U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Operations Center
Event Reports For
05/28/2003 - 05/29/2003
** EVENT NUMBERS **
39879 39885 39886 39887 39888
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|General Information or Other |Event Number: 39879 |
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| REP ORG: MA RADIATION CONTROL PROGRAM |NOTIFICATION DATE: 05/23/2003|
|LICENSEE: SIPEX CORP. |NOTIFICATION TIME: 14:58[EDT]|
| CITY: Billerica REGION: 1 |EVENT DATE: 05/15/2003|
| COUNTY: STATE: MA |EVENT TIME: 12:00[EDT]|
|LICENSE#: AGREEMENT: Y |LAST UPDATE DATE: 05/23/2003|
| DOCKET: |+----------------------------+
| |PERSON ORGANIZATION |
| |ANTHONY DIMITRIADIS R1 |
| |CHARLES MILLER NMSS |
+------------------------------------------------+ |
| NRC NOTIFIED BY: JOHN SUMARES | |
| HQ OPS OFFICER: JOHN MacKINNON | |
+------------------------------------------------+ |
|EMERGENCY CLASS: NON EMERGENCY | |
|10 CFR SECTION: | |
|NAGR AGREEMENT STATE | |
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| | |
| | |
| | |
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EVENT TEXT
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| MISSING/LOST STATIC ELIMINATOR POLONIUM-210 SOURCE. |
| |
| On May 22, 2003, the MA Radiation Control Program received a letter, dated |
| May 16, 2003, from Sipex, Corporation, a general license holder, notifying |
| them that Sipex Corp. was missing one Static Eliminator source. The Static |
| Eliminator was manufactured by NRD and it contained four Po-210 sources. The |
| Po-210 sources are located in the fitting of an air line. On May 15, 2003 |
| the air line was relocated to a different location. After the air line had |
| been relocated it was discovered that one of its four Po-210 sources was |
| missing. Sipex Corp. believes that the source is still in the facility or |
| it ended up in the trash. The calculated Po-210 source strength as of May |
| 23, 2003 is 1.6 millicuries. The State of MA tracking number for this event |
| is 05 4172. |
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|Power Reactor |Event Number: 39885 |
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| FACILITY: CALVERT CLIFFS REGION: 1 |NOTIFICATION DATE: 05/28/2003|
| UNIT: [] [2] [] STATE: MD |NOTIFICATION TIME: 12:38[EDT]|
| RXTYPE: [1] CE,[2] CE |EVENT DATE: 05/28/2003|
+------------------------------------------------+EVENT TIME: 11:34[EDT]|
| NRC NOTIFIED BY: ROBERT PACE |LAST UPDATE DATE: 05/28/2003|
| HQ OPS OFFICER: ERIC THOMAS +-----------------------------+
+------------------------------------------------+PERSON ORGANIZATION |
|EMERGENCY CLASS: NON EMERGENCY |LAWRENCE DOERFLEIN R1 |
|10 CFR SECTION: | |
|ARPS 50.72(b)(2)(iv)(B) RPS ACTUATION - CRITICA| |
| | |
| | |
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+-----+----------+-------+--------+-----------------+--------+-----------------+
|UNIT |SCRAM CODE|RX CRIT|INIT PWR| INIT RX MODE |CURR PWR| CURR RX MODE |
+-----+----------+-------+--------+-----------------+--------+-----------------+
| | |
|2 A/R Y 100 Power Operation |0 Hot Standby |
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EVENT TEXT
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| RPS ACTUATION |
| |
| At 1134 EDT on 5/28/03, Calvert Cliffs Unit 2 experienced an automatic |
| reactor trip. The cause of the trip appears to be loss of load caused by a |
| main turbine trip on either reverse power or overspeed. The turbine trip |
| may have been caused by planned troubleshooting on the turbine governor |
| valve controls. All control rods inserted normally on the trip. One or |
| both pressurizer power operated relief valves lifted and immediately |
| re-seated following the trip. The steam generator atmospheric valves opened |
| and immediately closed following the trip. All Emergency Diesel Generators |
| and ECCS systems are operable, and the licensee plans to conduct a quick |
| trip recovery. |
| |
| The licensee notified the NRC Resident Inspector, and the Calvert County |
| Control Center of this event. |
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|Power Reactor |Event Number: 39886 |
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| FACILITY: MAINE YANKEE REGION: 1 |NOTIFICATION DATE: 05/28/2003|
