Event Notification Report for January 15, 2015

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Operations Center

Event Reports For
01/14/2015 - 01/15/2015

** EVENT NUMBERS **


50721 50734

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Agreement State Event Number: 50721
Rep Org: GEORGIA RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL PGM
Licensee: BUILDING AND EARTH SCIENCES
Region: 1
City: COLUMBUS State: GA
County:
License #: GA 1485-1
Agreement: Y
Docket:
NRC Notified By: BARTY SIMONTON
HQ OPS Officer: DANIEL MILLS
Notification Date: 01/07/2015
Notification Time: 16:21 [ET]
Event Date: 01/07/2015
Event Time: [EST]
Last Update Date: 01/07/2015
Emergency Class: NON EMERGENCY
10 CFR Section:
AGREEMENT STATE
Person (Organization):
DON JACKSON (R1DO)
NMSS EVENTS NOTIFICA (EMAI)
ILTAB (EMAI)

This material event contains a "Less than Cat 3 " level of radioactive material.

Event Text

AGREEMENT STATE REPORT - STOLEN MOISTURE DENSITY GAUGE

The following was received via email:

"This morning, the Columbus, GA Police Department was dispatched to the Building and Earth Sciences business located at 5045 Millgen Court in Columbus. It was reported that unknown person(s) had stolen a Model 3440 Nuclear Density Gauge Serial Number 22740. The gauge had been locked and secured in the back of a truck in the facility and the individual(s) had taken bolt cutters and cut the chains securing the device. No further information is available at this time."

The stolen gauge contains approximately 8 mCi of Cesium-137 and 40 mCi of Americium-241.

A regional law enforcement bulletin was issued and the Columbus, GA and Atlanta, GA FBI field offices were notified.

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. For additional information go to http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/Pub1227_web.pdf

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Part 21 Event Number: 50734
Rep Org: CB&I NUCLEAR
Licensee: CB&I NUCLEAR
Region: 1
City: CHARLOTTE State: NC
County:
License #:
Agreement: Y
Docket:
NRC Notified By: CURTIS CASTELL
HQ OPS Officer: STEVE SANDIN
Notification Date: 01/14/2015
Notification Time: 14:10 [ET]
Event Date: 01/13/2015
Event Time: [EST]
Last Update Date: 01/14/2015
Emergency Class: NON EMERGENCY
10 CFR Section:
21.21(d)(3)(i) - DEFECTS AND NONCOMPLIANCE
Person (Organization):
RANDY MUSSER (R2DO)
PART 21 GROUP (EMAI)

Event Text

10 CFR PART 21 REPORT REGARDING DEVIATIONS OF COATINGS FOR PIPE SUPPORTS FOR AP1000 PROJECTS

The following report was received via email:

"This report is being provided in accordance with 10 CFR 21.21.

"(i) Name and address of the individual or individuals informing the Commission.

"Michael Hickey
CB&I Nuclear
128 S. Tryon St., Suite 1000
Charlotte, NC 28202

"(ii) Identification of the facility, the activity, or the basic component supplied for such facility or such activity within the United States which fails to comply or contains a defect.

"The basic components being supplied are pipe supports to be used inside the containment for the V. C. Summer and Vogtle AP1000 nuclear projects. The pipe supports are classified as ASME B31.1 Code and Quality Assurance (QA) Categories II and III. These supports are associated with various non-safety-related portions of several systems inside containment, including Component Cooling, Passive Core Cooling, Spent Fuel Pool Cooling, Waste Liquid, and others. The material being procured was not basic component materials and 10 CFR Part 21 was not applicable. The basic component aspect became inadvertently introduced based on the decision to use a coating that was based on inorganic zinc (IOZ) in lieu of the appropriate coating, which is a Self-Priming High Solids Epoxy (SPHSE). Use of the IOZ coating required the application to be performed as a safety-related application. Due to misinterpretation of the design specification requirements, the wrong safety-class was invoked and the wrong coating material was selected. The piping supports are not impacted by this use of the IOZ coating and would have not been impacted for meeting the pipe support design function. The use of the incorrect coatings, with the incorrect safety classification, could have impacted the ability of the required systems to perform the long-term cooling function, which is considered a safety-related functional impact. The approximate number of supports that are impacted for each unit is provided as follows: 952 Vogtle Unit 3, 275 Vogtle Unit 4, 967 V. C. Summer Unit 2, and 625 V. C. Summer Unit 3.

