ML20199J297
| ML20199J297 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 01/22/1998 |
| From: | Ryder C NRC |
| To: | NRC |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20199J218 | List: |
| References | |
| SSD, NUDOCS 9802050277 | |
| Download: ML20199J297 (8) | |
Text
,
Rl: CORD No Ili g
FROM:
Ch istopher Ryder SUlHECT:
Trip Report: General 1.icensees in Western Penns)Ivania-13 January 1998 I
introduction During January 13* through 15*, I toured general heensees in western Penns> hania with James Yusko and Edwa;d Andresky, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. The DEP staff, under the guidance of Mr. Yusko, are :onducting a sursey to locate generally licensed devices. Pennsylvania is under NRCjurisdiction, but is expected to become an Agreement State in a few years. I participated to gain an understanding of general licensees in NRC jurisdiction. Now I have experience to compare to my experience in an Agreement State, Oregon.
All our visits were unannounced. Nevertheless, we were always greeted with courtesy and interest. Mr.
Yuske knows the Pittsburgh area well. From the beginnine, as we wound through the streets of Pittsburgh 3 ng to Ogure out the route, car, ntrating i
ar.d into the surrounding countryside, I quickly gase t.p instead of viewing the surroundings and listening to Mr Yusko explain some of the history.
2 Os erall Observations The places we visited were selecteu from NRC's list of general licensees. The quality of the list is, at best, poor. Its salient characteristics are as follows:
Outdated. Some places we sisited had not had their devices for decades. Other places had been out of business for decades.
Inaccurate. The list only shows sales, not returns. This aside, the list is still inaccurate. Some places had more gauges than listed while others had far fewer.
Vague. The list tells nothing about the use of the gauge or who in the organization it was given to.
Had I not known better. I would have thought that tours had been staged to illustrate the views of the DEP. But I observed myself the shambles of NRC's accounting of the devices.
In general, the peopic give little thought to the gauges. They have large demands on their time to stay in business The groups of peaple that have to be satisGed are the following:
Customers.
Unions.
Upper management.
State and federal regulators (EPA, OSilA), municipal authorities.
Prices of resources.
Local residents, who may complain about the facility, even if they directly benefit from the facility.
Thin proGt margins.
Strong competition.
dmamum t he power company we sisited must aM utNy a p#.
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.b e McKeesport. PA 15134. Joseph Rost, McKeespart Municipal Authority,100 Atlantit f
Li Superintendent. Rob Hybar, Chief Operator. Ihli Kimby. Certined Operator.
t.mk ta another where the sludge is thickened by Gauges were used to monitor the sludee going from a Ihe pertion o the facihty containing the r
allowing the particulates to settle and decantmg the water gauges had been used little since the 1960s. The plant was renovated in the mid 1 operated. Since then, this portion of the plant was mothballed.
The people at the facility had no idea of the gauges. The gase us blank looks. NRC s
gauges; two gauges containing one curie of "'Cs and two gauges containing %
only the detcetors, no sources, of three gauges. The gauges were found by locating following the wires and by looking for the shaped ' %e gauges-the detectors were painted (ered, and well lighted.
dark color as the pipes. The rooms were cleat, uns._
After our visit, the staff called Mr. Yusko to say tha 'ey found some records. The license had license tor these gauges becauss ne gauges were terminated in 19R3. Mr. Yusko told me that there is i generally licensed. The facility apparently had a speettie lic gauges retired last year.
On January 21,1997, Mr. Yusko told me of additional information since our visit. The spe each of no more than 500 millicuries. The purpose of the stated that the facility could have three ga" speciGe license and what happened to the generally licensed sources remain unclear.
s Allegheny Petroleum Co 104 River Rod, McKeesport, PA 15132.
3.2 NRC records list a 30-millicurie '"Cm source and a 20-millicurie "Fe source. Mr. Yusko sp the "Fe source was in a piece of analytical equipment. The company is no longer in busines to the street address, but found nothing. People in the area had not heard of the company.
could not be located.
Allegheny Power, Mitchell Power Mtior, $0 Electric Way, Courtney, PA 15067. J. E.
Laughner, Superintendent, Regions Operations. Tel. (412) 258-0423. Fax: (412) 2 13 The facility is a 290-MW gross (265 Mw net) coal burning power plant. Scrubbers allow th coal that contains sulfur. Otherwise, the coal must be low in sulfur. ProGt margins are thinnin of deregulation.
