Event Notification Report for February 24, 2006

UNUSUAL EVENT DUE TO FIRE IN THE PROTECTED AREA NOT EXTINGUISHED WITHIN 15 MINUTES

"At 0836 the control room received a Unit 1B CV/SI pump room fire alarm. An operator reported smoke in the 1B SI pump room at 0840. An unusual event was declared at 0854 due to HU6, fire in the protected area not extinguished within 15 minutes. Sounds of arcing can be heard but flames have not been located. It is suspected that an RWST heater has failed in a pipe tunnel above the 1B SI pump room. The breaker for the RWST heater has been deenergized. The RWST heater pump has been deenergized. Offsite fire department assistance has been requested."

The licensee is ventilating the area in order to perform a more thorough inspection of the area and determine the cause of the fire. Both Units1 and 2 remain at 100% reactor power.

The NRC Resident Inspector, State and local officials have been notified by the licensee.

The NRC has entered the Monitoring Mode at 1036.

The NRC Operations Center notified the following organizations: HHS/FDA (V. Howard-King), USDA (Brown), EPA/NRC (Rawls) and DOE (Silva).

* * * UPDATE FROM MARCHIONDA TO KNOKE AT 12:49 EST ON 02/24/06 * * *

"At 11:09 CST on 02/24/06, Byron terminated an Unusual Event that was declared at 08:54 CST today in accordance with HU6 due to a fire in the Protected Area not extinguished within 15 minutes. The RWST [Refueling Water Storage Tank] heater has been confirmed as the source of the smoke that caused the fire alarm. The heater has been deenergized and the area is being ventilated.

The NRC exited the Monitoring Response Mode at 12:52 EST.

The NRC Resident Inspector and State officials have been notified by the licensee. NRC made notifications to R3DO(Hills), IRD Managers (Leach, Blount, Wilson), NRR EO (Jung), NRR ET (Dyer), HQ PAO (Brenner), R4DO(Pick), DHS (Carledge), FEMA (Liggett), HHS/FDA( Miller), USDA (Byzustek), EPA/NRC (Rawls, Ribordy), and DOE (Silva).

WISCONSIN AGREEMENT STATE REPORT - UNPLANNED CONTAMINATION EVENT

The State provided the following information via facsimile:

"On Friday, February 24, 2006 at approximately 9:30 am [CST] a vial of Tc-99m broke in the nuclear pharmacy's dose preparation fume hood. The vial contained about 6 Curies of Tc-99m. The authorized nuclear pharmacist was performing the assay for molybdenum when the vial slipped out of the tongs and fell onto a metal frame that supports the L-block shield. She called over a pharmacy technician who brought absorbent papers to clean up the spill. The papers were placed in a secondary shield for a generator to decay. After clean-up radiation levels were 20 mR/hr in front of the fume hood. Lead sheets were placed on the floor in the immediate vicinity and covered over with cardboard that was taped down to hold the lead in place. The immediate area was posted and access restricted until February 27, 2006. Radiation levels were reduced to 3 mR/hr on February 25, 2006. On Monday, February 27, 2006 radiation levels were background, although a small amount of contamination remained in the hood. Use of the hood resumed on Monday. The lead sheets were taken up from the floor on Tuesday, February 28, 2006. The RSO for the local pharmacy contacted corporate Q & R on Monday, February 27, 2006 to inquire if this event was reportable. Corporate confirmed that a report was required according to HFS 157.13(17)(b)1.b. and also contacted DHFS. Additional information was obtained from the local RSO on March 8, 2006. This event will be followed up by DHFS on the next inspection."

WI Event Report ID #: 33

OREGON AGREEMENT STATE REPORT - VIAL CONTAINING IODINE-125 THROWN IN TRASH DUMPSTER

The State provided the following information via facsimile:


Event Description: "A researcher reported that a vial containing I-125 labeled hormones is missing. They had received a shipment from another university that was supposed to have had 3 vials. The person who checked in the package did not realize there were supposed to be three vials. The material was packaged with dry-ice. Only two vials were removed from the package and the package was placed in the trash. When it was discovered that they were supposed to be three vials, the trash had already been removed and the dumpster taken away. The estimated amount is 237 microCuries of I-125.

Corrective Actions: "Licensee will double check inventory of each box during unloading.

POTENTIAL EXTREMITY OVEREXPOSURE AT TEXAS A&M RESEARCH REACTOR PER 10CFR20.2202(b)(1)(iii)

The licensee reported that an employee at the Texas A&M Nuclear Science Center received 75,800 mREM to the extremities during the month of January 2006. Furthermore, the licensee reported that the individual also received 37,540 mREM to the extremities during the month of February 2006. The licensee reported that the employee was involved in neutron activation analysis work involving contact lenses and that all ALARA procedures were strictly enforced. The licensee stated that there were no changes in general radiation areas levels or processes which would result in an unanalyzed increase in radiation levels. The licensee's investigation is on-going.