Event Notification Report for June 20, 2002

FIRE IN FILTER BANK

The licensee declared an alert at 0945 CDT due to a flaming fire in their charcoal filter bank which began at 0934 CDT. The licensee shut a ventilation damper to minimize any potential effluent release. Site personnel are currently fighting the fire and off-site fire department has been called and are on the way to the site.

The NRC entered the Monitoring Phase of Normal Mode at 1129 at EDT.

Notified the Chairman's Office (Rathburn), DOT-NRC (Johnson), DOE (R. Dasualua), HHS (S. Hanson), and USDA (K. Barret).

* * * UPDATE ON 6/20/02 AT 1235 BY HAYES TO GOULD * * *

The smoldering fire was extinguished at 1105 CST by removing filters and placing them in 55 gallon barrels. The alert was terminated at 1135 CST.

A Commissioners Assistant briefing was conducted at 1300 EDT. Participants included: DIRO (R. Wessman), OPA (R. Virgilio), OSATP (C. Maupin), NMSS (R. Pierson, E. Leeds), IP (J. Ramsey), EDO (B. Smith), DEDMRS (C. Paperiello), SECY (K. Hart), Chairman Meserve (K. McConnell), Comm. Dicus (J. Olencz), Comm. McGaffigan (H. Astwood), Comm. Diaz (R. Davis), and Comm. Merrifield (J. Thoma).

The NRC exited the Monitoring mode at 1332 EDT.

Notified FEMA (B. Carr), OHS, DOT-NRC (Johnson), DOE (R. Dasilua), HHS (S. Hanson), USDA (K. Barret)

AGREEMENT STATE REPORT OF INJURED AND POTENTIALLY CONTAMINATED WORKER

"A group of workers were returning to their work location in the back of a pickup truck. The crew was dressed out in normal exclusion PPE which includes anti-C coveralls, tyvek inner booties, yellow latex outer booties, latex and cloth gloves along with hard hat, safety glasses, and steel toe shoes. They were returning to the Pond 3 excavation which was removing moderate activity (50-100 pCi/g) material from a former waste water treatment pond. Prior to the crew's return, a water truck had passed by for dust control. Surfaces were wet, muddy, and slippery.

"The pickup stopped, and while climbing out of the back of the pickup truck, the injured person (articulated quarry truck driver) slipped and fell to the ground. [...] The rest of the crew rendered assistance and made him comfortable but it was rapidly determined that the extent of the injury would require a trip to the emergency room and an ambulance (West Chicago Fire Department) was called.

"[... A] decision was made to bring the ambulance directly into the exclusion zone rather than try and transport him to the control point. Paramedics were provided with booties and gloves and their contact with potentially contaminated surfaces was monitored by licensee HP technicians. The paramedics set their stretcher down in the mud and moved him to it. They exposed his [injury] by cutting his coveralls and his personal clothing underneath (jeans). They loaded the stretcher into the ambulance and transported him to Central Dupage Hospital in Winfield, IL. A licensee HP technician rode in the ambulance to the hospital.

" Prior to leaving the site, the ambulance tires were frisked for contamination and none was found. Had contamination been found, a clean water truck was standing by to rapidly decontaminate the tires. This turned out not to be necessary.

"Two additional licensee HP technicians and the IDNS resident inspector followed the ambulance to the hospital. The IDNS inspector called ahead to the hospital to make sure the hospital staff knew they were receiving a potentially contaminated patient. They asked questions and were advised to used their closest treatment room to the ambulance entrance and to put absorbent paper on the floor. They asked about PPE and were told that normal gown and glove requirements were sufficient. They also indicated that they had a specific room to deal with contaminated patients and it was the closest room to the entrance, in fact it had a separate entrance into the ambulance entrance bay.

"The ambulance arrived at the facility and the ambulance crew failed to use the separate entrance and brought the patient up the main entrance carpeted ramp. Due to the potential for contamination, the hospital closed down their ambulance entrance per their own procedures.

"In the treatment room, the individual was cut out of the rest of his contaminated (muddy) PPE and transferred to a new gurney covered with absorbent material and given an initial exam by a physician. His body was frisked and he was then transferred to a third clean gurney and taken to a regular emergency room treatment area for further evaluation and tests.

"The ambulance gurney/stretcher was decontaminated (visible mud removed) along with the ambulance floor and a second frisk of the tires. HP technicians also surveyed the room and ramp to return both to service. Licensee has detailed survey results and smear counts. All confirmatory surveys and smear counts were at or below background levels. No measurements were taken on the bag of suspect contaminated material.

"The individual's PPE, along with PPE used by hospital and paramedics was collected, bagged, and returned to the licensee as radioactive waste, as was bedding and absorbent material used both in the ambulance and in the decon room."

***** UPDATE FROM TOM SEIF TO LEIGH TROCINE VIA EMAIL AT 0854 ON 06/21/02 *****

The following text is a portion of an email received from the Illinois Department of Nuclear Safety:

"An email detailing this event was forwarded to the Operations Center yesterday. Personal medical details of the individual involved were inadvertently included. Please ensure that this information is not released in any public record."

This event was updated to remove the personal medical details of the individual involved. (Call the NRC operations officer for a state contact telephone number and for additional details.)

DOE DECLARED ALERT AT INDEPENDENT SPENT FUEL STORAGE INSTALLATION (ISFSI) IN IDAHO

DOE INEEL declared an ALERT at 15:08 MDT due to wild land fires on DOE controlled property. The ISFSI containing the TMI spent fuel was not directly threatened. The fire was approximately 5 to 10 miles from the ISFSI. Fire fighting efforts were underway to extinguish the fire. Wind speeds varied from 10 to 15 miles per hour.

DOE INEEL notified the State of Idaho, all surrounding counties and DOE Headquarters.

The NRC entered the Monitoring mode at 18:57 EST.

*****UPDATE 20:00 EST ON 6/20/02 FROM GARCIA TO LAURA*****

The fire is contained and the licensee exited the ALERT declaration at 18:20MDT.

The NRC exited the Monitoring mode at 20:04 EST.

Notified R4 (E. Merschoff), DIRO (J. Holonich), NMSS (W. Brach, J. Greeves), FEMA (G. Belcher), DOE (J. Stambaugh), DOT-NRC (A. Brown), and sent fax of the event to HHS, EPA and USDA.

LOST/MISSING NUCLEAR MATERIAL AT A RESEARCH FACILITY

During an annual audit, Eli Lilly & Company became aware of lost nuclear material involving 9.4 milli-curies of Carbon-14. The last accounting of the material was in December, 1999. The material is used for basic metabolic research purposes. The licensee suspects that the material may have been disposed of as radwaste. The licensee investigation will continue.