into an RCZ and
                performing work without meeting dress requirements. HP action
                was to terminate the individual immediately.
          In addition, the licensee issued a CNS Radiological Protection
          Practices Training Package as an attachment to the letter. The
          training package was prepared for section supervisors for use in crew
          tailgate meetings. The report findings of hand held items nei being
          frisked and dose cards not being completed for each exit of 1he RCA
          in accordance with the above requirements were recurring examples of
    '
L'                                                                                                    4
 
    -_  -      . - - -
  .    .
  .    .
              .                                    4
                  the earlier violation issued in Inspection Report (IR) No. 50-413,
                  414/87-31'.
            c.    Management Controls and Corrective Action
                  10 CFR 50; Appendix B, Criterion XVI states that measures shall be
                  established to assure that conditions adverse to_ quality, such as
                  deviations and nonconformances, are promptly identified and
                  corrected. In the case of significant conditions adverse to quality',
                  the measures shall assure that the cause of the condition is
                  determined and corrective action taken to preclude repetition.
                  TS 6.11 requires that procedures for personnel radiation protection                    I
                  be prepared consistent with the requirements of 10 CFR 20 and be
                  approved, maintained and adhered to for all operations involving                      i
                  personnel radiation exposure.
                                                                                                        l
                  CNS Directive 3.8.3,        Contamination Prevention, Control    and
                  Decontamination Responsibilities, Revision 24, dated November 29,
                    1988, requires in Section 4.6.2.2 that personnel perform a survey for
                  contamination when leaving the RCA. If frisking just the hands and
                  feet, a minimum frisk of 40 seconds is required.
                  CNS Directive 3.8.6 (TS), Radiation Exposure Control, Revision 17,
                  dated November 21, 1988, requires in Section 2.7 that all individuals
                  complete a DETRC for each entry into the RCA/RCZ and each change of                    ,
                  the RWP.
                    IR No. 50-413, 414/87-31 documented the results of an inspection made
                  September 14-18, 1987.      A Severity Level IV violation (50-413,
                  414/87-31-02) was issued for failure to adhere to radiological
                  control procedures in that:
                    (1) From September 14 to September 17, 1987, ten of twelve
                          individuals observed frisking at the RCA access / exit point
                          located at the top of the spiral stairway on the 609' elevation,
                          frisked for only 20-25 seconds and;
                    (2) Two individuals who worked inside an RCA/RCZ on the removal,
                          repair, or replacement of a detector in the Unit 1 Reactor
                          Building on August 24, 1987, did not complete a daily dose card
                          as required.
                  On November 17, 1987, the licensee responded to the violation issued
                    in IR No. 50-413, 414/87-31 for violation 87-31-02. The NRC reviewed                  l
'r
                  the licensee's proposed corrective action and determined that the
                  proposed corrective action was not sufficient to prevent recurrence,                  (j
                  and a supplemental response was received dated December 11, 1987, and
                  with clarification, it was accepted in an NRC letter dated                              i
                  January 15, 1988.
                                                                                                          l
                                                                                                          1
                                                                              ------------_--------_----J
 
        _ _ _                              --
              'I,
      '
  .
                                              '
                                                                          5
f                                      .
                                                                                                                      ,
I'                                                                                                                    !
                                                                                                                      t
(
,
                                          On' December 10, 1987, the NRC issued IR No. 50-413, 414/87-40. In
                                          Paragraph 7 of the. report, the inspector reported numerous examples
                                          of personnel failing to perform personnel monitoring in accordance
                                          with licensee procedures. The Notice of Violation described a
L                                        failure to properly store contaminated tools and post a copy of a
                                          previous' Notice of Violation.
                                          On April 7,1988, the NRC issued IR No. 50-413,414/88-12 for an
  ~
i'                                        inspection made on February 22-26, 1988. In Paragraph 4.f of the
                                          report, the inspector reported on discussions held with licensee
                                          representatives.concernin
                                          Single Point Access (SPA)g  .
