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Event Notification Report for June 26, 2002

                           
                    U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
                              Operations Center

                              Event Reports For
                           06/25/2002 - 06/26/2002

                              ** EVENT NUMBERS **

39006  39016  39017  39018  

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|General Information or Other                     |Event Number:   39006       |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| REP ORG:  ILLINOIS DEPT OF NUCLEAR SAFETY      |NOTIFICATION DATE: 06/20/2002|
|LICENSEE:  KERR MCGEE ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT C|NOTIFICATION TIME: 15:52[EDT]|
|    CITY:  CHICAGO                  REGION:  3  |EVENT DATE:        06/20/2002|
|  COUNTY:                            STATE:  IL |EVENT TIME:             [CDT]|
|LICENSE#:  STA-583               AGREEMENT:  Y  |LAST UPDATE DATE:  06/21/2002|
|  DOCKET:                                       |+----------------------------+
|                                                |PERSON          ORGANIZATION |
|                                                |ROGER LANKSBURY      R3      |
|                                                |JOHN HICKEY          NMSS    |
+------------------------------------------------+                             |
| NRC NOTIFIED BY:  TOM SEIF                     |                             |
|  HQ OPS OFFICER:  RICH LAURA                   |                             |
+------------------------------------------------+                             |
|EMERGENCY CLASS:          NON EMERGENCY         |                             |
|10 CFR SECTION:                                 |                             |
|NAGR                     AGREEMENT STATE        |                             |
|                                                |                             |
|                                                |                             |
|                                                |                             |
|                                                |                             |
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                                   EVENT TEXT                                   
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| 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.)                                |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Fuel Cycle Facility                              |Event Number:   39016       |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| FACILITY: WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC CORPORATION    |NOTIFICATION DATE: 06/25/2002|
|   RXTYPE: URANIUM FUEL FABRICATION             |NOTIFICATION TIME: 00:33[EDT]|
| COMMENTS: LEU CONVERSION (UF6 to UO2)          |EVENT DATE:        06/24/2002|
|           COMMERCIAL LWR FUEL                  |EVENT TIME:        21:00[EDT]|
|                                                |LAST UPDATE DATE:  06/25/2002|
|    CITY:  COLUMBIA                 REGION:  2  +-----------------------------+
|  COUNTY:  RICHLAND                  STATE:  SC |PERSON          ORGANIZATION |
|LICENSE#:  SNM-1107              AGREEMENT:  Y  |LEONARD WERT         R2      |
|  DOCKET:  07001151                             |JOHN GREEVES         NMSS    |
+------------------------------------------------+JOSEPH HOLONICH      IRO     |
| NRC NOTIFIED BY:                               |                             |
|  HQ OPS OFFICER:  STEVE SANDIN                 |                             |
+------------------------------------------------+                             |
|EMERGENCY CLASS:          NON EMERGENCY         |                             |
|10 CFR SECTION:                                 |                             |
|NBNL                     RESPONSE-BULLETIN      |                             |
|                                                |                             |
|                                                |                             |
|                                                |                             |
|                                                |                             |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