"(iii) Identification of the firm constructing the facility or supplying the basic component which fails to comply or contains a defect.

"The affected piping supports are being supplied by LISEGA Inc. USA, 370 East Dumplin Valley Rd., Kodak, TN 37764. Note that LISEGA supplied the pipe supports with coating material as specified in the procurement documents. Subsequent review has determined that the procurement documents specified incorrect information for many of the supports, which should have been coated with a different material. The procurement documentation was provided to the supplier by CB&I Power, 128 South Tryon Street Charlotte, NC 28202.

"(iv) Nature of the defect or failure to comply and the safety hazard which is created or could be created by such defect or failure to comply.

"The use of the incorrect coating inside containment impacts debris generation and long-term cooling analyses performed for the AP1000 design. It is estimated that the amount of unqualified IOZ coating that could have been added to the containment would have eventually caused impairment of the long-term cooling function during events that require that capability. Therefore, if left uncorrected this condition could have caused a substantial safety hazard for the V. C. Summer and Vogtle AP1000 nuclear projects.

"(v) The date on which the information of such defect or failure to comply was obtained.

"The discovery date of these deviations is based on the date of the associated CB&I Power Corrective Action Report (CAR). That CAR was initiated on March 10, 2014. Interim Part 21 reports dated October 15, 2014, and December 11, 2014, were submitted to the NRC.

"(vi) In the case of a basic component which contains a defect or fails to comply, the number and location of these components in use at, supplied for, being supplied for, or may be supplied for, manufactured, or being manufactured for one or more facilities or activities subject to the regulations in this part.

"The impacted materials are pipe supports with incorrect coatings intended to be used inside containment for the V. C. Summer and Vogtle AP1000 nuclear projects. The approximate number of supports that are impacted for each unit is provided as follows: 952 Vogtle Unit 3, 275 Vogtle Unit 4, 967 V. C. Summer Unit 2, and 625 V. C. Summer Unit 3.

"(vii) The corrective action which has been, is being, or will be taken; the name of the individual or organization responsible for the action; and the length of time that has been or will be taken to complete the action.

"The nonconforming pipe supports were initially placed into a hold status and are being corrected. A corrective action report (CAR 2014-2574) has been entered in the CB&I Power Corrective Action Program that describes the circumstances that led to the identification of this potential substantial safety hazard. That CAR is identified as a Level 1, significant condition adverse to quality, and a root cause analysis of the condition is required by CB&I Power Corrective Action Program. The actions necessary to correct the identified conditions and the causes for these conditions will be established and tracked to completion under the CB&I Power Corrective Action Program.

"(viii) Any advice related to the defect or failure to comply about the facility, activity, or basic component that has been, is being, or will be given to purchasers or licensees.

"The condition was discovered by CB&I Power prior to installation of the affected components and the components are being corrected. Therefore, there is no additional action or advice needed for the licensees at this time. The condition has also been evaluated by CB&I Power for potential 10 CFR 50.55(e) reporting by the affected combined operating license holders. CB&I Power has recommended to the licensees that this condition is reportable under 10 CFR 50.55(e).

"(ix) In the case of an early site permit, the entities to whom an early site permit was transferred.

"Not applicable.

"This condition was previously identified by interim report letters dated October 15, 2014 [ML14296A427 - Log No. 2014-76-00], and December 11, 2014.

"If you have any questions pertaining to this information, please contact Curtis Castell, Licensing Manager, at 980-321-8314."

Page Last Reviewed/Updated Thursday, March 25, 2021