| UNIT: [1] [] [] STATE: ME |NOTIFICATION TIME: 18:44[EDT]|
| RXTYPE: [1] CE |EVENT DATE: 05/24/2003|
+------------------------------------------------+EVENT TIME: 12:00[EDT]|
| NRC NOTIFIED BY: TERRY WHITE |LAST UPDATE DATE: 05/28/2003|
| HQ OPS OFFICER: ERIC THOMAS +-----------------------------+
+------------------------------------------------+PERSON ORGANIZATION |
|EMERGENCY CLASS: NON EMERGENCY |LAWRENCE DOERFLEIN R1 |
|10 CFR SECTION: | |
|APRE 50.72(b)(2)(xi) OFFSITE NOTIFICATION | |
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| | |
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+-----+----------+-------+--------+-----------------+--------+-----------------+
|UNIT |SCRAM CODE|RX CRIT|INIT PWR| INIT RX MODE |CURR PWR| CURR RX MODE |
+-----+----------+-------+--------+-----------------+--------+-----------------+
|1 N N 0 Decommissioned |0 Decommissioned |
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EVENT TEXT
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| OFFSITE NOTIFICATION |
| |
| On 5/24/03, Maine Yankee left an inaccurate message on their answering |
| service that provides the public with information regarding the daily |
| release of radioactivity from the site. Due to the vacuum drying of spent |
| fuel that was being transferred from the fuel pool to dry storage casks, the |
| daily gaseous release from the site on 5/24/03 was 0.1 Curies, which |
| disagreed with the level of 0.01 Curies that was left on an information |
| telephone recording that the public can access. On 5/28/03, the licensee |
| discovered this administrative error and informed the Maine Emergency |
| Management Agency and the Maine Department of Health and Human Services. |
| |
| The Region 1 Duty Officer was informed of this event. |
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|Fuel Cycle Facility |Event Number: 39887 |
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| FACILITY: PADUCAH GASEOUS DIFFUSION PLANT |NOTIFICATION DATE: 05/28/2003|
| RXTYPE: URANIUM ENRICHMENT FACILITY |NOTIFICATION TIME: 23:00[EDT]|
| COMMENTS: 2 DEMOCRACY CENTER |EVENT DATE: 05/28/2003|
| 6903 ROCKLEDGE DRIVE |EVENT TIME: 11:00[CDT]|
| BETHESDA, MD 20817 (301)564-3200 |LAST UPDATE DATE: 05/28/2003|
| CITY: PADUCAH REGION: 3 +-----------------------------+
| COUNTY: McCRACKEN STATE: KY |PERSON ORGANIZATION |
|LICENSE#: GDP-1 AGREEMENT: Y |MARK RING R3 |
| DOCKET: 0707001 |MELVYN LEACH NMSS |
+------------------------------------------------+TIM MCGINTY IRO |
| NRC NOTIFIED BY: THOMAS WHITE | |
| HQ OPS OFFICER: ERIC THOMAS | |
+------------------------------------------------+ |
|EMERGENCY CLASS: NON EMERGENCY | |
|10 CFR SECTION: | |
|NBNL RESPONSE-BULLETIN | |
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EVENT TEXT
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| BULLETIN 91-01 24-HOUR REPORT |
| |
| At 1100 [CDT] on 5/28/03, approximately 1/8 inch layer of water was |
| discovered in the bottom of NAM [Negative Air Machine] 2000-4 in the C-310 |
| truck alley in violation of NCSA GEN-09. GEN-09 prohibits the use of NAMs on |
| spraying/wet operations where intake could contain droplets of moisture. |
| This control prevents uranium from being washed off the filters into an |
| unsafe configuration in the bottom of the NAM. |
| |
| The NRC Resident Inspector has been notified of this event. |
| |
| PGDP Assessment and Tracking Report No. ATR 03-1592, PGDP Event Report No. |
| PAD-2003-012. |
| |
| SAFETY SIGNIFICANCE OF EVENTS: |
| The amount of fissile material accumulated in the bottom of the NAM, does |
| not exceed residual quantities. This indicates, with high confidence, that |
| less than a safe mass is present. |
| |
| POTENTIAL CRITICALITY PATHWAYS INVOLVED (BRIEF SCENARIO(S) OF HOW |
| CRITICALITY COULD OCCUR) |
| In order for a criticality to be possible, greater than a critical mass of |
| uranium must be accumulated then become moderated. |
| |
| CONTROLLED PARAMETERS (MASS, MODERATION, GEOMETRY, CONCENTRATION, ETC) |
| Double contingency is maintained by implementing two controls on mass. |
| |
| ESTIMATED AMOUNT, ENRICHMENT, FORM OF LICENSED MATERIAL (INCLUDE PROCESS |
| LIMIT AND % WORST CASE CRITICAL MASS): |
| Less than an always safe mass of uranium. |
| |
| NUCLEAR CRITICALITY SAFETY CONTROL(S) OR CONTROL SYSTEM(S) AND DESCRIPTION |
