| U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Operations Center Event Reports For
09/27/2010 - 09/28/2010 ** EVENT NUMBERS ** |
 | !!!!! THIS EVENT HAS BEEN RETRACTED. THIS EVENT HAS BEEN RETRACTED !!!!! | | Power Reactor | Event Number: 46136 | Facility: WOLF CREEK
Region: 4 State: KS
Unit: [1] [ ] [ ]
RX Type: [1] W-4-LP
NRC Notified By: PRESTON LAWSON
HQ OPS Officer: VINCE KLCO | Notification Date: 07/28/2010
Notification Time: 19:04 [ET]
Event Date: 07/28/2010
Event Time: 14:22 [CDT]
Last Update Date: 09/27/2010 | Emergency Class: NON EMERGENCY
10 CFR Section:
50.72(b)(3)(ii)(B) - UNANALYZED CONDITION
50.72(b)(3)(v)(A) - POT UNABLE TO SAFE SD
50.72(b)(3)(v)(B) - POT RHR INOP
| Person (Organization):
DAVID PROULX (R4DO)
|
| 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 THREE AUXILIARY FEEDWATER (AFW) TRAINS DECLARED INOPERABLE
"At 1422 CDT, while operating in MODE 1 at approximately 100% rated thermal power (RTP), Wolf Creek Generating Station (WCGS) entered Technical Specification 3.7.5, 'Auxiliary Feedwater (AFW) System,' Condition D for three AFW trains inoperable. The AFW pumps are equipped with recirculation lines to prevent pump operation against a closed system. The recirculation line for each pump combines into a common header that flows to the condensate storage tank (CST). The common recirculation line transitions from safety-related to non-safety related at the AFW to CST pipe tunnel. During a review of the system design information, it was identified that a seismic event or tornado could result in damage to this portion of the recirculation line and thereby restrict or block the recirculation flow causing pump damage.
"TS 3.7.5, Required Action D.1, requires the immediate initiation of action to restore one AFW train to OPERABLE status. The Note to Required Action D.1 specifies that LCO 3.0.3 and all other LCO Required Actions requiring MODE changes are suspended until one AFW train is restored to OPERABLE status. The plant remains in MODE 1 at approximately 100% RTP with activities that could lead to the need to maneuver the plant being suspended.
"WCGS personnel are developing an evaluation to support the OPERABILITY of the AFW trains with the reliance on compensatory measures as an interim action until final corrective action to resolve the condition are completed.
"The NRC Resident Inspector has been notified."
* * * RETRACTION AT 1719 ON 9/27/2010 FROM MARCY BLOW TO MARK ABRAMOVITZ * * *
"Further evaluation by the Engineering Department determined that the capability of the AFW system was not reduced. The postulated condition is considered a design deficiency (nonconforming condition) to be corrected before considering the equipment fully qualified. The safety functions and the capability of the AFW system to mitigate a design basis event are not impaired. As a result, the condition has been determined to not be reportable per 10 CFR 50.72(b)(3)(ii)(B), 10 CFR 50.72(b)(3)(v)(A) or 10 CFR 50.72(b)(3)(v)(B)."
The licensee will notify the NRC Resident Inspector.
Notified the R4DO (Farnholtz). |
| General Information or Other | Event Number: 46267 | Rep Org: IOWA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH
Licensee: MID-AMERICA LOUISA GEN STATION
Region: 3
City: MUSCATINE State: IA
County:
License #: 0040-1-70-FG
Agreement: Y
Docket:
NRC Notified By: MELANIE RASMUSSEN
HQ OPS Officer: DONALD NORWOOD | Notification Date: 09/22/2010
Notification Time: 13:26 [ET]
Event Date: 09/21/2010
Event Time: 17:30 [CDT]
Last Update Date: 09/22/2010 | Emergency Class: NON EMERGENCY
10 CFR Section:
AGREEMENT STATE
| Person (Organization):
RICHARD SKOKOWSKI (R3DO)
ANGELA MCINTOSH (FSME)
| Event Text AGREEMENT STATE REPORT - DAMAGED FIXED GAUGE
The State of Iowa was notified by Louisa Generating Station, a coal-fired electrical generating plant, that a fixed gauge source had been damaged.
"The facility has two 50 mCi Cs-137 sources attached to coal crushers. The gauges are used as low level alarm detection devices and detect whether or not coal is in the hopper at any given time. At approximately 5:30 p.m. on 9.21.10 there was a machine failure. [The licensee] suspects that as a result of the failure there was vibrational damage to one of the gauges (manufactured by Texas Nuclear, housing model 5192, serial number B2724). The gauge was visibly damaged but has not resulted in elevated rad levels. No employees were exposed as a result of this event. The gauges are mounted 15 ft from the floor in a building that is not occupied by staff. The machine (coal crusher) remains out of service since the time of failure on 9.21.10.
"Again, [the licensee] reports no source damage. Their calibrated instrument reads 0.5-1.0 mrem 1 ft from the source, 0.2-0.3 mrem at 2 ft and 0.1 mrem at 3 ft from the source.
