ML24205A139

Global Nuclear Fuels-America - Core Inspection Report 07001113/2024002

ML24205A139
Person / Time
Site:	07001113
Issue date:	07/25/2024
From:	Robert Williams NRC/RGN-II/DFFI
To:	Huth R Global Nuclear Fuel
References
IR 2024002
Download: ML24205A139 (10)

Text

Ryan Huth Facility Manager Global Nuclear Fuel - Americas, LLC P.O. Box 780, Mail Code J20 Wilmington, NC 28402

SUBJECT:

GLOBAL NUCLEAR FUELS - AMERICA - CORE INSPECTION REPORT 07001113/2024002

Dear Ryan Huth:

On June 30, 2024, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) completed an inspection at Global Nuclear Fuels - America and discussed the results of this inspection with Ryan Huth and other members of your staff. The results of this inspection are documented in the enclosed report.

No violations of more than minor significance were identified during this inspection.

This letter, its enclosure, and your response (if any) will be made available for public inspection and copying at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html and at the NRC Public Document Room in accordance with Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations 2.390, Public Inspections, Exemptions, Requests for Withholding.

Sincerely, Robert E. Williams, Jr., Chief Projects Branch 1 Division of Fuel Facility Inspection Docket No. 07001113 License No. SNM-1097

Enclosure:

As stated cc w/ encl: Distribution via LISTSERVJuly 25, 2024 Signed by Williams, Robert on 07/25/24

ML24205A139 SUNSI Review Non-Sensitive Publicly Available Sensitive Non-Publicly Available OFFICE RII/DFFI RII/DFFI RII/DFFI

NAME J. Grice T. Shewmaker R. Williams DATE 7/23/2024 7/23/2024 7/25/2024 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Inspection Report

Docket Number: 07001113

License Number: SNM-1097

Report Number: 07001113/2024002

Licensee: Global Nuclear Fuel - Americas, LLC

Facility: Global Nuclear Fuel - Americas

Location: Wilmington, NC

Inspection Dates: June 24, 2024 to June 28, 2024

Inspectors: J. Grice, Fuel Facility Inspector T. Shewmaker, Fuel Facility Inspector

Approved By: Robert E. Williams, Jr., Chief Projects Branch 1 Division of Fuel Facility Inspection

Enclosure

SUMMARY

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) continued monitoring the licensees performance by conducting a core inspection at Global Nuclear Fuels - America, in accordance with the fuel cycle facility inspection program. This is the NRCs program for overseeing the safe operation of licensed fuel cycle facilities. Refer to https://www.nrc.gov/materials/fuel-cycle-fac.html for more information.

List of Violations

No violations of more than minor significance were identified.

Additional Tracking Items

None.

2 INSPECTION SCOPES

Inspections were conducted using the appropriate portions of the inspection procedures (IPs) in effect at the beginning of the inspection unless otherwise noted. Currently approved IPs with their attached revision histories are located on the public website at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/insp-manual/inspection-procedure/index.html. Inspections were declared complete when the IP requirements most appropriate to the inspection activity were met consistent with Inspection Manual Chapter (IMC) 2600, Fuel Cycle Facility Operational Safety and Safeguards Inspection Program. The inspectors reviewed selected procedures and records, observed activities, and interviewed personnel to assess licensee performance and compliance with Commission rules and regulations, license conditions, site procedures, and standards.

SAFETY OPERATIONS

88020 - Operational Safety

The inspectors evaluated selected aspects of the licensees Operational Safety program to verify compliance with selected portions of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 70 (10 CFR 70), including 70.24, 70.61, 70.62, and Chapter 11, Management Measures, of the facilitys license application, and applicable licensee procedures.

Identification of Safety Controls and Related Programs (IP Section 02.01)

The inspectors selected specific process areas for inspection based on the safety basis information of the facility, the risk/safety significance of the process areas, the description of plant changes submitted to the NRC, and past plant performance documentation. For the process areas of interest, the inspectors selected a sample of accident sequences in nuclear criticality safety and chemical safety based on the information provided in the integrated safety analysis (ISA) summary. The inspectors conducted a general plant tour of each major plant operating area. The process areas and accident sequences selected for review are listed below:

• ISA 5.13, Node 407, UO2 Rod Processing and Node 506, Gad Rod Processing o 5.13.5.1 Moderator from External Sources Spills into Rod Processing Equipment o 5.13.5.2 Moderator from External Sources Spills or Leaks into Rod Storage Cabinets o 5.13.5.3 A Fire Occurs in the Rod Area

