IR 05000331/1993024

Insp Rept 50-331/93-24 on 931129-1203.No Violations Noted. Major Areas Inspected:Licensee Radiation Protection Program Including:Licensee Actions on Previous Insp Findings & Refueling Floor Operations

ML20059B969
Person / Time
Site:	Duane Arnold
Issue date:	12/23/1993
From:	Cox C, Kozak T, Snell W NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION III)
To:
Shared Package
ML20059B962	List: IR 05000331/1993024 ML20059B959
References
50-331-93-24, NUDOCS 9401040311
Download: ML20059B969 (5)

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U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

REGION III

Report No. 50-331/93024(DRSS)

Docket No. 50-331 License No. DPR-49 Licensee: Iowa Electric Light and Power Company IE Towers P. O. Box 351 Cedar Rapids, IA 52406 Facility Name: Duane Arnold Energy Center Inspection At: Duane Arnold Site, Palo, Iowa Inspection Conducted: November 29 through December 3, 1993 y :r: T /J/x/67'

Senior Rad tion Specialist Date Inspector: x /

P,adiati n Specialist -hM-Date Approved By: Wil iam ell, Chief ///;tJ/93 Radiological Programs Section 2 Date '

Inspection Summary:

Inspection on November 29 throuah December 3. 1993 (Report No. 50-331/93024(DRSS))

Areas Inspected: Routine announced inspection of the licensee's radiation protection program including: licensee action on previous. inspection findings; refueling floor operations; training and qualifications of personnel; self assessment; control of radioactive material and contamination; solid radioactive waste; and maintaining occupational exposure as-low-as-reasonably achievable (ALARA) (Inspection Procedures (IP) 83750 and 86750).

Results: The licensee's radiation protection program appears to be. effective in controlling radiological work and in protecting the public health and safety. Radiological performance during the recently completed refueling outage was very good and dose expended continued a downward tren Foreign material control was also improved in the spent fuel pool area. Coors m W -

during the spent fuel pool cleanup project between the licensee and iM contractor was good. Housekeeping was improved from the previous radiation protection inspection. Self assessment within the Radiation Protection Department needs improvement as only 19 radiation deficiency / incident reports were issued during 1993 to dat PDR ADDCK 05000331 O PDR ,

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DETAILS'

1. Persons Contacted licensee Staff j

• D. Boone, Acting Decontamination Supervisor i

• W. Holden, Training Supervisor - Radiation Protection )

• C. Kardos, Supervisor, Reactor and Computer Performance

• R. Perry, Acting Health Physics Supervisor

• K. Peveler, Manager, Corporate Quality Assurance .

• D. Robinson, Regulatory Communications

• D. Schebler, Radioactive Waste Supervisor ,

• G. Taylor, Environmental Supervisor '

• M. Teply, Reactor and Computer Performance Department i

• E. Wienola, QA Specialist

• T. Wilkerson, Manager, Radiation Protection

• D. Wilson, Plant Superintendent - Nuclear

• K. Young, Manager, Nuclear Licensing Nuclear Reaulatory Commission C. Miller, Resident Inspector

• J. Hopkins, Senior Resident Inspector The inspectors also interviewed other licensee personnel in various departments during the course of the inspectio !

• Denotes those present at the exit meeting on December 3, 1993.

2. General This inspection was conducted to review aspects of the licensee's radiation protection program. The inspection included tours of the ,

reactor building, the turbine building and radwaste facilities, '

cbservations of licensee activities, a review of representative records and discussions with licensee personne . Licensee Action On Previous Insoection Findinas (83750)

(Closed) Violation (331/93014-01): This violation concerned an unauthorized entry of two individuals into a high radiation area (HRA). '

The licensee has taken what appears to be adequate corrective actions to prevent recurrence of this even Included in the corrective actions was an enhancement of general employee training concerning HRAs, counseling the. employees involved, modification of standing radiation '

work permits to ensure the requirements for HRA entry are clear, and improvement in the posting of HRAs. This item is close . Egfuelina Floor Ooerations (IP 837501 The inspectors reviewed activities on the refueling floor during the spent fuel pool cleanup project. Appropriate continuous air monitors

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i and area radiation monitors with current calibrations were in use during the fuel movement operations. Radiation Protection (RP) personnel ,

maintained control of all personnel entering the refueling floor at a control point set up just inside the entrance to the floor. Applicable procedures and surveys were readily available at the control point and 1 all personnel were provided a briefing on activities and radiological conditions in the work area. An additional briefing was required on new ,

foreign material exclusion (FME) procedures developed just prior to commencing the cleanup projec FME. control was much improved from previous spent fuel pool projects. The cleanup project was proceeding l well and coordination between the contractor and the licensee was very -

good. As part of the project, highly radioactive stellite rollers which

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were previously removed from control blades were being transferred to a radioactive source manufacturer rather than being disposed of as radioactive waste. This was an innovative solution to the required disposition of the roller ,

No violations or deviations were identifie . Trainina and Oualifications of Personnel (IP 83750)

The inspectors reviewed the quarterly continuing training program for radiation protection technicians. Attendance records and lesson plans were reviewed. Classroom topics were appropriate and included lessons learned from industry events. A review of applicable information notices was included in the training sessions and especially noteworthy was a review of Information Notice (IN) 92-75 ' Unplanned Intakes-of Airborne Radioactive Material by Individuals at Nuclear Power Plants".