                                                                            the uses
                                                                        Licensee    and limitations
                                                                                  representatives  of the personnel
                                                                                                  indicated that
                                          they were still evaluating the adequacy of the SPA in minimizing the
  ,
                                        . potential of low level contamination leaving the RCA. The inspector
                                          noted that the HP technician nearest to the area was located one
                                          level above and could only be reached by telephone.            The
                                          tools / equipment frisking station was also located one elevation above
                                          the exit. Some individuals were confused about whether items frisked
                                          at the tools / equipment frisking station must be frisked again at the -
                                          SPA. . Licensee representatives acknowledged the inspector's comments
                                          and agreed:to evaluate equipment release practices.
                                          The inspector noted that the signs regarding personnel monitoring in
                                          the men's change room, next to friskers indicated that the frisker:
                                          were there for " convenience". Licensee representatives had indicated
                                          that personnel contamination surveys were " required" in the change
                                          rooms when personnel had been working in contaminated areas.
                                          Licensee representatives indicated that they would reevaluate the
                                          adequacy of the signs.
                                          On September 16, 1988, the NRC issued IR No. 50-413, 414/88-27,
                                          documenting a violation involving the failure of operations personnel
                                          to follow radiological control procedures on two occasions during
                                          responses to stop leaks in radioactive systems. The report also
                                          documented the licensee's failure to take full corrective action for
                                          violation 50-413, 414/87-31-02.
                                          The licensee's response to these violations indicated that an
                                          immediate program of HP SPA routine observations would be implemented
                                          to improve compliance with the frisking and dose card requirements
                                          and they would be in full compliance on March 1,1988. However, as
                                          of July 19-22, 1988, the program of routine observations had not been
                                          implemented. The inspector noted that this was the second time in as
                                          many inspections that the licensee had failed to meet all aspects of
                                          their commitments to the NRC by the date established by the licensee.
                                          The cover letter for the September 16, 1988 NRC report discussed the
                                          licensee's failure to take full corrective actions on the violation
                                          50-413, 414/87-31-02, and for another violation 50-413, 414/87-40-03,        ;
                                          The cover letter stated that the NRC views failure to take full
                                                                                                                      '
                                          corrective action on these radiological safety as a serious matter.
                                                                                                                      i
__c______
    -
                  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
 
                            __
                                      _ _ - _ _ _ _ _ _            . _ _ _
  .          .
,                                                                                                                        {
                                                                                6                                      l
l
'
                                  On October 28, 1988, the licensee issued their response to the
                                  Severity Level IV violation issued in IR No. 50-413, 414/88-27 which
                                  included, management audit of several new records at Catawba such as:
                                                        HP Problem Reports
                                                        Dose Card Error Reports                                          4
                                                        Single Point Access Logbook
                                                        Radiological Incident Investigations
                                  The licensee also discussed continuing management involvement in
                                  ALARA training and pre-outage meetings and that hand and foot
                                  monitors had been purchased and placed in service throughout the
                                  plant. The licensee reported that whole body friskers had been
                                  purchased and would be delivered in late 1988.
                                  The licensee addressed the corrective action associated with the hot
                                  tool room prncedure violation discussed in IR No. 50-413,414/87-40.
                                  -The licensee listed these corrective actions for the root .cause of.
                                  the problems:
                                                        Organizational changes were made which allowed the technical and
                                                        work execution aspects of the maintenance group to be separated. !
                                                        A new position was created that would separate the technical and
                                                        executional aspects of a job. The licensee stated that "with
                                                        better job planning packages available, the execution crews can
                                                        now devote full attention to procedures, training, and improving
                                                        performance."
                                                                                                                ~
                                  The inspector attempted to verify completion of corrective action for
                                  violation 50-413, 414/87-31-02.                  However, during the inspection, as
                                  detailed in Paragraph 2.b, the inspector noted a QA Surveillance made
                                  in December 1988, which documented additional examples of failure to                  i
                                  perform contamination frisks in accordance with licensee procedures                  !
