Information Notice 1985-92, Surveys of Wastes Before Disposal from Nuclear Reactor Facilities

Surveys of Wastes Before Disposal from Nuclear Reactor Facilities

ML031180130
Person / Time
Site:	Beaver Valley, Millstone, Hatch, Monticello, Calvert Cliffs, Dresden, Davis Besse, Peach Bottom, Browns Ferry, Salem, Oconee, Mcguire, Nine Mile Point, Palisades, Palo Verde, Perry, Indian Point, Fermi, Kewaunee, Catawba, Harris, Wolf Creek, Saint Lucie, Point Beach, Oyster Creek, Watts Bar, Hope Creek, Grand Gulf, Cooper, Sequoyah, Byron, Pilgrim, Arkansas Nuclear, Three Mile Island, Braidwood, Susquehanna, Summer, Prairie Island, Columbia, Seabrook, Brunswick, Surry, Limerick, North Anna, Turkey Point, River Bend, Vermont Yankee, Crystal River, Haddam Neck, Ginna, Diablo Canyon, Callaway, Vogtle, Waterford, Duane Arnold, Farley, Robinson, Clinton, South Texas, San Onofre, Cook, Comanche Peak, Yankee Rowe, Maine Yankee, Quad Cities, Humboldt Bay, La Crosse, Big Rock Point, Rancho Seco, Zion, Midland, Bellefonte, Fort Calhoun, FitzPatrick, McGuire, LaSalle, 05000000, Zimmer, Fort Saint Vrain, Shoreham, Satsop, Trojan, Atlantic Nuclear Power Plant, Skagit, Marble Hill
Issue date:	12/02/1985
From:	Jordan E NRC/IE
To:
References
IN-85-092, NUDOCS 8511270325
Download: ML031180130 (5)

SSIN No.: 6835 IN 85-92 UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

OFFICE OF INSPECTION

AND ENFORCEMENT

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555 December 2, 1985 IE INFORMATION

NOTICE NO. 85-92: SURVEYS OF WASTES BEFORE DISPOSAL FROM NUCLEAR REACTOR FACILITIES

Addressees

All production

and utilization

facilities, including

nuclear power reactors and research and test reactors, holding an operating

license (OL) or construc-tion permit (CP).

Purpose

The purpose of this information

notice is to supplement

the guidance of IE Circular 81-07 as it applies to surveys of solid waste materials

before disposal from nuclear reactor facilities.

It is expected that recipients

will review the information

for applicability

to their facilities.

However, this information

notice does not constitute

NRC requirements;

therefore, no specific action or licensee response is required.Description

of Circumstance:

Some questions

have arisen concerning

appropriate

methods of surveying

solid waste materials

for surface contamination

before releasing

them as nonradio-active (i.e., as wastes that do not contain NRC-licensed

material).

Discussion:

The need to minimize the volume of radioactive

waste generated

and shipped to commercial

waste burial sites is recognized

by the NRC and industry.

Some nuclear power plants have initiated

programs to segregate

waste generated

in radiologically

controlled

areas. Such programs can contribute

to the reduction in volume of radioactive

waste; however, care should be taken to ensure that no licensed radioactive

material is released contrary to the provisions

of 10 CFR Section 20.301. In practice, no radioactive (licensed)

material means no detectable

radioactive

material.In 1981, IE Circular 81-07 was issued by the NRC. That circular provided guidance on the control of radioactively

contaminated

material and identified

the extent to which licensees

should survey for contamination.

It did not establish

release limits. The criteria in the circular that addressed

surface contamination

levels were based on the best information

available

at the time and were related to the detection

capability

of portable survey instruments

8511270325 IN 85-92 December 2, 1985 equipped with thin-window "pancake" Geiger-Mueller (G.M.) probes, which respond primarily

to beta radiation.

Monitoring

of aggregated, packaged material was not addressed.

In 1981, there was no major emphasis on segregating

waste from designated

contamination

areas. As a consequence, large volumes of monitored wastes were not being released for unrestricted

disposal.

However, because of recent emphasis on minimizing

the volume of radioactive

waste, current prac-tices at many nuclear power facilities

result in large volumes of segregated, monitored

wastes, containing

large total surface areas, being released'as"clean" waste.When scanning surfaces with a hand-held

pancake probe, there is a chance that some contamination

will not be detected. (See the papers by Sommers,'

for example.)