The licensee did an excellent job of reviewing this IN when it was received. The review resulted in a change to applicable radiation protection procedures and a detailed, description of the events in the continuing training sessio No violations or deviations were identifie . Control of Radioactive Materials and Contamination. Surveys and Monitorina (IP 83750)

The inspectors reviewed the licensee's program for control of radioactive materials and contamination, including: maintenance and calibration of contamination survey and monitoring equipment; adequacy of review and dissemination of survey data; and effectiveness of radioactive and contaminated material control The inspectors reviewed the calibrations of several survey instruments in use and found all to be current. The inspectors toured various radiologically controlled areas of the plant and found that surveys were available, adequate and current for those areas toured. The inspectors noted that, with the exception of a few isolated areas in the turbine building, housekeeping in contaminated areas had improved from previous inspection _

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There were 147 personnel contamination events (PCEs) recorded for Refueling Outage (RF0)-12 compared to 187 PCEs for RF0-11. This is especially noteworthy because the reduction in PCEs occurred with ;

reduced respirator and protective clothing use for RF0-12. One >

innovative contamination control technique that may have contributed to the reduction in PCEs was the use of an approved glue / water mixture to fix contamination on valve internals while working on and inspecting the valve .

No violations or deviations were identifie . Self Assessment (IP 83750) .

The inspectors reviewed the Radiological Deficiency / Incident Reports (RDIRs) for 1993. There were a total of 19 RDIRs recorded for 1993 which was low for a year with a refueling outage. Interviews with ,

radiation protection personnel indicated that +here was a reluctance to t use the RDIR system by the staff. Radiation protection management-acknowledged the staff's reluctance to use the RDIR system. A new plant-wide corrective action program (CAP) for 1994 will incorporate the RDIR system and radiation protection management indicated their ,

intention was to use the new system to lower the threshold for .

documenting radiological events and to use the system as a more !

effective self-assessment too l Four Quality Assurance (QA) surveillances for RFO-12 were reviewed by the inspectors. The scope of the surveillances was adequate and observations appropriate. The inspectors interviewed the QA inspector ,

for radiation protection and his supervisor and discussed the audit plan for an on-going ALARA surveillance. To ensure a broad look at the ALARA program was accomplished, the QA supervisor indicated that two industry peers were to be utilized for the ALARA surveillanc No violations or deviations were identifie ,

I 8. Solid Radioactive Waste (IP 86750) l The inspectors reviewed the licensee's solid radioactive waste management program, including: changes to equipment and procedures, !

processing and control of solid wastes, adequacy of required records, l reports and notifications, performance of process control and quality j assurance programs and experience in identification and correction of programmatic weaknesse The solid radioactive waste management program remained essentially the ,

same as described in Inspection Report No. 50-331/92019(DRSS). I Improvements were noted in volume reduction of dry activated waste (DAW) l for 1993. The licensee estimated that 1993 total buried. volume for the '

DAW would be 60 to 70 cubic meters verses the goal of 150 cubic meters and verses the 1992 volume of 82 cubic meters. The licensee attributed the volume reduction to trash sorting and incineratio No violations or deviations were identifie i C- ,

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0 Maintainino Occupational Exoosures ALARA (Ip 83750) l I

The inspectors reviewed the licensee's program for maintaining occupational exposures ALARA, including: the source term reduction program; ALARA group staffing and qualification; changes in ALARA policy and procedures, and their implementation; ALARA considerations for planned maintenance and refueling outages; and worker awareness and ;

involvement in the ALARA progra i Source term reduction efforts at DAEC continued to be a program ]

strength. Items accomplished in the recently completed refueling outage .

included the replacement of the remaining 36 high cobalt containing ;

control blades, the replacement of the stellite internals of the i feedwater regulating valve, and continued use of a hydrolaser to remove hot spots and flush systems. The ALARA group staffing changed somewhat in that an ALARA specialist was assigned as the Acting Health Physics Supervisor. The individual was not replaced at the time of the !

inspection. The recently completed refueling outage was very successful .

from a radiological standpoint. Dose expended was estimated to be i approximately 320 person-rem which represents a significant improvement ,

from previous refueling outages and continued a downward trend in dose expenditure. At the time of the inspection, the licensee was completing

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ALARA Post Task Review Summaries for major dose jobs completed during

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the outage. These summaries are included in job history files for use in planning for repetitive jobs in the futur Preliminary plans for i ALARA initiatives for the next refueling outage include expanded use o water shielding in the drywell and use of a three dimensional diagram of ;

the drywell for planning purpose .

No violations or deviations were identifie ;

10. Exit Meetina -

The inspectors conducted an exit meeting with licensee representatives ii (denoted in Section 1) on December 3, 1993, to discuss the scope and

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findings of the inspectio During this meeting, the inspector discussed the likely informational content of the inspection report with regard to documents or processes reviewed by the inspectors during the inspection. Licensee representatives did not identify any such documents or processes as proprietary. The inspectors specifically discussed the following items: ,

The improved radiological performance during the outage and the need to continue the downward trend in dose expende ,

The good coordination between the licensee and the contractor ;

during the spent fuel pool cleanup project and improved foreign material exclusion contro :

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