"A technician out of Illinois is scheduled to arrive at the facility on Tuesday, September 28th for further testing and possible repair."
The gauge is located in a contained building. The shutter is normally open and the suspected vibration damage resulted in being unable to close the shutter. |
| General Information or Other | Event Number: 46275 | Rep Org: UTAH DIVISION OF RADIATION CONTROL
Licensee: UTAH INSPECTION
Region: 4
City: UINTAH-OURAY RESERVATION State: UT
County:
License #: UT 2400357
Agreement: Y
Docket:
NRC Notified By: MARIO BETTOLO
HQ OPS Officer: MARK ABRAMOVITZ | Notification Date: 09/23/2010
Notification Time: 20:31 [ET]
Event Date: 09/19/2010
Event Time: 11:30 [MDT]
Last Update Date: 09/23/2010 | Emergency Class: NON EMERGENCY
10 CFR Section:
AGREEMENT STATE
| Person (Organization):
JACK WHITTEN (R4DO)
DUNCAN WHITE (FSME)
| Event Text AGREEMENT STATE REPORT - RADIOGRAPHY SOURCE NOT FULLY RETRACTED
The following report was received via fax:
"Event Location: QEP Ironhorse Gas facility plant near Bonanza Utah on Uintah-Ouray reservation land.
"Event Description: While conducting Industrial Radiography operations with a SPEC-150 camera, Serial # 816, the guide tube detached from the fitting used to attach the guide tube to the camera. The Ir-192 pigtail source was being retracted at the time. The source was not fully retracted when the guide tube fell away. The radiographers were unable to fully retract the source since the pigtail was at a ninety degree angle to the cable. The camera was approximately 25' in the air located on pipe rigging. The radiographers appropriately determined a 2mR/hr boundary and secured the area. Upon examination through binoculars, the RSO determined that the source was still secured to the cable. He reset his pocket dosimeter and, using a man lift, was lifted up to near the back of the camera. He used a 4' long grabber tool to gently lift the pigtail, allowing it to be retracted into the camera. He measured 190 mRem on the pocket dosimeter and sent in his film badge for immediate processing. The film badge showed a reading of 260 mRem for the period of time from September 1, 2010 to September 19, 2010. The RSO examined the camera and tube and determined that the tube pulled out of the crimping on the fitting. At the time of the incident the licensee had a total of five employees present at the location. Three currently qualified radiographers (including the RSO) and two currently qualified radiography assistants."
Utah report UT-10-0004. |
| Power Reactor | Event Number: 46281 | Facility: FITZPATRICK
Region: 1 State: NY
Unit: [1] [ ] [ ]
RX Type: [1] GE-4
NRC Notified By: GENE DORMAN
HQ OPS Officer: ERIC SIMPSON | Notification Date: 09/27/2010
Notification Time: 12:23 [ET]
Event Date: 09/27/2010
Event Time: [EDT]
Last Update Date: 09/27/2010 | Emergency Class: NON EMERGENCY
10 CFR Section:
50.72(b)(2)(xi) - OFFSITE NOTIFICATION
| Person (Organization):
MEL GRAY (R1DO)
|
| Unit | SCRAM Code | RX CRIT | Initial PWR | Initial RX Mode | Current PWR | Current RX Mode | | 1 | N | N | 0 | Refueling | 0 | Refueling | Event Text OFFSITE NOTIFICATION - LOSS OF ONE EMERGENCY RESPONSE SIREN
"One of the 37 Prompt Notification System sirens surrounding the James A. FitzPatrick (JAF) /Nine Mile Point (NMP) sites spuriously activated at 0848 for a period of 3-5 minutes. This has been confirmed by siren report back system software and siren repair personnel. A member of the public called to report the activation to the Oswego County 911 Dispatch Center. The Dispatch Center notified Oswego County Emergency Management Office. County personnel took action to cancel the activation using the remote activation control system, notified the licensee emergency preparedness personnel, and dispatched a siren repair crew. Siren repair personnel have isolated the siren and are troubleshooting to determine the cause. No press releases are currently planned by either Oswego County or the licensees."
The licensee notified the NRC Resident Inspector. |
| Power Reactor | Event Number: 46282 | Facility: NINE MILE POINT
Region: 1 State: NY
Unit: [1] [2] [ ]
RX Type: [1] GE-2,[2] GE-5
NRC Notified By: BENJAMIN GEISS
HQ OPS Officer: ERIC SIMPSON | Notification Date: 09/27/2010
Notification Time: 12:24 [ET]
Event Date: 09/27/2010
Event Time: 08:48 [EDT]
Last Update Date: 09/27/2010 | Emergency Class: NON EMERGENCY
10 CFR Section:
50.72(b)(2)(xi) - OFFSITE NOTIFICATION
| Person (Organization):
MEL GRAY (R1DO)
|
| Unit | SCRAM Code | RX CRIT | Initial PWR | Initial RX Mode | Current PWR | Current RX Mode | | 1 | N | Y | 100 | Power Operation | 100 | Power Operation | | 2 | N | Y | 100 | Power Operation | 100 | Power Operation | Event Text OFFSITE NOTIFICATION - LOSS OF ONE EMERGENCY RESPONSE SIREN
"One of the 37 Prompt Notification System sirens surrounding the James A. FitzPatrick (JAF) /Nine Mile Point (NMP) sites spuriously activated at 0848 for a period of 3-5 minutes. This has been confirmed by siren report back system software and siren repair personnel. A member of the public called to report the activation to the Oswego County 911 Dispatch Center. The Dispatch Center notified Oswego County Emergency Management Office. County personnel took action to cancel the activation using the remote activation control system, notified the Licensee Emergency Preparedness personnel, and dispatched a siren repair crew. Siren repair personnel have isolated the siren and are performing troubleshooting to determine the cause. No press releases are currently planned by either Oswego County or the licensees."
