ML20214J720
| ML20214J720 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | 07000398 |
| Issue date: | 05/05/1987 |
| From: | Keimig R, Roth J NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION I) |
| To: | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20214J718 | List: |
| References | |
| 70-0398-87-02, 70-398-87-2, NUDOCS 8705280178 | |
| Download: ML20214J720 (8) | |
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U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION p REGION I 1
Report No. 70-398/87-02 Docket No.70-398 License No. SNM-362 Priority 1 Category UHRD Licensee: U.S. Department of Commerce National Bureau of Standards i Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899 Facility Name: National Bureau of Standards t Inspection At: Gaithersburg, Maryland Inspection Conducted: March 16-18, 1987 Inspector: // M S/
J.
h, Pr~oject Engine r- Da'te '
Approved by: / -
/ [ J' 87
. R.-Kaimigr-Chi Date Safeguards Sect , DRSS
, Inspection Summary: Inspection on March 16-18, 1987 (Inspection Report No.
70-398/87-02)
Areas Inspected: Routine, unanncunced inspection by a region-based inspector.
of: organization, criticality safety, operations review, radiation protection, radioactive waste management, transportation, non-routine events and licensee action on previously identified enforcement items.
i Results: No violations were identified.
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DETAILS
- 1. Persons Contacted L. E. Pevey, Chief, Occupational Health and Safety T. G. Hobbs, Chief, Health Physics L. A. Slaback, Jr. , Accelerator and Laboratory Supervisory Health Physicist J. Wang, Reactor Supervisory Health Physicist C. E. Kuyatt, Director, Center for Radiation Research; Chairman, Radiation Safety Committee E. Eisenhower, Chief, Office of Radiation Measurement; Chairman, Radiation Safety Review Subcommittee B. L. Frey, Health Physics Secretary
- 2. Licensee Action on Previously Identified Enforcement Items (Closed) Inspector Follow-Up Item (398/82-05-03): Examine the practice of averaging hood air velocity over the face of the hood opening. The inspector verified that the licensee reevaluated the practice of averaging hood air velocity over the face of hood openings and specified this practice in the most recent license renewal application. NRC-NMSS approved this practice for the type of operations conducted in hoods by this licensee with the renewal of the facility license on May 2,1985.
(Closed) Inspector Follow-Up Item (398/86-02-02): Marking and labeling of packages potentially containing radioactive materials. The licensee has completed a review of all packages to assure that they were properly marked or labeled. The inspector did not identify any unmarked or unlabeled packages that could contain radioactive materials during this inspection.
(Closed) Inspector Follow-Up Item (398/86-02-03): Review of procedures related to the movement and packaging of plutonium in the Building 222, Room A-344, Alpha Laboratory. The inspector reviewed the licensee's procedures for the movement and packaging of plutonium formerly stored and used in the Alpha Laboratory. Details of this review are presented in paragraph 3.e. of this report.
(Closed) Unresolved Item (398/86-02-04): Maintenance of copies of U.S. 00T 7A certification documents from the vendor for specification 17-H drums. The licensee could not obtain the U.S. DOT 7A certification documents for specification 17-H drums from the drum fabricator.
Therefore, the licensee conducted the required tests to certify 17-H drums as U.S. DOT 7A containers. See paragraph 10.d. of this report for additional information.
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- 3. Review of Operations The inspector examined all areas of the site where radioactive material is handled to observe operations and activities in progress, to inspect the nuclear safety aspects of the facility, and'to check the general.
state of cleanliness, housekeeping, and adherence to fire protection rules.
- a. SNM Inventory The inspector reviewed licensee inventory records and determined that the inventory of SNM was within the limits authorized for License No. SNM-362.
- b. Housekeeping The inspector observed that housekeeping in the Building 245, Shipping-Receiving Area (Room B131-135 complex) had degenerated
~s ince the last inspection and was no longer adequate. The licensee ,
was storing contaminated trash in bags outside the walk-in hood that was normally used to contain the trash. The inspector brought this matter to the attention of the licensee. The licensee indicated that corrective action would be taken.
- c. Fire Controls During examination of the Building 245 Shipping-Receiving Area and ,
the Building 235 Waste Holding and Treatment Area, the inspector noted that rate of rise heat detectors were installed but that smoke ,
detectors were not. In addition, there were no fire sprinklers installed in those areas. The inspector was concerned that the rate '
of rise heat detectors alone were not adequate for the type of fire load in the area, e.g., flammable liquids and contaminated, combusti-ble trash. As a result of these observations, the inspector stated -
that the licensee should consider the installation of fire sprinklers and/or smoke detecto'rs in these areas, as appropriate. The licensee stated that fire protection controls installed in these areas would be reexamined and would be revised, if appropriate.