| OF THE FAILURES OR DEFICIENCIES |
| |
| The first leg of double contingency is based on mass. NCSA GEN-09 requires |
| that D/P measurements be performed for each NAM filter section each time the |
| machine is placed in service and immediately prior to taking the machine out |
| of service. This control provides a means for detecting material that has |
| been removed from the filter into an unsafe geometry in the bottom of the |
| NAM. These checks were performed; therefore, this control was not violated. |
| |
| The second leg of double contingency is based on mass. NCSA GEN-09 prohibits |
| the use of NAMs on spraying/wet operations where intake could contain |
| droplets of moisture. This control prevents uranium from being washed off |
| the filters and into an unsafe configuration in the bottom of the NAM. The |
| control was violated since a water spray is used at the burp station to cool |
| the cylinder. However, since only a residual amount of uranium (less than an |
| always safe mass) was washed off the filter, the parameter has been |
| maintained. |
| |
| Since double contingency is based on two controls on one parameter, and a |
| control was violated, double contingency was not maintained. |
| |
| CORRECTIVE ACTIONS TO RESTORE SAFETY SYSTEMS AND WHEN EACH WAS IMPLEMENTED: |
| |
| 1. Change filters according to CP4-GP-BG2108. |
| 2. Decon the residual amount of uranium at the bottom of the NAM according |
| to CP4-CU-CH2103. |
| 3. While investigating this incident, a concern was identified as to |
| whether or not the system configuration has been adequately analyzed for NCS |
| purposes. The NAM shall remain out of service until the system |
| configuration issue has been resolved, at which time the exclusion zone and |
| postings may be removed. |
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|Power Reactor |Event Number: 39888 |
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| FACILITY: BROWNS FERRY REGION: 2 |NOTIFICATION DATE: 05/29/2003|
| UNIT: [] [] [3] STATE: AL |NOTIFICATION TIME: 05:43[EDT]|
| RXTYPE: [1] GE-4,[2] GE-4,[3] GE-4 |EVENT DATE: 05/29/2003|
+------------------------------------------------+EVENT TIME: 02:39[CDT]|
| NRC NOTIFIED BY: RAY SWAFFORD |LAST UPDATE DATE: 05/29/2003|
| HQ OPS OFFICER: HOWIE CROUCH +-----------------------------+
+------------------------------------------------+PERSON ORGANIZATION |
|EMERGENCY CLASS: NON EMERGENCY |CAUDLE JULIAN R2 |
|10 CFR SECTION: | |
|AIND 50.72(b)(3)(v)(D) ACCIDENT MITIGATION | |
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+-----+----------+-------+--------+-----------------+--------+-----------------+
|UNIT |SCRAM CODE|RX CRIT|INIT PWR| INIT RX MODE |CURR PWR| CURR RX MODE |
+-----+----------+-------+--------+-----------------+--------+-----------------+
| | |
| | |
|3 N Y 100 Power Operation |100 Power Operation |
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EVENT TEXT
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| DEGRADED ACCIDENT MITIGATION FEATURE |
| |
| The following information was obtained from the licensee via facsimile: |
| |
| "On 05/29/2003 at 0239 [CDT], during performance of 3-SR-3.5.1.7, HPCI [High |
| Pressure Coolant Injection] Main and Booster Pump Developed Head and |
| Flowrate Test at Rated Reactor Pressure, following release of the HPCI Trip |
| Push button, the HPCI Turbine Stop Valve, 3-FCV-73-18, did not return to the |
| OPEN position as required by the surveillance. The SR [Surveillance |
| Requirement] was stopped. |
| |
| "This is reportable as an 8 hour report in accordance with |
| 10CFR50.72(b)(3)(v)[(D) as 'Any event or condition that at the time of |
| discovery could have prevented the fulfillment of the safety function of |
| structures or systems that are needed to: (D) Mitigate the consequences of |
| an accident.' |
| |
| "This is also reportable as a 60 day written report in accordance with |
| 10CFR50.73(a)(2)(vii) as 'Any event where a single cause or condition caused |
| at least one independent train or channel to become inoperable ...in a |
| single system designed to: (D) Mitigate the consequence of an accident.'" |
| |
| The licensee has notified the NRC Resident Inspector. |
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