The licensee notified the NRC Resident Inspector. |
| Research Reactor | Event Number: 46283 | Facility: KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY
RX Type: 250 KW TRIGA MARK II
Comments:
Region: 4
City: MANHATTAN State: KS
County: RILEY
License #: R-88
Agreement: Y
Docket: 05000188
NRC Notified By: JEFFREY GEUTHER
HQ OPS Officer: ERIC SIMPSON | Notification Date: 09/27/2010
Notification Time: 13:47 [ET]
Event Date: 09/22/2010
Event Time: 07:40 [CDT]
Last Update Date: 09/27/2010 | Emergency Class: NON EMERGENCY
10 CFR Section:
NON-POWER REACTOR EVENT
| Person (Organization):
THOMAS FARNHOLTZ (R4DO)
CYNTHIA MONTGOMERY (RTR)
| Event Text UNEXPECTED CHANGES IN RESTRICTED AREA DOSE RATES
On Wednesday morning, September 22, 2010, the Senior Reactor Operator (SRO) pulled some oil samples, housed in aluminum racks, out of the well groove around the reflector near the top of the reactor where the samples had been exposed to radiation for 8 hours and then allowed to decay for 12 hours. When the samples and sample holder were removed from the pool, three detectors alarmed: two were expected to alarm, and a third, the Control Room Evacuation Alarm, was not expected to alarm. The Control Room Evacuation Alarm has a conservative, audible, alarm set point of 2.5 mR/h which is well below the actual evacuation threshold of 100 mR/h. The Control Room Evacuation Alarm alerted the SRO that conditions were not normal. Within 30 seconds, the SRO placed the aluminum sample holder behind a lead shield and the oil samples behind a beta shield. According to facility procedures, the facility did not need to be evacuated because the easily visible Control Room Evacuation Alarm meter had not exceeded the evacuation threshold of 100 mR/h.
The SRO estimated his dose as being approximately 1 Rem Total Effective Dose Equivalent (TEDE) which is less than the 5 Rem/yr, Part 20 limit; and approximately 15 Rem extremity dose which is less than 50 Rem/yr Part 20 limit. Follow-up dosimetry reports indicated that the SRO only received 147 mRem deep dose and 148 mRem shallow dose.
No members of the public were in the vicinity at the time of the event.
The facility believes that the cause of the high radiation field was possibly due to a high level of impurities in the aluminum sample holder and not from the oil samples. However, the oil samples received greater than normal neutron exposure and shorter than normal decay before removal from the reactor pool. This particular experiment required that these samples decay for only 12 hours, whereas normally, a decay time of 2 to 5 days is required before the samples are removed from the pool. The Reactor Safeguards Committee has recommended that the facility perform irradiation tests on each of its sample holders to prevent unexpectedly high radioactivity from unknown impurities.
Kansas State University is making this report per their license requirements and Technical Specification 6.9.a.6, an observed inadequacy in the implementation of either administrative or procedural controls, such that the inadequacy has caused the existence or development of an unsafe condition in connection with the operations of the reactor.
The State of Kansas has been notified of this event. |
| Power Reactor | Event Number: 46285 | Facility: GINNA
Region: 1 State: NY
Unit: [1] [ ] [ ]
RX Type: [1] W-2-LP
NRC Notified By: ALAN MODZELEWSKI
HQ OPS Officer: ERIC SIMPSON | Notification Date: 09/28/2010
Notification Time: 15:04 [ET]
Event Date: 09/28/2010
Event Time: 11:30 [EDT]
Last Update Date: 09/28/2010 | Emergency Class: NON EMERGENCY
10 CFR Section:
50.72(b)(2)(xi) - OFFSITE NOTIFICATION
| Person (Organization):
MEL GRAY (R1DO)
|
| 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 OFFSITE NOTIFICATION - FAULTY ALARM ACTUATION
"At 1130 hrs. on September 28, 2010, the site was notified by Wayne County, New York of a single siren activation at 0620 hrs. for approximately 2 minutes. The single siren activation was not related to any condition or event at Ginna Station.
"The NRC Resident Inspector has been informed of the activation."
A maintenance crew is currently investigating the cause of the spurious activation. | |