• 5.24, Node 805, Laboratory o 5.24.2.1 Operator Splash with Liquid HF o 5.24.2.2 Too Much Uranium In Archive Cans o 5.24.2.3 Too Much Uranium in Sample Cabinet o 5.24.2.4 A Transient Combustible Fire Occurs in the Chemet Lab

• 5.25, Node 807, Utilities o 5.25.2.1 An Explosion Associated with H2 Storage Tank

3 Review of Safety Controls and Related Programs (IP Section 02.02)

The inspectors reviewed information related to administrative controls (AC) and passive engineered safety controls (PEC) or items relied on for safety (IROFS) for the accident sequences selected above, including the identification of the licensees assumptions and bounding cases as they apply to each of the selected accident sequences, safety controls, or IROFS. This review was performed to verify that the controls or IROFS were available and reliable to perform their intended safety functions and that the design basis assumptions were reflected in the actual conditions in the field. The specific safety controls selected for review are listed below:

• IROFS 407-01/506-01, Rod Load Equipment - Free Draining (PEC)

• IROFS 407-02/506-02, Rod Load Equipment - Safe Geometry (AC)

• IROFS 407-03/506-03, Cut-Off Lathe Equipment - Free Draining (PEC)

• IROFS 407-04/506-04, Cut-Off Lathe Equipment - Safe Geometry (AC)

• IROFS 407-05, Spring Insertion/Weld Equipment - Free Draining (PEC)

• IROFS 407-06, Spring Insertion/Weld Equipment - Safe Geometry (AC)

• IROFS 407-07/506-05, Process Equipment Barrier - Rod Storage Cabinet (PEC)

• IROFS 407-08/506-06, Rod Storage Cabinet - Safe Geometry (AC)

• IROFS 407-09/506-07, Rod Area Combustible Control Program (AC)

• IROFS 805-01, Use of Task Appropriate PPE (AC)

• IROFS 805-02, HF Exposure Treatment (AC)

• IROFS 805-05, Archive Can Mass Control (AC)

• IROFS 805-06, Archive Can Storage - Safe Geometry (AC)

• IROFS 805-07, Sample Cabinet Mass Control (AC)

• IROFS 805-08, Sample Cabinet - Safe Geometry (AC)

• IROFS 805-09, Chemet Lab Combustible Control Program (AC)

• IROFS 805-10, Chemet Lab Sense and Flee (AC)

• IROFS 807-01, Hydrogen Storage Tank Combustible Control Program (AC)

• IROFS 807-02, Hydrogen Storage Tank Pad Exclusion Area (AC)

• IROFS 900-06, Transportable Container - Safe Geometry (PEC)

• IROFS 900-14, Rod Tray - Free Draining (PEC)

• IROFS 900-15, Rod Tray - Safe Geometry (AC)

4 Implementation of Safety Controls (IP Section 02.03)

For the selected safety controls listed above, the inspectors reviewed management measures to verify proper implementation in accordance with 10 CFR 70 and applicable sections of the license application. This review was performed to verify that selected safety controls or IROFS were present, available, and reliable to perform their safety function and that the design basis assumptions were reflected in the actual conditions in the field. The inspectors conducted the following activities to verify the implementation of selected safety controls:

• performed walkdowns of UO2 Rod Processing area, Gad Rod Processing, Utilities and Chemet Laboratory to verify implementation of IROFS in those areas

• reviewed operating procedures implementing IROFS 407-02/506-02, 407-04/506-04, 407-06, 805-01, 805-02, 805-05, 805-06, 805-07, 805-08, 805-09 805-10, 807-01, 807-02, 900-06, and 900-15

• interviewed operators in rod processing on applicable IROFS and training regarding IROFS

• interviewed two lab analysts and one chemist in the Chemet laboratory on applicable IROFS and training regarding IROFS

• reviewed quantitative risk assessments (QRA) to assess licensee's evaluation of accident sequences in focus areas

• interviewed Fire Protection Engineer on the implementation of IROFS 407-09/506-7, 805-09, and 807-01 combustible control program

• interviewed Manufacturing Projects and Initiatives Manager on the licensee's change management process

• reviewed the following site change requests:

o Electronic Change Request (eCR) 51881 - 9/29/23 o eCR 52225 - 2/29/24

5 Safety Control Support Programs (IP Section 02.04)

The inspectors assessed additional management measures that support the availability and reliability of the selected safety controls to verify these were implemented in accordance with 10 CFR 70 and applicable sections of the license application. Specifically, the inspectors conducted the following:

• observed IROFS surveillance 507-09, 507-10, 507-12, 508-04, 508-08 for Protective Equipment Barriers in the Gad Dry Scrap Recycle Area

• observed implementation of IROFS 805-01, 805-02, 805-10 to perform uranium hexafluoride hydrolyzation

• observed implementation of IROFS 807-02 as part of a hydrogen tank refilling operation.