The facility has i17 people; the turnover rate is low. Labor is unionized. Some friction exist labor and management, but improvements are being made in these relations. The safety conccrns about pinch points, heavy objects, and eye hazards, not nuclear gauges. Most, if not plant are aware of the nuclear gauges; management may know of them, but not h gauges are located. The superintendent was unaware of all of the gauges. He kne
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at another site of the utihty. Ihese people are aw are that the
.; raids a ud.n bate o turn. not a gauges must be inosed by the sendor No gauges ale i '
pratit. Ihe utihty approaches :he l't'C with storage. Only the gauge sendor moses the ganget antupated expenses needed to mamtam their plant Ihe Pl C will allow the unhiy to ch rg a raw to aner the expenses and n.ab NRC records list sis 100 millieurie "'Cs eauces madv 'w a reawnable prolit llut it' a w inter is warm iN Iechnologies. Sesen gauges were at the facihty Iluce or a summer n tool. the utihty may not sell gauges were on the scrubbers themsels et Iwo gauges acre, enoueh rauer to make a profit on the centrifuge. lhe scrubber and centrifuge umts weie l
made by TN Technologies. Two gauges were on the lime loops where time is activated for scrubbing by adding uater; these gauges were made by Bernthol. No gauges are in storage, Three gauges are en the centrifuge monitor the density of slurry l.ime is used to scrub furnace gas of sulfur compounds. The lime slurry goes to a large tank uhen the sludge settles. The sludge is withdrawn from the tank and spun in a :entrifuge to remove water. Flyash is added. The paste is transported to a nearby burial si e. The centrifuges can operate cont" vut but their capacity is greater than the arrunt of sludge produced by the settling taak. Therefore, perates in a batch mode. The gauges sense hen pumps. drawing from the settling tank, start pulling uatei Some of the gauges were coscred with the lime and were recognizable by only their shape. Such a gauge on the lime loops was near the Door Another gauge on the second lime loop was about eight feet abose the ground and only r rtially obscured. 'Ihe lime loops.ne uns)mmetrical, hampering our efforts to find the gauges. At the loops, the lighting was dim. I he tWs were sometimes slippery.
The furnace produces flyash, SO SO. NO. CO:. and w ater. An electrostatic precipitator removes the 3
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Hyash. The scrubbers remove to sulfur campounds.1he NOs and CO, are controlled by controlling the combustion process.
The facility is in sersice about 85% of the time About P o of the out of service time is unscheduled.
Contractors do much of the scheduled maintenance. The population of contractors is typically from 160 to 200. All eontcact work is oserseen by the utility statf.
3A Mapi-k Mining, Inc., Preparation I lant. New F.agle. PA 15067 Terry Blair-Martin, Plant Fore.
Matt Voithofer.
The facility is a coal mine. Next to the mine is a processing plant where the coal is prepared for use. We went through parts of the processing plant.
The population at the processing plant is 49 people. Labor is unionized; labor / management relatio is are good. The turnos er rate is low. Safety concerns are supported by management-slipping, pincb points.
Everyc.ne m the plant is aware of the nuclear gauges. No gauges are in storage. No one is directly responsible for the gauges. The gauge vendor, Bernthoi, services the gauges. The operation is 85%
availability. The processing plant is out of service one day / week for routine maintenance.
NRC records show that the facility has two Berthold gauges, each containing 20 millicurit of"'Cs.
. 3
t he 1aphiy was owned by 1.5 steel It iud Nen duo.u: : a m. nun im me
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w w as hete \\b Withofer w as workine f
until nudnight one day. ihe next mornmg. he was canea m oc told uw me piant med ana noi w mne back. I asked him if the place was pillaged. lie said that n was no: - - the place is too eerie esen when it ld dark is operating. I agrecd with him as he took us through portions of the plant. We went up an o They were r..ounted on pipes at about one freight elevator to get to the poorly lit room to see the gauget hiot off of the door. A positise identineation of on gauge with the serial number could not be made 1he room was dark and dirty. Afternards. we because of coal dust and other dirt enerusted on the gauge went though a tunnel, about eight feet m diametei. w hich hou>ed a corn ey or belt bringing coal to bar The barge work is dangerous; mosing the barges by hand to position them unJer the coal shoot. D rain,md sleet. the barge platforms are slippery 11 % and other operations are what people think about, about their hs ennoow.. the gauges.
not the gaugex When the plant closed. people thoug.
No gauges are in storage. The process line can operate w nhout the gauges, such as when the gauges removed and by the vendor and sersiced. Ihen the process is manually controlled.
Sequa, Precoat hietals, P.O. Box 159. NicKeesport. PA 15134. Scott Lewis, Regional hlanager.
3.5 Philip LaN1antia, hiaintenance N1anager. H rnard Krasicki, Ensironmental manager, George liardick, Director of Nianufacturing. Tel.
12 ) 461 2780. Fa.s: (412) 673-3657.