- d. Storage Facility Labeling During examination of the Low Scatter Room in Building 245, the .
inspector observed that'a new in ground storage facility containing in excess of 110 millicuries of californium-252 was not marked or l labeled with a " Caution - Radioactive Materials" sign. A licensee l representative immediately.placed a " Caution - Radioactive Materials" l sign on this storage location and reinstructed Health Physics Technicians to examine storage areas for proper marking and labeling l during the conduct of weekly contamination surveys in those areas.
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- e. Alpha Laboratory - Room A344, Building 222 Prior to Inspection No. 70-398/86-02, the licensee initiated actions to remove and package for shipment, materials contaminated with uranium and plutonium from a hood located in the laboratory. Since that inspection, the licensee prepared and implemented a series of procedures to assure the proper removal, packaging and transfer of plutonium contaminated solutions from the laboratory. Those procedures were reviewed and approved by the Health Physics Group.
They were also reviewed by the Radiation Safety Review Subcommittee. The contaminated solutions were transferred from the alpha laboratory to a Health Physics Group hood located in the Shipping-Receiving Area of Building 245. The solutions were solidified using Envirostone Gypsum Cement. Following processing, each package was placed into a 55 gallon drum and transferred to the Building 235 Waste Storage Building pending final transfer to a Department of Energy (D0E) laboratory for disposal. This material must be transferred to a 00E laboratory because existing burial sites will not accept materials containing in excess of 10 nanocuries of plutonium per gram of waste material. During this inspection, the inspector reviewed the procedures used by the licensee for the transfer of this material from building to building and for solidification of the solutions. No inadequacies were identified.
- 4. Nuclear Criticality Safety The inspector verified through observations that the licensee was maintaining the nuclear safesy controls necessary to assure that no more than 300 grams of SNM were stored or used in any one area and that there were at least three feet separating each 300 gram batch of SNM, as required by the facility license.
- 5. Radiation Safety Committee The inspector examined the minutes of five meetings of the Radiation Safety Committee held between July 10, 1986, and February 18, 1987.
Topics reviewed by the committee included audits cor. ducted by the Radiation Safety Review Subcommittee, draft procedures for a pending spent fuel shipment from the NBS reactor facility, special Chernobyl environmental monitoring, and the 1985 Health Physics Annual Report. No inadequacies were identified.
The inspector also examined the reports of four audits conducted by the Radiation Safety Review Subcommittee since the last inspection. The health physics areas audited included: Posting, Labeling, Surveys, Exposure Controls and Area Monitors; Personnel Monitoring; Instrumentation; and Radioactive Waste Management. The Health Physics Group has initiated or completed corrective actions on all program weaknesses identified during these audits.
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- 6. Facility Changes and Modifications The inspector observed that construction of the shielded room surrounding the magnesium sulfate bath for the californium-252 source calibration facility in Building 245, Room B-141, had been completed since the last inspection. The licensee has initiated calibration of sources in this facility.
The licensee completed installation of a metal cover and lockable door on the shielded source storage area in Building 245, Room B-143. The cover and door were installed to assure positive control of sources following the loss of a cesium-137 sealed source during November 1985. This incident was discussed in Inspection Report No. 70-398/86-02.
- 7. Radiation Protection
- a. Source Leak Tests The inspector reviewed leak test records for various sealed sources maintained by the licensee for the period March, 1986 through j March 17, 1987. The inspector found that the sources were leak i tested at the intervals required by license conditions.
! b. Smear Surveys The inspector examined weekly smear survey data for the period April 1,1986 through March 13, 1987. The data indicated that corrective actions were taken when the contamination exceeded 10 dpm/100 cm2 alpha and/or 100 dpm/100 cm2 beta.
- c. Instrument Calibration The inspector reviewed the licensee's portable survey instrument calibration records for the period January 2,1986 through March 17, 1987. The instruments were calibrated within six month intervals, as required by license conditions.
- d. Waste Compactor Air Sampling The inspector examined the records of air samples taken during operation of the waste compactor from April 2, 1986 to March 16, 1987. No air samples in excess of about 10% of the maximum permissible concentrations specified in 10 CFR 20, !
