Information Notice 1992-79, Non-Power Reactor Emergency Event Response

Non-Power Reactor Emergency Event Response

ML031190745
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, Fort Saint Vrain, Shoreham, Satsop, Trojan, Atlantic Nuclear Power Plant
Issue date:	12/01/1992
From:	Grimes G K Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
To:
References
IN-92-079, NUDOCS 9211240106
Download: ML031190745 (7)

UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555 December 1, 1992 NRC INFORMATION

NOTICE 92-79: NON-POWER

REACTOR EMERGENCY

EVENT RESPONSE

Addressees

All holders of operating

licenses or construction

permits for test and research reactors.

Purpose

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission (NRC) is issuing this information

notice to alert addressees

to the findings of an NRC review related to emergency

event response at non-power

reactors.

These findings are on (1)emergency

action levels (EALs) to determine

emergency

event classification, (2) sampling to measure a radioactive

release, (3) dose assessment

capability

for a radioactive

airborne release, and (4) notifications

to the NRC. It is expected that recipients

will review the information

for applicability

to their facilities

and consider actions, as appropriate, to avoid potential problems.

However, suggestions

contained

in this information

notice are not NRC requirements;

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

of Circumstances

In November 1991, a small release of fission products at the Reed College TRIGA reactor (located in Portland, Oregon) was sufficient

to activate the alarms of both the continuous

air monitor and the gaseous stack monitor. Upon reviewing

the EALs in the emergency

plan, the licensee declared a Notification

of Unusual Event and notified the NRC Operations

Center and the State. The NRC responded

to the notifications

by sending an inspection

team to the college to review the situation.

The NRC also sent a Public Affairs Officer to respond to potential

public and media interest.

The State of Oregon also sent a monitoring

team. At the facility, the NRC inspectors

found that the licensee had characterized

the release as fission products and had conservatively

estimated

the amount of radioactivity

released.

The NRC inspectors

assisted the licensee in assessing

radiological

dose consequences.

The local media and public, including

the student body, posed extensive questions

on the event and the release. During a press conference, the licensee and the NRC jointly addressed

the health and safety concerns of the media and public.92 :1O2 -4- 06z 4edr

IN 92-79 December 1, 1992 The event at Reed College prompted the NRC to review similar non-power

reactor licensees

to determine

their capabilities

to respond in similar circumstances.

The NRC found that, while licensee capabilities

varied, some licensees

could not readily locate sampling equipment

discussed

in emergency

plans for response, had not fully developed

procedures

for using the sampling equipment, and did not have immediate

access to a method of correlating

the quantity of radioactivity

released to a dose at the site boundary.

The NRC also found that the EALs and the criteria for notifying

the NRC and other offsite agencies varied greatly between licensees.

There were also examples of events classified

as alerts for which emergency

plans did not specify notification

of the NRC. The specific licensees

were informed of these findings.Discussion

Licensee classification

of an event under its emergency

plan dictates the manner in which the NRC and other offsite agencies respond. American Nuclear Society/American

National Standards

Institute

Standard 15.16-1982, "Emergency

Planning for Research Reactors," Regulatory

Guide 2.6, "Emergency

Planning for Research Reactors," 1979, and NUREG-0849, "Standard

Review Plan for the Review and Evaluation

of Emergency

Plans for Research and Test Reactors," October 1983 contain information

on event classification.

Improper classification

of an event may prevent the licensee, the NRC, other agencies, and the public from responding

appropriately

to the event.The-licensee,-theNRQ,-and-the-public-gave-considerable-attention

to the ..unplanned

radiological

release at Reed College, although the release resulted in an estimated

dose of much less than one millirem at the site boundary.

The ability to quantify the magnitude

and effects of a release and to establish the safety significance

of the release proved extremely

important

in the Reed College event.Some abnormal events will generate substantial

public interest regardless

of the actual safety significance

of the event. A small unplanned

radiological

release is such an event. Notification

of the NRC Operations

Center, or NRC headquarters

or regional contacts for events that could result in high public interest, can enable the NRC to respond, in coordination

with the licensee, to issues raised by the media or the public about the event.