                                  and failure to complete daily dose cards in accordance with licensee
                                  procedures.
                                                                                                                        1
                                  These findings by the licensee are additional examples of failure to                  ;
                                  follow procedures and indicate a failure to take adequate and timely                  !
                                  corrective action sufficient to preclude recurrence of a similar
                                  violation cited on September 16, 1988.                  Failure to take adequate and
                                  timely corrective action is therefore, a violation of 10 CFR 50,
                                  Appendix B, Criterion XVI (50-413/89-02-01).                                          ;
                                                                                                                        !
                                  One violation was identified.
              3.          Outage Planning and ALARA Activities
                            10 CFR 20.1.c states that persons engaged in activities under licenses
                            issued by the NRC should make every reasonable effort to maintain
                            radiation exposures ALARA.                    The recommended elements of an ALARA program
    - - _ __      _-____ _ -
 
                                                                                              !
                                                                                              I
              -
  .                                                                                          !
  .          .
                                                      7                                        ,
                                                                                              i
                radiation exposures ALARA.    The recommended elements of an ALARA program
                are contained in Regulatory Guide 8.8, Information Relevant to Ensuring
                That Occupational Radiation Exposure at Nuclear Power Stations will be        l
                ALARA, and Regulatory Guide 8.10, Operating Philosophy for Maintaining        -
                Occupation Radiation Exposures ALARA.
                a,    ALARA
                      The inspector reviewed the licensee's program for maintaining
                      occupational exposures ALARA, including the station's ALARA goals and
                      objectives, the effectiveness in setting and meeting ALARA goals,
                      participation by different station groups in the ALARA program, and
                      the functions of the onsite ALARA group.
                    The licensee's ALARA goal for 1988 was 552 person-rem.      The goal was
                      based on the licensee's task schedule for the year and the licensee's
                      person-rem exposure history for .the planned work. The integration
                      scheduling staff provided the ALARA group with a list of planned
                      tasks.    The ALARA group reviewed the job history files and
                      established an ALARA package for jobs which are expected to exceed
                      one person-rem exposure. The ALARA packages included detailed job
                      dose reduction recommendations, copies of RWPs, surveys, and other
                      information obtained in previous work experience for the job.      The
                      inspector reviewed selected ALARA planning packages and determined
                      that dose exposure reductions were being made through in depth          ,
                      planning and application of basic ALARA techniques.
                    Through interviews with licensee representatives, the inspector
                      determined that the ALARA group had solicited comments and dose
                      reduction recommendations from section supervisors on the 1988
                      exposure estimates and that only one supervisor had commented on his
                      section's estimated exposure for the year. The remaining supervisors
                      reported that the person-rem estimate determined by the ALARA group
                      appeared appropriate. In general, the ALARA group set the annual
                      goal based on their estimates and there was very little input from
                      the plant staff supervisors to further reduce exposures.
                    The licensee exceeded its 1988 person-rem goal by approximately four
l                    person-rem. The licensee's 1988 ALARA goal of 552 person-rem was the
                      1988 person-rem estimate. While the licensee demonstrated an ability
                      to accurately project work and implement ALARA techniques to maintain
                      personnel exposures ALARA, the input from section supervisors on
,                    methods to further reduce exposures was minimal. However, the 278
l                    person-rem totals per unit were low for a facility having portions of
j                    two refueling outages during the year.
l
                    The inspector attended an outage planning meeting which included key
                      licensee staff personnel, representatives from Turkey Point, and
                      corporate staff personnel.      The meeting agenda included an open
                    discussion on lessons learned during the Unit 1 refueling outage and
                      plans for the upcoming refueling outage. Discussion topics included
    - _ _ _ _
 
                        . _ _ .
                                      .      _          _              . _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ . . _ . __ _ _ _ - - __
!        ,,          .
l            .        .
l                                                                      8
                                    improving worker efficiency, use of mockup . training equipment,
                                    preparation of equipment, improved communications, shielding,
                                    limitations on overtime, training, and exposure-reduction activities.
