Event Notification Report for May 31, 2001

                    U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
                              Operations Center

                              Event Reports For
                           05/30/2001 - 05/31/2001

                              ** EVENT NUMBERS **

37990  38007  38036  38037  38038  

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|General Information or Other                     |Event Number:   37990       |
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| REP ORG:  NC DIVISION OF RADIATION PROTECTION  |NOTIFICATION DATE: 05/15/2001|
|LICENSEE:  S&ME                                 |NOTIFICATION TIME: 14:56[EDT]|
|    CITY:  GREENSBORO               REGION:  2  |EVENT DATE:        05/12/2001|
|  COUNTY:                            STATE:  NC |EVENT TIME:             [EDT]|
|LICENSE#:  041-0922-1            AGREEMENT:  Y  |LAST UPDATE DATE:  05/30/2001|
|  DOCKET:                                       |+----------------------------+
|                                                |PERSON          ORGANIZATION |
|                                                |CHARLES R. OGLE      R2      |
|                                                |DON COOL             NMSS    |
+------------------------------------------------+                             |
| NRC NOTIFIED BY:  SHARN JEFFRIES               |                             |
|  HQ OPS OFFICER:  LEIGH TROCINE                |                             |
+------------------------------------------------+                             |
|EMERGENCY CLASS:          NON EMERGENCY         |                             |
|10 CFR SECTION:                                 |                             |
|NAGR                     AGREEMENT STATE        |                             |
|                                                |                             |
|                                                |                             |
|                                                |                             |
|                                                |                             |
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                                   EVENT TEXT                                   
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| AGREEMENT STATE REPORT REGARDING A TROXLER MOISTURE DENSITY GAUGE            |
| LOST/STOLEN FROM S&ME IN WINSTON SALEM, NORTH CAROLINA                       |
|                                                                              |
| The following text is a portion of a facsimile received from the North       |
| Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Division of        |
| Radiation Protection:                                                        |
|                                                                              |
| "SUBJECT:  Incident 01-14"                                                   |
|                                                                              |
| "Today, a North Carolina Portable Gauge Licensee (S&ME 041-0922-1            |
| Greensboro) reported a loss/theft of a Portable Moisture Density Gauge from  |
| Winston Salem, NC, between the evening on Friday, May 11, 2001, and          |
| Saturday, May 12, 2001.  Local and State law enforcement agencies were       |
| notified on Saturday, May 12, 2001.  This Agency was notified by NC          |
| Emergency Management of the incident at [1630] on Monday, May 14, 2001.  The |
| Licensee reported the incident to this Agency [on] May 15, 2001."            |
|                                                                              |
| "The device that was lost/stolen is:"                                        |
|                                                                              |
| "Troxler 3411B Moisture Density Gauge SN 14682                               |
| Cs-137                  #50-3361          8 mCi                              |
| Am-241:Be            #47-10037        40 mCi"                                |
|                                                                              |
| (Call the NRC operations officer for a State contact telephone number.)      |
|                                                                              |
| * * * UPDATE ON 05/30/01 AT 0938 ET BY  SHARN JEFFRIES TAKEN BY MACKINNON *  |
| * *                                                                          |
|                                                                              |
| Troxler gauge was found by a member of the public and returned to the        |
| licensee.  The licensee has shipped the gauge to Troxler for inspection and  |
| testing.  R2DO (R. Bernhard) & NMSS EO (Fred Brown) notified.                |
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!!!!!!!!! THIS EVENT HAS BEEN RETRACTED. THIS EVENT HAS BEEN RETRACTED  !!!!!!!
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|Fuel Cycle Facility                              |Event Number:   38007       |
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| FACILITY: PADUCAH GASEOUS DIFFUSION PLANT      |NOTIFICATION DATE: 05/18/2001|
|   RXTYPE: URANIUM ENRICHMENT FACILITY          |NOTIFICATION TIME: 08:36[EDT]|
| COMMENTS: 2 DEMOCRACY CENTER                   |EVENT DATE:        05/17/2001|
|           6903 ROCKLEDGE DRIVE                 |EVENT TIME:        14:40[CDT]|
|           BETHESDA, MD 20817    (301)564-3200  |LAST UPDATE DATE:  05/31/2001|
|    CITY:  PADUCAH                  REGION:  3  +-----------------------------+
|  COUNTY:  McCRACKEN                 STATE:  KY |PERSON          ORGANIZATION |
|LICENSE#:  GDP-1                 AGREEMENT:  Y  |GARY SHEAR           R3      |
|  DOCKET:  0707001                              |                             |
+------------------------------------------------+                             |
| NRC NOTIFIED BY:  MATT MAUER                   |                             |
|  HQ OPS OFFICER:  DOUG WEAVER                  |                             |
+------------------------------------------------+                             |
|EMERGENCY CLASS:          NON EMERGENCY         |                             |
|10 CFR SECTION:                                 |                             |
|OCBA 76.120(c)(2)        SAFETY EQUIPMENT FAILUR|                             |
|                                                |                             |
|                                                |                             |
|                                                |                             |
|                                                |                             |
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                                   EVENT TEXT                                   
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| SAFETY EQUIPMENT FAILURE                                                     |