IN 92-79 December 1, 1992 This information

notice requires no specific action or written response.

II you have any questions

about the information

in this notice, please contact the technical

contact listed below or the appropriate

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) project manager.F rian K. Grimes, Director Division of Operating

Reactor Support Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Technical

contact: M. Mendonca, NRR (301) 504-1128 Attachment:

List of Recently Issued NRC Information

Notices Attachment

IN 92-79 December 1, 1992 Page I of i LIST OF RECENTLY ISSUED NRC INFORMATION

NOTICES Information

Date of Notice No. Subject Issuance Issued to 92-78 Piston to Cylinder 11/30/92 All holders of OLs or CPs Liner Tin Smearing on for nuclear power reactors.Cooper-Bessemer

KSV Diesel Engines 92-77 Questionable

Selection

11/17/92 All holders of OLs or CPs and Review to Deter- for nuclear power reactors.mine Suitability

of Electropneumatic

Relays for Certain Applications

92-76 Issuance of Supple- 11/13/92 All holders of OLs or CPs ment I to NUREG-1358, for nuclear power reactors.'Lessons Learned from the Special Inspection

Program for Emergency Operating

Procedures (Conducted

October 1988 -September

1991)" 92-75 Unplanned

Intakes of 11/12/92 All holders of OLs or CPs Airborne Radioactive

for nuclear power reactors.Material by Individuals

at Nuclear Power Plants 92-74 Power Oscillations

at 11/10/92 All holders of OLs or CPs Washington

Nuclear for nuclear power reactors.Power Unit 2 92-61, Loss of High Head 11/06/92 All holders of OLs or CPs Supp. 1 Safety Injection

for nuclear power reactors.92-73 Removal of A Fuel 11-04/92 All holders of OLs or CPs Element from A Re- for nuclear power reactors.search Reactor Core While Critical 92-59, Horizontally-Installed

11/04/92 All holders of OLs or CPs Rev. 1 Motor-Operated

Gate for nuclear power reactors Valves OL -Operating

License CP -Construction

Permit

IN 92-79 December 1, 1992 This information

notice requires no specific action or written response.

If you have any questions

about the information

in this notice, please contact the technical

contact listed below or the appropriate

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) project manager.Origihnal

igned by Brian 1K. Grimc7s Brian K. Grimes, Director Division of Operating

Reactor Support Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Technical

contact: M. Mendonca, NRR (301) 504-1128 Attachment:

List of Recently Issued NRC Information

Notices DOCUMENT NAME: 92-79.IN*SEE PREVIOUS CONCURRENCES

+SEE MEMO FROM S. H. W S G. H. MARCUS 09/11/92*C/OGCB:DORS:NRR

GHMarcus 10/02/92 `pkb/92+RPB:ADM TechEd 09/02/92*C/PRPB:DREP:NRR

LJCunningham

09/18/92*C/PEPB:DREP:NRR

RErickson 09/30/92*C/DRSS: RV RPate 10/01/92*D/OPA JFouchard 10/01/92*OGCB:DORS:NRR

PCWen 09/16/92+LA/PDNP:DRPW:NRR+PM/PDNP:DRPW:NRR+C/PDNP:DRPW:NRR+D/DRPW:NRR

EHylton MMendonca

SWeiss BABoger 09/10/92 09/10/92 09/11/92 09/11/92 IN 92-XX October xx, 1992 This information

notice requires no specific action or written response.