There is the chance also that the total surface area will not be scanned completely.

Thus, when numerous items of "clean"-material (e.g., paper and plastic items) are combined, the accumulation

of small amounts of contamination

that have escaped detection

with the pancake probe may be detected using a detector that is sensitive

to gamma radiation (e.g., by using a sensi-tive scintillation

detector in a low-background

area). Such measurements

of packaged clean waste before disposal can reduce the likelihood

that contaminated

waste will be disposed of as clean waste, then found to be contaminated

after disposal. (Some operators

of sanitary landfills

have begun to survey incoming waste. for radioactivity

using scintillation

survey meters which in some cases are supplemented

by portable gamma-ray

spectrometers.2)

In order to preclude the unintentional

release of radioactive

materials, a good monitoring

program likely would include the following:

1. Careful surveys, using methods (equipment

and techniques)

for detecting very low levels of radioactivity, are made of materials

that may be contaminated

and that are to be disposed of as clean waste. These survey methods should provide licensees

with reasonable

assurance

that licensed material is not being released from their control.2. Surveys conducted

with portable survey instruments

using pancake G.M.probes are generally

more appropriate

for small items and small areas because of the loss of detection

sensitivity

created by moving the probe and the difficulties

in completely

scanning large areas. This-does

not preclude their use for larger items and areas, if supplemented-by

other survey equipment

or techniques.

3. Final measurements

of each package (e.g., bag or drum) of aggregated

wastes are performed

to ensure that there has not been an accumulation

of licensed material resulting

from a buildup of multiple, nondetectable

quantities (e.g., final measurements

using sensitive

scintillation

detectors

in low-background

areas).

--IN 85-92 December 2, 1985 The foregoing

does not constitute

NRC requirements;

therefore, no specific action or written response is required by this information

notice. If you have any questions

about this matter, please contact the Regional Administrator

of the appropriate

NRC regional office or this office.,-,, /S Xrdan, irector Divisioj Of Emergency

Preparedness

and E ineering Response Office of Inspection

and Enforcement

Technical

Contacts:

John D. Buchanan, IE (301) 492-9657 LeMoine J. Cunningham, IE (301) 492-9664 Attachments:

1. References

2. List of Recently Issued IE Information

Notices

Attachment

1 IN 85-92 December 2, 1985 REFERENCES" Sommers, J. F., (a) "Sensitivity

of Portable Beta-Gamma

Survey Instruments," Nuclear Safety 16 (No. 4), 452-457, July -August 1975, (b) "Sensitivity

of Gand on-ChambEr

Beta-Gamma

Survey Instruments," Health Physics 28 (No. 6), pp. 775-761, June 1975.2 Anonymous, "LA Nuclear Medicine Community Landfills, " J. Nuclear Medicine 26 (#4), Improves 336-337, Radiation

Monitoring

at April 1985.

Attachment

2 IN 85-92 December 2, 1985 LIST OF RECENTLY ISSUED IE INFORMATION

NOTICES Information

Date of Notice No. Subject Issue 85-91 Load Sequencers

For Emergency

11/27/85 Diesel Generators

85-58 Sup. 1 85-90 85-89 Failue Of A General Electric Type AK-2-25 Reactor Trip Breaker Use Of Sealing Compounds

In An Operating

System 11/19/85 11/19/85 Issued to All power reactor facilities

holding OL or CP All power reactor facilities

designed by B&W and CE holding an OL or CP All power reactor facilities

holding an OL or CP All power reactor facilities

holding an OL or CP All power reactor facilities

holding an OL or CP Potential

Loss Of Solid-State

11/19/85 Instrumentation

Following Failure Of Control Room-Cooling 85-88 Licensee Control Of Contracted

Services Training 11/18/85 Providing 85-87 85-86 Hazards Of Inerting Atmospheres

Lightning

Strikes At Nuclear Power Generating

Stations Systems Interaction

Event Resulting

In Reactor System Safety Relief Valve Opening Following

A Fire-Protection

Deluge System Malfunction

11/18/85 11/5/85 10/31/85 All power reactor facilities

holding an OL or CP; and fuel facilities

All power reactor facilities

holding an OL or CP All power reactor facilities

holding an OL or CP All power reactor facilities

holding an OL or CP 85-85 85-84 Inadequate

Inservice

Testing 10/30/85 Of Main Steam Isolation

Valves OL = Operating

License CP = Construction

Permit