                                    The inspector observed a free exchange of information in a spirit of'
                                    cooperation to improve work objectives.
                                    The inspector reviewed the following licensee procedures.
                                            ALARA Manual, Revision 3
                                            Maintenance Management Procedure 1.9, CNS ALARA Planning, dited
                                            July 21, 1988
                                            CNS Directive 3.8.1 (TS) ALARA Program, dated August 21, 1988
                                    No violations or deviations were identified.
                                b. Provisions
                                    Through interviews with licensee representatives the . inspector                    i
                                    determined that the licensee had established resources to support the                '
                                    outage. such as protective clothing, respirators, radiation warning
                                    signs, etc. and had the ability to borrow supplies or equipment from
                                    the utility's other nuclear facilities.
                                    No violations or deviations were identified.                                      .i
                                c. Training and Qualifications of Vendor Health Physics Technicians                    !
                                    TS 6.3 requires that each member of the facility staff meet or exceed
                                    the minimum qualifications of ANSI N18.1-1977 for comparable                        i
                                    positions, except for the Radiation Protection Manager, who shall
                                                                                                                        '
                                    meet or exceed the qualifications in Regulatory Guide 1.8,
                                    September 1975.
                                    TS    6.4.1 states that a retraining and replacement training program
                                    for the facility staff shall be in accordance with ANSI N18.1-1971.
                                    Paragraph 5.5 of ANSI N18.1 states that a training program shall be
                                    established which maintains the proficiency of the operating
                                    organization through periodic training exercises, instruction
                                    periods, and reviews.
                                    The inspector reviewed plant procedure HP/0/B/1000/19, Vendor Health
                                    Physics Technician Training / Qualification, Revision 0. The inspector
                                    determined that the procedure provides specific guidance for
                                    evaluating the previous work experience of vendor HP technicians in
                                    order to comply with the ANSI N18.1-1971 requirements. The procedure
                                    also specifies the training requirements necessary to meet the
                                    requirements of TS 6.4.1.
                                    No' violations or deviations were identified.
- - _ _ - _ - _ _ - .                  _.
 
_ --                                  - - -                                          - - - - - . - - _ _ _ _ - - -        --    _ - - - - - -                                                  - - _ - - - - - - - - - - - - - . - . - - - - - - - - - - - - _ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -                  - - - - - - _ - _ - - - -
    .                        .
    .                        .
                                                                                                                                                                                                                9
                                                        4.                              High Radiation Area Control Event-
                                                                                          10 CFR 19.12 requires a licensee to provide certain specified information
                                                                                          and instructions to individuals who work in or frequent any portion of a
                                                                                          restricted area.
                                                                                          10 CFR 20.203(c)(1) requires a licensee to post each high radiation area          -
                                                                                        with a conspicuous sign or signs bearing the radiation caution symbol and '
                                                                                          the words: CAUTION HIGH . RADI ATION AREA.                                                                                                                                                                        A "high radiation area" is
                                                                                          defined in 10 CFR 20.202(b)(3), as any area, accessible to personnel, in
                                                                                        which there exists radiation, originating in whole or in part within
                                                                                          licensed material, at such levels that a major portion of the body could
                                                                                          receive in any one hour a dose in excess of 100 millirems.
                                                                                        TS 6.12 requires that, for individual high radiation areas accessible to
                                                                                          personnel:with radiation levels of greater than 100 mR/hr that are located
                                                                                        within large areas, such as pressurized water reactor (PWR) containment,
                                                                                        where no enclosure exists for purposes of locking, and where no enclosure
                                                                                          can be reasonably constructed around the individual areas, that individual
                                                                                          area. shall be barricaded, conspicuously posted, and a flashing light shall
                                                                                          be activated as a warning device.
