U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Operations Center Event Reports For 04/09/2007 - 04/10/2007 ** EVENT NUMBERS ** | General Information or Other | Event Number: 43275 | Rep Org: LOUISIANA RADIATION PROTECTION DIV Licensee: LAFAYETTE GENERAL MEDICAL CENTER Region: 4 City: LAFAYETTE State: LA County: License #: Agreement: Y Docket: NRC Notified By: JAMES PATE HQ OPS Officer: PETE SNYDER | Notification Date: 04/04/2007 Notification Time: 12:02 [ET] Event Date: 04/03/2007 Event Time: [CDT] Last Update Date: 04/04/2007 | Emergency Class: NON EMERGENCY 10 CFR Section: AGREEMENT STATE | Person (Organization): CHUCK CAIN (R4) MICHELE BURGESS (FSME) ILTAB (e-mail) () | This material event contains a "Less than Cat 3" level of radioactive material. | Event Text AGREEMENT STATE REPORT - STOLEN PALLADIUM SEEDS The State of Louisiana received a report from a licensee representative that 101 Palladium 103 seeds, with a total activity of 132 millicuries, were stolen. The seeds were stolen from a truck at 2235 Highway 178 in Sunset, LA. The seeds had been accepted by the licensee from the shipper and were going to transported to the hospital by the licensee representative. The licensee notified the Louisiana State Police and local law enforcement and is following up on the incident. * * * UPDATE ON 4/4/07 AT 1630 EDT FROM PATE TO SNYDER * * * The following information was received via e-mail from the State of Louisiana: At the time of the theft the truck was parked at the residence of the licensee's Radiation Safety Officer (RSO). The RSO contacted the St. Landry Parish Sheriff and the Louisiana State Police. The seeds were in the vehicle on the rear seat inside a red, padlocked, metal tool chest labeled as radioactive material. The approximate dimensions of the tool chest are 1.5 to 2 feet long and 8 to 10 inches wide. The seeds were contained in seven plastic sleeves that were attached to the inside of one stainless steel container that was inside another stainless steel container. Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality has dispatched three inspectors out to search the area where the sources were stolen with instrumentation. "If the Palladium sources were piled together outside of their shielded containers, this would result in a radiation exposure roughly 16.6 [millirem/hour] at one foot. "[The RSO] has stated that the facility will be notifying the public by television and newspapers." Notified R4DO (C. Cain) and FSME EO (D. Rathbun). THIS MATERIAL EVENT CONTAINS A "LESS THAN CAT 3" LEVEL OF RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL Sources that are "Less than IAEA Category 3 sources," are either sources that are very unlikely to cause permanent injury to individuals or contain a very small amount of radioactive material that would not cause any permanent injury. Some of these sources, such as moisture density gauges or thickness gauges that are Category 4, the amount of unshielded radioactive material, if not safely managed or securely protected, could possibly - although it is unlikely - temporarily injure someone who handled it or were otherwise in contact with it, or who were close to it for a period of many weeks. | General Information or Other | Event Number: 43277 | Rep Org: UTAH DIVISION OF RADIATION CONTROL Licensee: UTAH POWER AND LIGHT COMPANY Region: 4 City: PRICE State: UT County: License #: UT 1800163 Agreement: Y Docket: NRC Notified By: GWEN GALLOWAY HQ OPS Officer: PETE SNYDER | Notification Date: 04/04/2007 Notification Time: 19:43 [ET] Event Date: 03/02/2007 Event Time: 13:30 [MST] Last Update Date: 04/04/2007 | Emergency Class: NON EMERGENCY 10 CFR Section: AGREEMENT STATE | Person (Organization): CHUCK CAIN (R4) DENNIS RATHBUN (FSME) | Event Text AGREEMENT STATE REPORT - FIXED LEVEL GAUGE SOURCE FAILURE