The facility cleans and coats metal. such as for cans Nuclear gauges are used to control the thickne the coatings. Here, the process line cannot function without the gauges. Gauges are critical. Two gauges are at the beginning of the coating process tone for each side of the metal) to measure the thickness any coating that may already be present. Two more gauges are at the end orthe process. The differe between the measurements for each side gises the thicknen of the applied coating. These gauges contain "Kr. The movement of the gauges at either end is soordinated so that the gauges are measuring the same line on along the sheet. Another gauge, contammg " Am. is sometimes used to measure the thicknes the metal sheet. NRC records were accurate.
The population at the facility is 105 people; the turnos er rate is low-now. The company has chang ownership. The work force was reduced in seseral na)s~ retirements, early outs, and layoffs. The downsizing was done in two phases. Tensions were es ident during the downsizing. The maintenance After the down sizing, tensions remained for several staff, who are responsible 'N the gauges, remained months. Labor is unionized; labor / management relanons are good and is re0ceted in the salcty record.
No gauges aie in storage. Four people on the maintenance staff are qualified to care for the gaug gauge vendor is given the responsibility because the alignment of the gauges is critical to prodact The gauges hase not been remosed in 16 years.
The coating is applied to the metal sheet. The sheet is The coating for cans has to be tough and durable.
then shipped to a customer where circles are cut out. The circle is cupped, drawn, redrawn, trimm impressed with ridges on the side to give strength. The can is then Gil and may be pasturized. A customer, such as Bumble Bee Tuna, can make 300 to 600 cans in a minute, Uneven coatings can easily jam the can presses. If this happens or the coating deteriorates. Sequa is charged.
An ultraviolet light is used to conGrm the presence of pinholes in the metal, occurring s, hen the sheet was made at a steel mill. These areas of the sheet will be remosed by the customer when the sheet is made into cans.
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Ihe enuromr :nt was clean, well ngnica, ano unooucico.. - g ags> u.mc w..c. i m e u.a u.a.
used in the coatings base FDA approval. Customers otten come to the tacility to review the process for their product. Some customers will esen try to link unwan= J ta>tes in their product to the material used in the coating.
One of the piocess lines was being renovated a compents m West Virginia has newer equipment that can coat the metals faster and less costly than the current machine. Sequa has to upgrade the process lit e to stay in business.
3.6 INSPEC Chemical Corporation, P O. lios 307. Petrolia. PA,16050. Frank Kuriluk, Nf aintenance Nianager,(412) 756 2370. Fax:(412) 756-8010.
The facility was Koppers Chemical Corporation as listed on the NRC rc ords. But the facility changed ownership The staff person recalled the gauge. It is no longer at the facility because a change to the process made the gauge unne essary. The gauge was stored in a warehouse on a pallet for several years before it was properly disposed. NRC records indicated that the facility had one 200 millicuie "'Cs source. The company person said th there has not bee:
- auge at the plant for 10 years.
3.7 Armstrong Cement and Supply Corp.,100 Clearfield Rd., Cabet, PA 16023-9521. Richard Smith, Vice President of Operations. Tel.:(412) 352-4471. Fav (412) 352 3590.
s NRC records showed the name of the facility as Penn-Dixie Industries. Nir. Yusko found the location with help from a local post of6ce. The facility had been Penn-Disie from 1950 to 1980, then Penn-West until 1983, then Armstrong Cement.
NRC records show that the facilits has one gauge containing 200 millicurie of "'Cs. The gauge was sold to Penn-Dixie in the first quarter of 1978. A staff person at the facility eventually recalled that te gauge was never installed. Someone from NRC called, say ing that a gauge identified as belonging to Penn.
Dixie was found along a road in West Virginia. On January 21. Nir. Yusko told me that the facility staff called him; the gauge had been found in a cluttered storage room, 3.8 Spang Speciality Nietals, Advanced high technology Alloys, P.O. Box 391, Butler, PA 16003-0391. Leonard Sta.iszewski, Nianufacturing manager. Tel.:(412) 202 3014. Fax: (412) 282-4209.
The facility rolls magnetic steels into parts for electrical components, such as transformers and recording heads. Sheet steel is purchased and rolled at two rolling mills at the facility The rolling mills are small compared to those found at steel mills. The larger mill is about twenty feet long. The smaller mills is about fifteen feet long. The facility was clean, uncluttered, and well lighted. The facility had a small melt shop until the mid 1990s. The melt shop was scrapped because of the costs of upgrades and econo nies of scale in producing steel.
The population at the facility is 20 people; the turnos er rate is low. Labor is unionized; labor / management relations are good. inside the plant, all employees know about the gauges. Outside the plant, corporate engineers and emergency people know of the gauges. The snop supervisor is directly responsible for the gauges. The gauges are serviced by haegrated Industrial Systems, the supplier of'he rolling mill.
