Event Notification Report for April 03, 2007

MANUAL REACTOR TRIP WHILE PERFORMING BOILER FEED PUMP MAINTENANCE

"The Indian Point Unit 3 reactor was manually tripped at 04:16 on 4/3/2007 due to low steam generator levels that occurred while the 31 MBFP [main boiler feed pump] speed control was being isolated for maintenance. Indian Point Unit 3 is currently in mode 3 with all automatic actions for a manual reactor trip occurring as required. Unit 2 was unaffected and remains in mode 1 at 100% power."

The reactor was manually tripped when steam generator levels reduced to 18% in all four steam generators. All rods inserted on the trip. No safety or relief valves lifted due to the trip. The motor driven aux feedwater pumps automatically started on low steam generator level and are being used to maintain steam generator level. Atmospheric steam dumps are maintaining reactor temperature. The Unit 3 electrical lineup is the normal shutdown electrical lineup. The licensee has notified the state Public Service Commission.

The licensee will notify the NRC Resident Inspector.

TROXLER GAUGE DAMAGED DURING FIRE

At approximately 1600 hours, a propane tank at a construction site located at 15136 Rutan Lane in Charlotte, NC exploded. The resulting fire fully engulfed a pickup truck containing a Troxler moisture density gauge. NC Radiation Protection was informed at 1703 hours by NC Emergency Management of the incident and has dispatched an Inspector to the scene to assist Hazmat. The initial radiation readings provided by Hazmat show preliminary readings of .3 mr/hr (not sure whether this is contact or near the gauge).

* * * UPDATE PROVIDED BY LEE COX TO JEFF ROTTON AT 2205 ON 04/03/07 * * *

The North Carolina Radiation Protection Inspector is onsite at the scene of the explosion. The truck was damaged beyond repair and the Inspector was able to locate both gauge sources with survey instruments. The Troxler gauge is a model 3440 with a 40 millicurie Am-241:Be source and a 8 millicurie Cs-137 source. Both sources were located in the bed of the truck. The Am-241 source was outside the gauge housing and the Cs-137 source was still attached to the source handle/rod. Neither source was breached. The Inspector was able to use various retrieval instruments to pickup both sources and place them into a temporary transportation package created on the scene and use available material for shielding and packaging to secure the sources. The temporary transportation package was secured in the bed of a truck with a cab over the truck bed. Radiation readings in the cab of the truck and on the sides of the truck bed were background. Radiation readings at a distance of 1 meter from the package was < 2 mR/hr. The radiation reading on contact was 15 mR/hr. The truck with the damaged Troxler gauge was escorted by the NC Radiation Protection Inspector to the South Carolina licensee's site located at 3575 Center Circle, Fort Mill, SC 29715, South Carolina License # -777. The gauge manufacturer, Troxler, was contacted and will be sending a DOT approved transportation container so that the licensee can return the damaged gauge to the manufacturer. NRC Region 1 (Kinneman) and the State of South Carolina were notified by the North Carolina Radiation Protection Office.

Notified R1DO (Gray) and FSME EO (Rathbun)

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.