TO RETRACT The following information was reported to the NRC via facsimile: The Utah Division of Radiation Control was initially notified by telephone on March 3, 2007 at about 10:20 am MST by the licensee's consultant that a source of a fixed level gauge at the Hunter Power Plant near Castle Dale, Utah failed to retract into the safe shielded position. The gauge is a Texas Nuclear Model 5197, Serial Number 1305 level gauge containing 100 millicuries of Cs-137. The licensee contacted their service consultant who discovered that the handle on the gauge was bent. The consultant indicated that it appeared that someone had attempted to turn the handle on the gauge without pulling the button. This act had apparently bent the handle. When the licensee had attempted to close the device properly, the bent handle did not allow the drive cable to align properly with the source to retract it. This incident is being tracked by the State as Utah Report ID No. UT-07-0002. | General Information or Other | Event Number: 43288 | Rep Org: WISCONSIN RADIATION PROTECTION Licensee: ST. VINCENT HOSPITAL Region: 3 City: GREEN BAY State: WI County: License #: Agreement: Y Docket: NRC Notified By: PAUL SCHMIDT HQ OPS Officer: PETE SNYDER | Notification Date: 04/06/2007 Notification Time: 12:27 [ET] Event Date: 04/04/2007 Event Time: [CDT] Last Update Date: 04/06/2007 | Emergency Class: NON EMERGENCY 10 CFR Section: AGREEMENT STATE | Person (Organization): LAURA KOZAK (R3) DENNIS RATHBUN (FSME) | Event Text IMPROPER APPLICATOR LENGTH LEADS TO WRONG DOSE "St. Vincent Hospital, (Green Bay, Wisconsin) notified [the state of Wisconsin] of a medical event by telephone, on April 5, 2007. The medical event occurred on April 4, 2007 and involved an HDR unit. Initial information indicated an incorrect length of catheter was used during the treatment. A [state] inspector was dispatched to the facility on April 6, 2007. "On April 4, 2007, a patient was scheduled for a single-fraction interstitial treatment using a Varian Vari-Source HDR unit containing 6.24 Curies of Iridium-192. The patient was to receive 900 centigray to the vagina. An incorrect applicator length (100 cm) was input into the treatment plan. The actual applicator length was 120 centimeters. The source is believed not to have entered the patient's body during treatment. The authorized user and the patient were notified, and the patient will return for retreatment on April 12. The licensee is performing their own investigation into the event, including a reenactment of the event." A "Medical Event" may indicate potential problems in a medical facility's use of radioactive materials. It does not necessarily result in harm to the patient. | Power Reactor | Event Number: 43291 | Facility: COLUMBIA GENERATING STATION Region: 4 State: WA Unit: [2] [ ] [ ] RX Type: [2] GE-5 NRC Notified By: RYAN STOUT HQ OPS Officer: JOHN MacKINNON | Notification Date: 04/09/2007 Notification Time: 04:26 [ET] Event Date: 04/08/2007 Event Time: 22:32 [PDT] Last Update Date: 04/09/2007 | Emergency Class: NON EMERGENCY 10 CFR Section: 50.72(b)(2)(i) - PLANT S/D REQD BY TS | Person (Organization): CHUCK CAIN (R4) | Unit | SCRAM Code | RX CRIT | Initial PWR | Initial RX Mode | Current PWR | Current RX Mode | 2 | N | Y | 95 | Power Operation | 85 | Power Operation | Event Text TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION REQUIRED SHUTDOWN "Energy Northwest is reporting initiation of a planned shutdown of Columbia Generating Station Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.72(b)(i), 'The initiation of any nuclear plant shutdown required by the plant's technical specifications.' This plant shutdown is undertaken prior to 1032 PDT on 4/9/07 which is the expiration of the completion time of Technical Specification Limiting Condition for Operation 