                                                                                          NRC Information Notice (IN) No. 88-79: Misuse of Flashing Lights for High
                                                                                          Radiation Area Controls, was issued on October 7,1988.                                                                                                                                                                                    The Notice was
                                                                                          issued to all holders of operating licenses for nuclear power reactors.
                                                                                        The purpose of the Notice was to alert addressees to problems involving
                                                                                        misuse of flashing lights .for high radiation controls.                                                                                                                                                                                        The Notice
                                                                                          discussed five events involving improper access control of high radiation
                                                                                          areas. As discussed in the Notice, inappropriate use of such access
                                                                                          controls could lead to potentially significant, inadvertent, radiation                                                                                                                                                                                                                ;
                                                                                          exposures.                Additionally, the Notice stated that it was apparent that
                                                                                          plant workers and supervisors did not fully understand the TS requirements
                                                                                          for high radiation access control.
                                                                                          During the inspection the inspector determined that on December 16, 1988,
                                                                                          two employees apparently entered a high radiation area unknowingly. One
                                                                                          of the two employees was assigned to the Catawba mechanical maintenance
                                                                                          staff and the other was a construction maintenance department (CMD)
                                                                                          employee based at the Oconee facility on site to support the Unit 1
                                                                                          outage.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      '
                                                                                          The inspector reviewed the HP Investigation Data sheet which described the
,                                                                                          event and the written statement of the event prepared by the Catawba
I                                                                                        worker. According to the worker, the employees entered lower containment
I
                                                                                          after reviewing RWP No. 88-919 and after discussing their work with a HP
                                                                                          representative. The two employees were going to perform preventive
                                                                                          maintenance (PM) on several limitorque operators.
                                                                                          According to the worker's statement, he asked the HP technician if a
                                                                                          respirator would be required for entry and was told that respirators would
                                                                                          not be required for the planned work. The workers checked in with the HP
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            ~
                    <, ,
                                                                                \
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    *'
      - - - - - - - - _ - _ - - _ . _ _ _ - - - _ _ _ _ - _ _ _ _ - - _ _ . _ _ - - .                                          - - . - - - _ . - _ _ _ - - _ _ _ - - . _ _ _ . - - - - _ . _ - -                                                                                                                                                  -                        -  i
 
        __    _  __
, .        ..
    .        .
                                                      10
                rover for permission to enter lower containment and were told to proceed.
                The- employees climbed down a ladder into lower containment to work on
,
      -
                their first valve.    After completing- work on the first valve the workers    ,
                crossed over an airduct and up some scaffolding to the second limitorque      j
                operator. As the men began their paperwork, they were interrupted by HP        :
                personnel monitoring the B and C steam generator platform and told that
l                they were in a respirator required area and a high radiation area. The HP
                technician told the men to exit the platform area which had a flashing
                yellow light. The workers exited containment, were surveyed, and found to
                be' free of external contamination. One worker received only 10 mrem whole
,
                body exposure while the second worker received 30 mrem whole body exposure
i                for the entry. An air sample taken on the platform did not indicate any
                airborne radioactive material .on the steam generator platform.
'
                The Catawba worker reported in his write-up of the event that they had not
                crossed any identified rope or signs in getting to the platform from
                above. The worker also stated that he was unaware of the significance of
'
                a flashing yellow light.      The HP Investigation Data sheet also documented
                that the licensee workers had entered the platform area from above and
                that the workers did not know the significance of the flashing yellow
                                                                                                '
                light.
                The.immediate steps taken to prevent recurrence of this type of event was
i
                to post the access taken by the workers as a high radiation area. The          j
l                long-term steps taken to prevent recurrence was to proceduralize the          i
                posting of the area. The inspector determined that the dose rate on the        !
                platform was 500 mrem per hour (mr/hr) beta and 500 mr/hr gamma at the
                cold leg side of the generator. The dose rate was approximately 35 mr/hr
                four feet from the manway. The gamma dose rate twelve inches from the
                manway was 300 mr/hr gamma.
