IR 05000219/1985007

Ack Receipt of Informing NRC of Steps Taken to Correct Violations Noted in Insp Rept 50-219/85-07. Notification Requested Prior to Implementation of Any Decontamination Techniques for Leaching Problem

ML20134B027
Person / Time
Site:	Oyster Creek
Issue date:	07/23/1985
From:	Martin T NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION I)
To:	Fiedler P GENERAL PUBLIC UTILITIES CORP.
References
NUDOCS 8508150496
Download: ML20134B027 (2)

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JUL 231985 Docket No. 50-219 GPU Nuclear Corporation ATTN: Mr. P. B. Fiedler Vice President and Director Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station P. O. Box 388 Forked River, New Jersey 08731 Gentlemen:

Subject; Inspection No. 85-07 This refers dated to your March 27, 1985.letter dated April 26, 1985, in response to our letter Thank in your you for infonning us of the corrective and preventive actions documented letter.

your licensed program.These actions will be examined during a future inspection of With regard to your efforts to resolve the contamination leaching problem, we arethem.

of very interested in your findings and would appreciate being kept infonned any decontamination technique.We also request that you infonn us prior to the Office of Management and Budget under the Paperwork Redu PL96-511.

Your cooperation with us is appreciated.

Sincerely, Originals 1 P N yges 11. JoTaor Thomas T. Martin, Director Division of Radiation Safety and Safeguards cc:

M. Laggart, BWR Licensing Manager Licensing Manager, Oyster Creek Public Document Room (PDR)

local Public Document Room (LPDR)

Nuclear Safety Information Center (NSIC)

NRC Resident Inspector State of New Jersey e500150496 PDR ADOCK O M h 19 PDR 0 l 0FFICIAL RECORD COPY l l

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GPU Nuclear Corporation 2 JUL 231985 bec:

Region I Docket Room (with concurrences)

Senior Operations Officer Section Chief, DRP J. Roth, DRSS

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OFFICIAL RECORD COPY RL GPU 85-07 - 0001.0.1 06/13/85

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u GPU Nuclear Corporation U Nuclear  :: en:ra88 Forked River. New Jersey 08731-0385 609 971-4000 Writer's Direct Dial Number l

April 26, 1985 i i

I Mr. Harry B. Kister. Chief ,

Division of Project and Resident Programs I U.S. Nuclear Roc"1 4'ary t Comission Region I C?1 Park Avenue King of prussia, PA 19406

Dear Mr. Kister:

duoj ec t. Gj ,t:r Creek Nuclaar Generating Station Docket No. 50-719 Inspection 85-Os i

Attachment I to this letter provides our response to the Notices of Violation contained in Appendix A of your letter dated March 27, 1985, t

In the event that any coments or questions arise, please contact Mr.

Drew Holland of g staff at (609)971-4643.

Very truly yours.

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Vice President and Director l Oyster Creek l

PBF/DH: dam Attachments (0944A)

cc: Dr. Thomas E. Murley, Administrator Region I U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Comission )

631 Park Avenue King of Prussia, PA 19406 NRC Resident Inspector Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station Forked River, NJ 08731

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. Vie'atio- t4 10 CFR 71.5(a) states, in part, that each licenne wno delivers licensed material to a carrier for transport, shall comply with the applicaole DOT regulations in 49 CFR Parts 170 through 189 appropriate to the mode of transport.

49 CFR 173.443(a) and (b) states, in part, that the level of nonfixed (removable) radioactive contamination on external surfaces of each package offered for snipment shall be kept as low as practicable. The amount of radioactivity measured on any single wiping material when averaged over the surface wiped shall not exceed 22,000 dpm beta-gamma /100 cm2 at any time during transport in an exclusive use vehicle. When other methods of assessment of nonfixed contamination levels are used, the detection efficiency of the method used shall be taken into account and in no case shall the nonfixed contamination on the external surfaces of the pgckage exceed ten times the above limit (220,000 dpm beta-gama/100 cmt).

Contrary to the above, on February 3,1984, the level of nonfixed radioactive contamination on the external surface of the TN9-1 cask containing spent fuel assemblies and regelved on January 31,1985 was in excess of 220,000 dpm beta-gamta/100 cm'. Specifically, the contamination levels were 455,000 and 400,000 dpm beta-gansna/100 cm2 at survey locations 10 and 15.

Response B GPUN concurs with the violation as stated. Delayed cask shipments are resurveyed and decontaminated if necessary within 24 hours2.777778e-4 days <br />0.00667 hours <br />3.968254e-5 weeks <br />9.132e-6 months <br /> of shipment to verify significant leaching has not occurred. Receipt surveys have been expedited to minimize leaching time. There have been several casks which have leached contamination greater than 22,000 dpm/100 car but not greater than regulatory limits when efficiency methodology has been applied.

A corporate metallurgist was assigned to resolve the source of contamination leaching and to recomend a chemical decontamination technique for cask surfaces with higher beta fixed contamination level s. This process will be implemented upon approval by the cask

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owner and should preclude future noncompliances.

Full compliance was achieved February 5,1985.

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Violation A 10 CFR 20.205(b)(1) states that each licensee, upon receipt of a package of radioactive material, shall monitor the external surface of the package for radioactive contamination caused by leakage of the radioactive contents. The monitoring shall be perfonned as soon as practicable af ter receipt, but no later than three hours af ter the package is received at the licensee's facility if received during the licensee's normal working hours.

Contrary to the above, a package of radioactive material, namely, the TN9-1 cask containing spent fuel elements, was received at the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station at about 3:00 P.M. (during nonnal working hours) on January 31, 1985, and monitoring of the external surfaces of the package for radioactive contamination was not perfonned until about 3:30 A.M. on February 3,1985, over 60 hours6.944444e-4 days <br />0.0167 hours <br />9.920635e-5 weeks <br />2.283e-5 months <br /> after receipt of the package.

Response A GPUN concurs with the violation as stated. The cask handling procedure was revised to include the three hour incoming cask survey and to specify that the sequence of work on an existing cask can be interrupted in order to comply with the timeliness requirement for an incoming cask survey (this need had been referenced in the original procedure). The timeliness requirement has been emphasized to all personnel associated with cask handling. All personnel associated with cask handling have been briefed on regulation 10 CFR 20.205(b)(1). The survey time period requirement has been met on all subsequent TN-9 shipments.

Provisions have been made to ensure that any TN-9 cask receipt can be surveyed within the required three hour time frame. Shipping and cask handling operations have been organized to the extent that this initial i i

survey can be conducted in the reactor building airlock.

Full compliance was achieved February 5,1985.

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