If you have any questions

about the information

in this notice, please contact the technical

contact listed below or the appropriate

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) project manager.Brian K. Grimes, Director Division of Operating

Reactor Support Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Technical

contact: M. Mendonca, NRR (301) 504-1128 Attachment:

List of Recently Issued NRC Information

Notices Document Name: NPREMEV.IN

• SEE PREVIOUS CONCURRENCES

+SEE MEMO FROM S. H. WEISS TO G. H. MARCUS 09/11/92*C/OGCB:DORS:NRR

D/DORS:NRR

GHMarcus BKGrimesf, 10/02/92 10/ /92'1+RPB:ADM

• C/PRPB:DREP:NRR

• C/PEPB:DREP:NRR

• C/DRSS:RV

• D/OPA TechEd LJCunningham

RErickson

RPate JFouchard 09/02/92 09/18/92 09/30/92 10/01/92 10/01/92*OGCB:DORS:NRR

+LA/PDNP:DRPW:NRR+PM/PDNP:DRPW:NRR+C/PDNP:DRPW:NRR+D/DRPW:NRR

PCWen EHylton MMendonca

SWeiss BABoger 09/16/92 09/10/92 09/10/92 09/11/92 09/11/92 IN 92-XX September

xx, 1992 This information

notice requires no specific action or written response.

If you have any questions

about the information

in this notice, please contact the technical

contact listed below or the appropriate

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) project manager.Charles E. Rossi, Director Division of Operational

Events Assessment

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Technical

contact: M. Mendonca, NRR (301) 504-1128 Attachment:

List of Recently Issued NRC Information

Notices Document Name: NPREMEV.IN

+SEE MEMO FROM S. H. WEISS TO G. H. MARCUS 09/11/92 C/OGCB:DOEA:NRR

D/DOEA:NRR

GHMarcus&AHM

CERossi ID Of/ ./92 09/ /92 l+RPB:ADM C/ ,-DP:NRR C/PEPB:DREP, z 10 SS:RV D/OPA4SV\-

TechEd L n am rickson- RPate a JFouchard 09/02/92 /92 0/ O9/3O/92 / 1 I /9 2 7ae4 00/i /92 OGCB:DOEA:qRR

+LA/PDNP:DRPW:NRR+PM/PDNP:DRPW:NRR+C/PDNP:DRPW:NRR+D/DRPW:NRR

PCWenC VJ EHylton MMendonca

SWeiss BABoger 09//6/92 09/10/92 09/10/92 09/11/92 09/11/92 I .f, MEMORANDUM

FOR: September

11, 19J)Gail H. Marcus, Chief Generic Communications

Branch Division of Operational

Events Assessment

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

FROM: Seymour H. Weiss, Director Non-Power

Reactors, Decommissioning

and Environmental

Project Directorate

Division of Reactor Projects -III/IV/V Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

SUBJECT: PROPOSED DRAFT INFORMATION

NOTICE ON NON-POWER

REACTOR EVENT CONSIDERATIONS

In accordance

with NRC Inspection

Manual Chapter 0720, 1 have enclosed, the subject draft information

notice. The individuals

who receive courtesy copies of this memorandum

should also be considered

by the Generic Communications

Branch to be included for concurrence

on this information

notice./S/Seymour H. Weiss, Director Non-Power

Reactors, Decommissioning

and Environmental

Project Directorate

Division of Reactor Projects -III/IV/V Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

cc R.L.F.R.w/enclosure:

Erickson, NRR/PEPB Cunningham, NRR/PRPB Fouchard, OPA Scarano, RV/DRSS bcc: A. Adams T. Michaels M. Mendonca L. Cohen, EPB F. Kantor, EPB P. Qualls, RV J. Reese, RV R. Pate, RV R. Cooper, RI J.P. Stohr, RII C. Norelius, RIII L. Callan, RIV DISTRIBUTION:

Central Files PDNP R/F EHylton SWeiss[IN]* Seelnrevious

concurrence

PD3p FM PDNP:PM A\EOYrton MMendonca:lb

J/10 /92 q /lo /92 TECH ED*JMain 9/02/92 PDN5 A SWeiss J /I//92 DRPW: 0g BBog/('q (9