                Through interviews with the General Employee Training (GET) supervisor,
                the inspector determined that the Catawba worker had taken bypass training
                for the last four years and that the use and meaning of yellow flashing
[                warning lights was not included in the bypass training.          The inspector
                contacted the resident inspector at Oconee and determined that, for the
'
                CMD employee based at Oconee, the bypass training there also did not
                include training on the use and significance of flashing yellow lights.
l                Failure of the licensee to provide adequate training for employees
                concerning the significance of flashing yellow lights and failure of the
                licensee to post accessible areas of a high radiation area in accordance
                with the requirements of 10 CFR 20.203(c)(1) are examples of a violation
                of NRC requirements of 10 CFR 19.12 requiring the licensee to provide
                information and instructions to workers (50-413, 414/89-02-02). This
                violation is similar to a violation concerning training cited in a Notice
                of Violation issued September 16, 1988, and could reasonably be expected
                to have been prevented by previous corrective action.
                0ne violation was identified.
                              -    -  - - _ -
 
          _ -. _-_-                                  ___--      -_. -    __
                                                                                _ _ _ - _ _ _ _ _ _ - _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _            _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ - _ _ _ ..
l
  I
      .          -
      .:          .
                                                                                                                                                                                                  !
                                                                                                    11
                                                                                                                                                                                                  1
                    5.                    Licensee Action on Previous Enforcement Matters (92702)
L                                            (0 pen) Violation 87-31-02: Failure to. adhere to radiological control
!                                          procedures for personnel contamination monitoring and completion of daily
l
                                            dose. cards. The item will remain open since previous implementation of
L                                            licensee corrective actions had not been adequate. . This was exemplified
L                                          by a licensee' audit conducted in December 1988, which reported findings
!
                                            concerning -persons exiting the RCA from areas that were not normal exit
                                            points, - hand held -items not properly surveyed, dose cards not being
                                            completed for each entry and exit portal, and a contract HP technician
                                            reaching in a RCZ and performing work without being dressed in accordance
                                          with the RWP.
                    6.                    Exit' Interview
                                            a.    Inspector Comments
                                                  The inspection included a review of selected QA Surveillance, Outage
                                                  Planning and the ALARA program for control of radiation exposures.
                                                  Through review of representative records and discussions with
                                                  licensee representatives the inspector reviewed the licensee's
                                                  planning, preparations, and management support for implementing the
                                                  radiation protection program during outages.
                                                          The inspector discussed staffing levels for the outage and
                                                          determined that due to budget restraints the licensee had
                                                          completed the Unit 1 outage with fewer HP vendor technicians
                                                          than previously utilized.                                        Licensee representatives reported
                                                          that adequate radiation protection controls were maintained even
                                                          with the reduced staff during the outage.
                                                          The inspector reviewed licensee's utilization of special
                                                          training including use of mockup training.
                                                          The inspector discussed the licensee's methods for ensuring
                                                          adequate supplies were available to support outage activities.
                                                          The inspector reviewed selected ALARA work packages and
                                                          determined that the licensee was taking steps to reduce
                                                          exposures by clearly defining job sequences and taking measures
                                                          to improve worker efficiency and lowering personnel exposures.
                                                          The inspector reviewed selected documented which demonstrated
                                                          that numerous ALARA pre-job planning and post job meetings were
                                                          taking place to ensure that persons were adequately prepared for
                                                          upcoming work and methods for improving the tasks were being                                                                            .
                                                          evaluated.                                                                                                                              )
                                                                                                                                                                                                  I
                                                          The inspector discussed management support for the radiation                                                                            l
                                                          protection program including the purchase of additional
                                                          personnel monitors (hand and foot) which were installed and in
- _ _ _ _              _ - - _ - _ _ _ _ _ - _ _
 
  _ _ _ _ _ - _ - _ -
                                                                                                                                            i
                      -
        .
        .            &
                                                                                                  12
                                                                                                                                            !