3.8.7 Required Action C. This plant shutdown is undertaken due to complications from recovery of the failure of a backup power supply to power converter E-IN-2A/2B reported in event notification # 43290." The NRC Resident Inspector was notified of this event by the licensee. | Power Reactor | Event Number: 43292 | Facility: DAVIS BESSE Region: 3 State: OH Unit: [1] [ ] [ ] RX Type: [1] B&W-R-LP NRC Notified By: THOMAS PHILLIPS HQ OPS Officer: JOHN KNOKE | Notification Date: 04/09/2007 Notification Time: 15:17 [ET] Event Date: 04/09/2007 Event Time: 07:30 [EDT] Last Update Date: 04/09/2007 | Emergency Class: NON EMERGENCY 10 CFR Section: 50.72(b)(3)(xiii) - LOSS COMM/ASMT/RESPONSE | Person (Organization): SONIA BURGESS (R3) | Unit | SCRAM Code | RX CRIT | Initial PWR | Initial RX Mode | Current PWR | Current RX Mode | 1 | N | Y | 100 | Power Operation | 100 | Power Operation | Event Text SEISMIC MONITORING SYSTEM OUT OF SERVICE "On April 9, 2007, at approximately 0730 hours, the keyswitch for the Seismic Monitoring System was discovered in the off position, rendering the Seismic Monitoring System unavailable. The system has apparently been in this configuration since March 29, 2007, when deficiencies were found during routine calibration checks. The ability to declare an Unusual Event per Emergency Action Level 8.A.1 would not be significantly hampered by this event, because this declaration would be based on either personnel feeling an earthquake, or detection via the Seismic Monitoring System. However, the unavailability of the Seismic Monitoring System could potentially hamper the operators in determining the magnitude of an earthquake in order to determine if it reached Operating Basis Earthquake levels or Safe Shutdown Earthquake levels. Therefore, this could potentially hamper the declaration of an Alert or Site Area Emergency, respectively, per Emergency Action Levels 8.A.2 or 8.A.3. Therefore, this event is being considered reportable per 10 CFR 50.72(b)(3)(xiii), as it results in a loss of emergency assessment capability. Compensatory measures are being established to obtain an off-site source of thus information in a timeframe that can support timely declaration of an emergency." The licensee will notify the NRC Resident Inspector. | General Information or Other | Event Number: 43294 | Rep Org: FAIRBANKS MORSE ENGINE Licensee: FAIRBANKS MORSE ENGINE Region: 3 City: BELOIT State: WI County: License #: Agreement: Y Docket: NRC Notified By: DOMINIC DEDOLPH HQ OPS Officer: MARK ABRAMOVITZ | Notification Date: 04/09/2007 Notification Time: 20:30 [ET] Event Date: 04/09/2007 Event Time: [CDT] Last Update Date: 04/09/2007 | Emergency Class: NON EMERGENCY 10 CFR Section: 21.21 - UNSPECIFIED PARAGRAPH | Person (Organization): JAMES TRAPP (R1) CHARLES R. OGLE (R2) SONIA BURGESS (R3) THOMAS FARNHOLTZ (R4) TABATABAI (E-MAIL) () VERN HODGE (E-MAIL) () | Event Text PART 21 NOTIFICATION - DIESEL CAM ROLLER BUSHING FAILURES "The [fuel pump] cam roller bushing part number 16100527 (and part number 16600336 for the kit containing cam roller bushings) for the Fairbanks Morse Engine Opposed Piston engine Emergency Diesel Generator shipped prior to August 2001 may be made from an incorrect material that is too soft for the application. "The subject emergency diesel generator would not have been able to achieve its maximum load rating and therefore not have been able to perform its intended function." The potentially affected plants are: Alabama Power/Farley Arkansas Power Amergen /GPU/TMI Constellation/BG&E Detroit Edison/Fermi Dominion/Millstone Vepco Georgia Power/Hatch Vermont Yankee Exelon/PECO - Limerick/Peach Bottom FPL/NMC/IES/Duane Arnold NMC Prairie Island/Northern States Progress Energy (CP&L) SCANA/South Carolina Electric and Gas Electronuclear (Electrobras) | |