|                                                                              |
| At 1440 on 05/17/01,  the Plant Shift Superintendent (PSS) was notified by   |
| engineering that load cell calibration data for the C-333 U/5 C/9 and C-337  |
| U/2 C/2 freezer sublimers is suspected to be non-conforming.  The load cells |
| are part of the High High Weight Trip System for the freezer sublimers which |
| is required by TSR to be operable.  It is suspected that a batch of 24 load  |
| cells do not meet the specifications credited in the existing setpoint       |
| calculations and the calibration procedures.  The load cell calibration data |
| from 2 other load cells in this batch indicated less weight than what is     |
| actually applied.   It has been determined that this deficiency may affect   |
| the freezer sublimers ability to actuate the High High Weight Trip System at |
| the required Limited Control Setting (LCS).   This deficiency would not      |
| affect the ability of the freezer sublimers to actuate the High High Weight  |
| Trip System below the Safety Limit (SL).  These 2 suspected freezer          |
| sublimers were declared inoperable by the PSS.                               |
|                                                                              |
| The safety system deficiency is reportable to the NRC as required by         |
| 10CFR76.120(c)(2).   The equipment is required by TSR to be available and    |
| operable and should have been operating.   No redundant equipment is         |
| available and operable to perform the required safety function.              |
|                                                                              |
| The NRC resident inspector was notified..                                    |
|                                                                              |
|                                                                              |
| * * * UPDATE ON 5/30/01@ 2337 BY WALKER TO GOULD * * *   RETRACTION          |
|                                                                              |
| Following the Identification of this problem, the suspected load cells were  |
| removed from service and tested.  The test results were evaluated by the     |
| responsible System Engineer against the F/S set-point calculations and,      |
| although outside the optimum error band, the load cells were within the      |
| allowable error band and could have performed their intended safely function |
| to trip the F/S at or below the High-High Weight Safety System setting.      |
| Thus, 10 CFR 76.120 (c)(2) reporting criteria is not met and the subject     |
| notification is being retracted.                                             |
|                                                                              |
| The NRC Resident Inspector was notified.                                     |
|                                                                              |
| The DOE Representitive will be notified.                                     |
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|General Information or Other                     |Event Number:   38036       |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
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| REP ORG:  COLORADO DEPT OF HEALTH              |NOTIFICATION DATE: 05/30/2001|
|LICENSEE:  SYNCOR                               |NOTIFICATION TIME: 12:51[EDT]|
|    CITY:  GOLDEN                   REGION:  4  |EVENT DATE:        05/30/2001|
|  COUNTY:                            STATE:  CO |EVENT TIME:        09:20[MDT]|
|LICENSE#:  16205                 AGREEMENT:  Y  |LAST UPDATE DATE:  05/30/2001|
|  DOCKET:                                       |+----------------------------+
|                                                |PERSON          ORGANIZATION |
|                                                |DALE POWERS          R4      |
|                                                |JOHN HICKEY          NMSS    |
+------------------------------------------------+RUDOLPH BERNHARD     R2      |
| NRC NOTIFIED BY:  PENTECOST                    |                             |
|  HQ OPS OFFICER:  CHAUNCEY GOULD               |                             |
+------------------------------------------------+                             |
|EMERGENCY CLASS:          NON EMERGENCY         |                             |
|10 CFR SECTION:                                 |                             |
|NAGR                     AGREEMENT STATE        |                             |
|                                                |                             |
|                                                |                             |
|                                                |                             |
|                                                |                             |
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                                   EVENT TEXT                                   
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| On 4/27/01 Syncor reportedly shipped 68 I-125 bracytherapy seeds each        |
| containing 250 microcuries, to a facility in Atlanta, GA.  The facility      |
| reported receiving 66 seeds.  An investigation was unable to determine how   |
| many seeds were actually shipped.  The discrepancy is believed due to a      |
| miscount at the time of shipment from Syncor.  They are still investigating. |
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+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Power Reactor                                    |Event Number:   38037       |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| FACILITY: NINE MILE POINT          REGION:  1  |NOTIFICATION DATE: 05/30/2001|
|    UNIT:  [] [2] []                 STATE:  NY |NOTIFICATION TIME: 17:20[EDT]|
|   RXTYPE: [1] GE-2,[2] GE-5                    |EVENT DATE:        05/30/2001|
+------------------------------------------------+EVENT TIME:        13:08[EDT]|
| NRC NOTIFIED BY:  PETRELLI                     |LAST UPDATE DATE:  05/30/2001|
|  HQ OPS OFFICER:  CHAUNCEY GOULD               +-----------------------------+
+------------------------------------------------+PERSON          ORGANIZATION |
|EMERGENCY CLASS:          NON EMERGENCY         |ERIC REBER           R1      |
|10 CFR SECTION:                                 |                             |
|*IND 50.72(b)(3)(v)(D)   ACCIDENT MITIGATION    |                             |
|                                                |                             |
|                                                |                             |
|                                                |                             |
+-----+----------+-------+--------+-----------------+--------+-----------------+
|UNIT |SCRAM CODE|RX CRIT|INIT PWR|   INIT RX MODE  |CURR PWR|  CURR RX MODE   |