                                                                        use.  Whole Body Friskers had been purchased and the licensee
                                                                        had initiated the installation of whole body friskers during the
                                                                        inspection which    should enhance    personnel monitoring
                                                                        capabilities.                                                      .,
                                                                                                                                            l
                                                                        The inspector. reviewed the licensee's GET program and determined
                                                                        that the instructors were adequately qualified and that lesson      ,
                                                                        plans were well documented.    The inspector determined that the    ,
                                                                        l.icensee could provide the general employee training during the
                                                                        peak periods prior to outage start dates.
                                                                  The inspector determined that the licensee had an adequate training
                                                                  program for vendor HP technicians.                                i
                                                                                                                                            l
                              b.                                  Inspection Findings                                                      !
                                                                                                                                            !
                                                                  The inspector discussed violation 50-413, 414/87-31-02 issued
                                                                  October 19, 1987, for failure to adhere to radiological control
                                                                  procedures for personnel contamination monitoring and completion of
                                                                  daily dose cards.      The item will remain open since previous
                                                                  implementation of licensee corrective actions had not been
                                                                  sufficient.
                                                                  The inspector stated that procedure violations in personnel
                                                                  monitoring had been documented in the recent radiation protection
                                                                  inspections.    The previously identified violations and those
                                                                  documented in the licensee's audit report will be reviewed by
                                                                  Region 11 management for the need to consider additional enforcement        ,
                                                                  actions. The item was left as an unresolved item (URI)*.                    j
                                                                                                                                              (
                                                                  Upon review by Region II staff, the licensee's failure to take timely    !
                                                                  corrective actions of radiological protection violations to preclude      j
                                                                  recurrence was identified as a violation of 10 CFR 50, Appendix B,          I
                                                                  Criterion XVI 50-413, 414/89-02-01 (Paragraph 2.c).
                                                                  During the inspection, the inspector determined that on December 16,
                                                                  1988, two licensee employees had unknowingly entered a respirator and
                                                                  high radiation area established for steam generator work. The area
                                                                  was monitored by a video system and HP personnel took action to
                                                                  remove the employees from the area. The inspector reviewed the
                                                                  radiological investigation sheet and the written account of the
                                                                  event.    According to one of the employees they had not crossed any
                                                                  high radiation or respirator required boundaries until approached by
                                                                  HP personnel. The employees had noticed a flashing yellow light but
                                                                  claimed that they did not know the significance of the light.        The
                                                                  inspector determined that the employees did not receive any internal        .
                                                                  contamination, external contamination, or significant external              I
                                                                  exposure. The inspector stated that there appeared to be a violation
                        * Unresolved items are matters about which more information is required to
i
                        determine whether they are acceptable or may involve violations or deviations.
                          _  _ _ _ _ _ _ - _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ - .
 
        ___ _ _ _ . __ __.
                                                                                                                                        )
\.
l .'
1
                            .
                              .
                                                                                              13
l                                                                                                                                        l
;                                                                for inadequate GET since neither employee claimed to know the
                                                                . significance of flashing yellow lights and/or failure of the licensee
                                                                  to adequately post a high radiation area. The inspector stated that
                                                                  the event would be discussed with Region 11 staff following the
                                                                  inspection.
l                                                                The NRC has determined that there were two ' violations; one for
                                                                  failure to adequately post a high radiation area in accordance with
                                                                  the requirements of 10 CFR 2.203(c)(1) and one for failure to provide
                                                                  adequate training for individuals who work in or frequent a
                                                                  restricted area. The licensee did not identify as proprietary any of
                                                                  the material provided to or reviewed by the inspector during this
                                                                  inspection. The inspector expressed his appreciation for the staff
                                                                  cooperation during the conduct of the inspection.
                                                                                                                                        I
                                                                                                                                        I
                                                                                                                                        !
                                                                                                                                        ;
                                                                                                                                          I
me____________                  _m_ _ _ _ _.______ _._ _ _ _ _ .
}}

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