• reviewed surveillance documentation for IROFS 407-07/506-05, 407-08/506-06, 407-09/506-07, 805-02, 805-6, 805-09, 807-01, and 807-02

• reviewed list of failed and degraded IROFS and their associated condition reports (CRs) entered into the corrective action program for IROFS-related issues:

o CR 44053 - 10/27/23 o CR 44340 - 11/21/23 o CR 44354 - 11/28/23 o CR 45207 - 2/28/24 o CR 45535 - 3/27/24

• reviewed CRs associated with IROFS in the inspection focus areas

• reviewed the 1st and 2nd quarter 2024 Combustible Control Audit Reports that included Fuel Manufacturing Operations (FMO)

• reviewed the 4th Quarter Environmental Audit 2023 which focused on the Chemet Laboratory

• reviewed qualification documents for three operators in the rod processing area

• reviewed qualification documents for two Chemet laboratory analysts and one Chemet Laboratory Chemist

• reviewed IROFS training documents for operators that work with IROFS

INSPECTION RESULTS

No violations of more than minor significance were identified during this inspection.

EXIT MEETINGS AND DEBRIEFS

The inspectors verified no proprietary information was retained or documented in this report.

• On June 27, 2024, the inspectors presented the operational safety inspection results to Ryan Huth and other members of the licensee staff.

6 DOCUMENTS REVIEWED

Inspection Type Designation Description or Title Revision or Procedure Date 88020 Corrective Action CR 44293, 44789, Various Various Documents 43601, 44340, 46277, 44053, 45207 CR 44354 Smoke in GLE Ductwork 11/28/2023 Drawings 0055D13-1, 2, 3 FMO Bundle Assembly First Weld Rod Storage Cabinets Rev. 0 0071E07 Assembly, Duplex Loader Rev. 1 0075E94001 Work Station Z4706 General Assembly Final End Plug 02/12/1994 Welder 0075E9401A Work Station Z4706 Rod Inload Station Final End Plug Rev. 1 Welder 0077E07 FMO Rod Load Assembly, Rod Handler Rev. 3 Engineering QRA-805 Laboratory Rev. 7 Evaluations QRA-807 Utilities Rev. 5 Procedures ISA Summary Rev. 27 COI-0047 Hazardous Material Handling in the Chemet Laboratory Rev. 1 COI-0048 Routine Operations in the Chemet Laboratory Rev. 6 COI-10 CHEMET Laboratories Standards Management System Rev. 17 COI-19 Chemet Laboratory Archive System Rev. 14 COI-36 Sample Management IN the Chemet Laboratories Rev. 5 CR 45535 Laboratory Analyst were not using logging material 03/27/2024 movement in FBS CP-16-108 Corrective Action Program Rev. 16 OP-1001.00.100 Fabrication General-General Information Rev. 31 OP-1002.00.00 Combustible Material Control - Fabrication Rev. 01 OP-1040.33.202 Duplex Rod Loader-Normal Operations Rev. 13 OP-1040.57.202 No. 7 Upper End Plug Welder-Normal Operations Rev. 8 OP.1080.12.201 Outside Pad Storage Requirements Rev. 11 QRA-407-506 Fabrication Rod Processing Rev. 16 WI-06-100-22 CAA Operating Procedures Rev. 2 WI-06-100-26 CAA Temporary Operations Rev. 4

7 Inspection Type Designation Description or Title Revision or Procedure Date WI-16-106-02 Configuration Management Program - Nuclear Rev. 19 Manufacturing Operations Self-Assessments 1st Quarter 2024 Combustible Control Audit Report 03/27/2024 2nd Quarter 2024 Combustible Control Audit Report 06/25/2024 Work Orders Compliance IROFS 407-07 and 506-05 Surveillance 06/21/2023 Calendar ID 3120134 Compliance IROFS 407-08 and 506-06 Surveillance 06/08/2023 Calendar ID 3120137 Compliance IROFS 407-09 and 506-07 Surveillance 03/19/2024 Calendar ID 3143792 Compliance IROFS 407-09 and 506-07 Surveillance 06/18/2024 Calendar ID 3154087 Compliance IROFS 407-07 and 506-05 Surveillance 06/20/2024 Calendar ID 3154225 Compliance IROFS 407-08 and 506-06 Surveillance 06/21/2024 Calendar ID 3154226

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