Appendix B, for unknown alpha or' mixed fission product ' activity, were !
identified.
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- 8. Nonroutine Events The inspector determined through a review of licensee records and discussion with licensee representatives that there was one nonroutine event at this facility, within the scope of this inspection, since the last inspection. The event was not required to be reported to the NRC.
On December 16, 1986, three individuals conducting a safety inspection in the Building 245, Room B-142, B-143, B-145 complex, inadvertently entered the neutron (californium-252) source calibration room (Room B-143) while a source was exposed. Investigation by the Health Physics Group indicated that administrative controls had been violated and that there was no
- significant exposures to the individuals because there was shielding 1
between them and the source. The maximum radiation level in the source room was determined to be 2 millirem / hour. The following corrective actions have been taken or are planned: (1) an area within several feet 1 of the source will be posted as a High Radiation Area when the source is exposed and as a Radiation Area when the source is in the bath, (2) the
, room will be clearly marked as requiring dosimetry; (3) a locked gate will be placed at the entrance to the source room; (4) a memo has been issued to all radioactive material source users to inform them of the identified violation of adminsitrative controls.
- 9. Procedural Control The inspector examined procedures prepared by several different investigators concerning the handling and use of radioactive materials.
4 These procedures covered instructions about the preparation of various standard reference radioactive material samples. The inspector noted_ ,
that the licensee had not established a comprehensive formalized document control system to assure that only reviewed and - proved procedures were used by the NBS investigators. The inspector beought this to the attention of the licensee for evaluation to determine if the procedures should be placed into a formal document control system.
- 10. Transportation Activities
- a. Radioactive Material Receipts i The inspector examined licensee records for the receipt of radioactive materials for the period April 1, 1986 to March 17, 1987.
Smear and external radiation surveys were conducted to determine if the licensee was in compliance with the monitoring requirements of '
10 CFR 20.205. The licensee was found in compliance.
- b. Radioactive Materials Shipments I The inspector reviewed licensee records for the shipment of radio-active materials for the period July 1,1986 to March 11, 1987.
Shipping ' records indicated that all shipments were labeled, marked, 4
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, 7 placarded (if necessary), monitored for radiation and contamination, and documented as required by federal regulations.
- c. Radioactive Waste Shipments The inspector reviewed licensee records for the shipment of radioactive waste. Between April 15, 1986 and March 16, 1987, the licensee made two shipments of radioactive waste. The inspector determined from the records that each package was properly marked and labeled in accordance with U.S. 00T regulations, 10 CFR 61, and the burial site requirements. For each shipment, the waste manifest appea ed to properly identify the radioactive chemical form, activity, and stability, as required by 10 CFR Part 61.
- d. U.S. 00T Specification 7A Testing The inspector determined through discussions with licensee represen-tatWes that the DOE-Mound Laboratory test results for the certifi-cation of U.S. 00T specification 17-H 55 gallon drums as type 7A containe s had not been issued by DOE since the last inspection. As a result, the licensee decided to conduct its own tests on the 17-H drums to assure that they can be' certified as type 7A containers.
The inspector verified through examination of licensee records that the 17-H drums meet the 7A container testing requirements specified in 49 CFR 173.465. No inadequacies were identified.
- e. Spent Fuel Shipments The licensee is preparing to make a series of shipments from the reactor facility to the Department of Energy (00E) Savannah River Plant.
As part of these preparations, the licensee is developing a spent fuel packaging and shipping procedure. The inspector examined a draft copy of this procedure and made several comments concerning proper packaging, monitoring, surveying, and loading on the vehicle for transportation. In addition, the inspector. suggested that the licensee conduct a " readiness review", prior to the start of ship-ment, to review facilities, equipment, procedures and personnel training to assure that they are adeouate.
- 11. National Bureau of Standards (NBS) Reference Materuls Certification Program During discus- with licensee representatives, the inspector was inforraed that .ne NBS was considering discontinuation of the Special Nuclear Material standard reference material certification program because of a lack of funding. The Department of Energy is considering i transfer of this program to the New Brunswick _ Laboratory located in Araonne, IL.
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- 12. Exit Interview 4
l The inspector met with the licensee representatives indicated.in paragraph 1 at the conclusion of the inspection on March 18, 1987. The
- inspector summarized.the scope of the inspection and the findings.
- At no time during this inspection was written material provided to the licensee by the inspector.
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