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NRC tecords indicate two gauges sentammy
't he pairs of cauces prm ide teed terward and feedback signah On the I
milk eash with two cauces 4m;s,maher di A 1 i.; nsag 4 s.e larger mill, the gauges automatically control the unauen gauge, provide indications that are then used to mam. ally adtust the thicknen 3.9 Standard Packaging, liutler. PA.16003
'Kr pauges. lhere is no s'reet address given.
NRC recoros show that the facility ha> two 200 milheuru During our visit to Spang Speciality Nietals (see item 3 A \\fr. Yusko had been aski i h they had heard of Standard Packaging, there Mr Stanivew Li said that Standard Packagi scry building that is now occupied by the Spang company standard Packaging had a propr to apply aluminum backing to paper.13y t e time the proce3s w h
i building-empty.
3.10 Park Heights, Wayne Street, Parker, PA 16049 NRC records show that the facility has !I seated source comaining 5.21 curies of tritium and o i tr. Yush speculated that the facility is an containing 300 milbcurie of L"Am. Along the aa) the, f
apartment building. It was an apartment building for 'ou-meome elderly people. The o illuminating exit signs listed in the NRC re;ords. only ten could be located. The NRC record of t
'" Am source is a mistake.
15201 1394. Mark Davis, Pittsburgh firewing Company,33401.iberty As e.. Pittsburgh, PA Fred lloeulock. Paekaging Maintenance Supervisor.
3,11 Assistant lirewmaster,1 12) 692 1119.
4 Mike Gigliotti, Packaging Supenisor, Tel.: (412) 682 7400. Fax:(412)
Far. (412) 692-1147.
682 2379.
NRC records show that the facility as 27 gauges. The facility has only four gauges to check th and cans tre properly filled. On the bottle line, the gauges were not being used because the bott rejection mechanism was improperly aligned. The bottle height was being monitored correction could be made. The can 'ine was out of service for maintenance; when the process operation, the gat 2,es are in use.
The facility is about 130 years old and has changed ownership sescrat times recently. Recent owners were from 1982 to 1992, then to 1995, and then to the present. About 90 people are at the facili turnover rate in management is high; the rate is near zero in the unionized labor. Labor / managemen relations are generally good, with only a few rough areas. F.mployces are usually concerned abou production and their future with the changes in ownership. For two to three weeks each production line is out of service for maintenance. Mechanics and electricians are aware of t Every morning, the gauges are cleaned. No gauges are in storage The plant manager did not know of their responsibilities for the gauges. When I was asked him to Mr. Yusko. The maintena:xe staff are carful when working around the gauges.
The facility has an annual capacity of about one million gallons of beer. The actua' production 700,000 gallons.
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.t DI:P litiefing During a staff meetiny at the nsylsania Department of ' m ironmental Protection, Radiation Protection, I briefed Mr. Yuske
,taff on the risk analpis. \\lr. Yusko's paper (Ref. 6.1) clearly documents that a problem exists 4d was used to focus the rak analysis on nuclear gauges. Reference 6.2 gives a set of alternalises. Now, a 9 stematie analpis is naJed to determine what to change and how much improsements can be expected. Although numbers uil be soft, the analysis is s.ructured. llecause it will be clearly documented. the analysis can be reuewed. I ixused on the licensee model. Mr. Yusko directed his staff to proside comments by mid l ebruar.s lws 5
insights for the Risk Analysis My experience and the inforraation I gathered during the site sisits influenced the risk analysis. I gained an appreciation for the industoes and the need for better regulations. I have been told about the problems with the general license. Now I can say that I hase begun to appreciate and under tand the problems 5.1 Registration is more important than I had thougnt \\t the very least, a person at a faHlity is made aware of the gauges.
5.2 I had been considering that gauges are a s ital part of process control-process lines cannot operate without their gauges. Ilence, me is a form of control in the risk analysis. This is true in many, but not all, cases. Some process lines can be operated without their gauges, such as when the gauges are out of sersice for maintenance and calibration. During such times, the processes are manually controlled.
5.3 Gauges can be lost or improperly disposed while anaiting to be installed. I heard of this happening. This time,I came across such a case. Aw aiting installation can be considered a part of storage. In the risk analysis, this needs to be explicitly stated.
5.4 Though the sources are small compared to nuclear power plants, the risk may still be high. In the U.S. are 109 power plants that can be located and are continuously watched. None of the public goes near the adioactive material. In contrast, the NRC har no idea how may nuclear gauges are in industries. The radioactive material can be handled by the public.
6 References 6.1 J, Lubenau and J. Yusko,"Radioactise Material in Recycled Metals," Health Physics, April 1995.
6.2 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,"I inal Report of the NRC-Agreement State Working Group to Evaluate Control and Accountability of Licensed Devices." NUREG-1551, October 1996.
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