+-----+----------+-------+--------+-----------------+--------+-----------------+
|                                                   |                          |
|2     N          Y       100      Power Operation  |100      Power Operation  |
|                                                   |                          |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
                                   EVENT TEXT                                   
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| REACTOR CORE ISOLATION COOLING RCIC SYSTEM WAS DECLARED INOPERABLE           |
|                                                                              |
|                                                                              |
| The Reactor Core Isolation Cooling System (RCIC) was inoperable and          |
| available for planned maintenance and surveillance testing.   During the     |
| planned surveillance testing it was discovered that the mechanical overspeed |
| mechanism for the RCIC turbine was found tripped with no overspeed trip      |
| testing having been performed.   The overspeed trip mechanism may be         |
| degraded thereby constituting a condition that could have prevented the      |
| system from performing its function.  RCIC is currently in standby and       |
| inoperable but available.  Trouble shooting is in progress to determine the  |
| cause of the trip.  This report may be retracted if the cause of the trip is |
| determined to not affect the operability of the system.                      |
|                                                                              |
|                                                                              |
| The NRC Resident Inspector was notified.                                     |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|General Information or Other                     |Event Number:   38038       |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| REP ORG:  WA Division of Radiation Protection  |NOTIFICATION DATE: 05/30/2001|
|LICENSEE:  ANVIL CORPORATION                    |NOTIFICATION TIME: 18:07[EDT]|
|    CITY:  BELLINGHAM               REGION:  4  |EVENT DATE:        05/11/2001|
|  COUNTY:                            STATE:  WA |EVENT TIME:             [PDT]|
|LICENSE#:  WN-IR031-1            AGREEMENT:  Y  |LAST UPDATE DATE:  05/30/2001|
|  DOCKET:                                       |+----------------------------+
|                                                |PERSON          ORGANIZATION |
|                                                |DALE POWERS          R4      |
|                                                |LARRY CAMPER         NMSS    |
+------------------------------------------------+                             |
| NRC NOTIFIED BY:  FRAZEE (E-MAIL)              |                             |
|  HQ OPS OFFICER:  CHAUNCEY GOULD               |                             |
+------------------------------------------------+                             |
|EMERGENCY CLASS:          NON EMERGENCY         |                             |
|10 CFR SECTION:                                 |                             |
|NAGR                     AGREEMENT STATE        |                             |
|                                                |                             |
|                                                |                             |
|                                                |                             |
|                                                |                             |
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                                   EVENT TEXT                                   
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| A 47.5 CURIE IR-192 SOURCE WOULD NOT RETRACT INTO THE CAMERA DUE TO          |
| RESISTANCE IN THE GUIDE TUBE.                                                |
|                                                                              |
| Radiographers were performing field site radiography at a refinery and a     |
| radiograph was required at about the 80 foot level on the refinery           |
| structure.  The collimator was firmly taped to a wooden pole attached to the |
| structure.   The AEA Technologies, Model 660B camera and controls were       |
| placed on the next level down.  Two guide tubes were connected end to end to |
| connect camera and collimator.  The area was secured and the shot timed.     |
| At the end of the exposure the radiographer attempted to retract the AEA     |
| Tech. model 424-9 source and discovered that it would only come back part    |
| way.   After several unsuccessful attempts cranking the source back and      |
| forth, the radiographer left the source in the fully extended position (in   |
| the collimator) and called the RSO for assistance.  The RSO made sure the    |
| site was roped off and under observation and then called AEA Technology to   |
| send a retrieval expert.  The state Division of Radiation Protection was     |
| also notified and staff sent to observe the recovery operation.              |
|                                                                              |
| The retrieval was performed by using a crane to hook onto the camera and,    |
| once the collimator was cut free from the structure, to lay out the camera   |
| and the dangling guide tube and collimator behind a concrete barrier.  The   |
| control cable was also stretched out straight using the crane.   Once in     |
| place and shielded, the control cable was used to easily retract the source. |
| The manufacturer has taken the device and guide tubes for analysis.          |
| However, the immediate supposition is either dirt in the guide tube or too   |
| tight of a turn in the guide tube may have created enough friction to        |
| prevent the source from retracting smoothly even though it cranked out       |
| without difficulty.   The highest exposures received due to this event were  |
| to the two individuals involved in cutting the collimator loose from the     |
| structure.  The crane operator and a radiographer each received 4 millirem   |
| while using a 10 foot pole pruner to cut the wooden stick holding the        |
| collimator. One other individual received 1 millirem exposure during this    |
| event.                                                                       |
|                                                                              |
| What is the notification or reporting criteria involved?   Equipment         |
| malfunction.  Activity and Isotope(s) involved: 47.5 Ci Ir-192.              |
|                                                                              |
| Overexposure?  Two individuals received 4 millirem whole body and one        |
| individual received 1 millirem whole body exposures.                         |
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