                                   EVENT TEXT                                   
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| 4-HOUR 91-01 NRC BULLETIN REPORT INVOLVING LOSS OF DOUBLE CONTINGENCY        |
| PROTECTION                                                                   |
|                                                                              |
| "Facility:  Westinghouse Electric Company, Commercial Fuel Fabrication       |
| Facility, Columbia SC, low enriched (</= 5.0 wt. % U-235) PWR fuel           |
| fabricator for commercial light water reactors                               |
|                                                                              |
| "License: SNM-1107                                                           |
|                                                                              |
| "Time and Date of Event:  Approximately 21:00 hours, Monday, June 24, 2002.  |
|                                                                              |
| "Reason for Notification:  Moisture detected in dry ventilation system in    |
| Uranium Recycle and Recovery area.                                           |
|                                                                              |
| "Summary of Process:  This ventilation system draws on several processing    |
| hoods in the Uranium Recycle and Recovery area. One set of hoods process dry |
| uranium bearing materials for dissolution and the other set of hoods         |
| typically process low uranium bearing materials for oxidation.               |
|                                                                              |
| "As Found Condition:  A summary of the as found conditions is as follows:    |
| -Damp material was found in ventilation ductwork, filters, and filter        |
| housing.                                                                     |
| -The ventilation system and associated processes were immediately shutdown   |
| and the Nuclear Criticality Safety (NCS) function was notified.              |
|                                                                              |
| "Double Contingency Protection:  Double contingency protection for the       |
| ventilation ductwork, filters, and filter housing is based on moderation     |
| control. Criticality in the ductwork and filters was determined to be 'not   |
| credible'  based upon a bounding assumption of less than 10 weight percent   |
| water. Criticality safety limits for the filter housing were based upon the  |
| same bounding assumption. After assessing the ductwork, filters, and filter  |
| housing, it was determined that this was an unanticipated event and          |
| therefore the incident requires 4-hour notification in accordance with       |
| Westinghouse Operating License (SNM-1107), paragraph 3.7.3 (b.4).            |
|                                                                              |
| "Summary of Activity:                                                        |
| -Nuclear Criticality Safety (NCS) participated with engineering and          |
| operations to determine the source of moisture. This investigation is        |
| continuing.                                                                  |
| -The ventilation ductwork was inspected near the suspected moisture source.  |
| -The filters were removed, weighed, and inspected.                           |
| -Samples from the ductwork, filters, and filter housing were obtained for    |
| analysis.                                                                    |
| -The ventilation and associated processes are shutdown and in a safe         |
| condition.                                                                   |
|                                                                              |
| "Conclusions:                                                                |
| -There was a loss of double contingency protection.                          |
| -At no time was greater than a safe limit of moderator involved in the       |
| filters.                                                                     |
| -At no time was there a nonfavorable geometry in the ductwork or filter      |
| housing.                                                                     |
| -At no time was criticality possible.                                        |
| -At no time was there any risk to the health or safety of any employee or    |
| member of the public. No exposure to hazardous material was involved.        |
| -The Incident Review Committee (IRC) determined that this is a safety        |
| significant incident in accordance with governing procedures. A causal       |
| analysis will be performed."                                                 |
|                                                                              |
| The process will remain shutdown until the investigation is completed and    |
| the appropriate corrective actions are identified.  It is not known at this  |
| time whether this shutdown will impact the overall production schedule.  The |
| licensee will inform the RII Fuel Facility Inspectors and brief the          |
| Headquarters NMSS Representative (Schwink) who is scheduled to visit the     |
| facility tomorrow.                                                           |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Power Reactor                                    |Event Number:   39017       |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| FACILITY: PEACH BOTTOM             REGION:  1  |NOTIFICATION DATE: 06/25/2002|
|    UNIT:  [2] [3] []                STATE:  PA |NOTIFICATION TIME: 15:22[EDT]|
|   RXTYPE: [2] GE-4,[3] GE-4                    |EVENT DATE:        06/25/2002|
+------------------------------------------------+EVENT TIME:        08:00[EDT]|
| NRC NOTIFIED BY:  BEACH                        |LAST UPDATE DATE:  06/25/2002|
|  HQ OPS OFFICER:  CHAUNCEY GOULD               +-----------------------------+
+------------------------------------------------+PERSON          ORGANIZATION |
|EMERGENCY CLASS:          NON EMERGENCY         |MICHAEL MODES        R1      |
|10 CFR SECTION:                                 |                             |
|ACOM 50.72(b)(3)(xiii)   LOSS COMM/ASMT/RESPONSE|                             |
|                                                |                             |
|                                                |                             |
|                                                |                             |
+-----+----------+-------+--------+-----------------+--------+-----------------+
|UNIT |SCRAM CODE|RX CRIT|INIT PWR|   INIT RX MODE  |CURR PWR|  CURR RX MODE  
|
+-----+----------+-------+--------+-----------------+--------+-----------------+
|2     N          Y       100      Power Operation  |100      Power Operation  |
|3     N          Y       100      Power Operation  |100      Power Operation  |
|                                                   |                          |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
                                   EVENT TEXT                                   
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION SIRENS INOPERABLE                                     |
|                                                                              |
|                                                                              |
| Peach Bottom Units 2&3 were notified by the Emergency Preparedness Group     |
| that all of the emergency notification sirens for Peach Bottoms EP Zone were |
| inoperable between the hours of 08:00 and approximately 10:30 hours this     |
| morning (6/25/02).  The problem appears to be due to a "stray" radio signal  |
| at the base station which controls the transmit signal to the sirens.  While |
| that stray radio signal was present, the base station could have been        |
| prevented from sending a signal to activate the sirens.  Investigation and   |
| recovery efforts are underway for the siren system and at this time 96 of 97 |
| sirens have been restored.  The last siren is expected to be returned to an  |
| operable status this evening by 18:00 hours.                                 |
|                                                                              |
| The NRC Resident Inspector was notified.                                     |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Power Reactor                                    |Event Number:   39018       |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| FACILITY: CATAWBA                  REGION:  2  |NOTIFICATION DATE: 06/25/2002|
|    UNIT:  [1] [2] []                STATE:  SC |NOTIFICATION TIME: 21:36[EDT]|
|   RXTYPE: [1] W-4-LP,[2] W-4-LP                |EVENT DATE:        06/25/2002|
+------------------------------------------------+EVENT TIME:        18:00[EDT]|
| NRC NOTIFIED BY:  MCCONNELL                    |LAST UPDATE DATE:  06/25/2002|
|  HQ OPS OFFICER:  CHAUNCEY GOULD               +-----------------------------+
+------------------------------------------------+PERSON          ORGANIZATION |
|EMERGENCY CLASS:          NON EMERGENCY         |LEONARD WERT         R2      |
|10 CFR SECTION:                                 |JOHN GREEVES         NMSS    |
|BLO2 20.2201(a)(1)(ii)   LOST/STOLEN LNM>10X    |                             |
|                                                |                             |
|                                                |                             |
|                                                |                             |
+-----+----------+-------+--------+-----------------+--------+-----------------+
|UNIT |SCRAM CODE|RX CRIT|INIT PWR|   INIT RX MODE  |CURR PWR|  CURR RX MODE   |
+-----+----------+-------+--------+-----------------+--------+-----------------+
|1     N          Y       100      Power Operation  |100      Power Operation  |
|2     N          Y       100      Power Operation  |100      Power Operation  |
|                                                   |                          |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
                                   EVENT TEXT                                   
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| LICENSEE DISCOVERED A SEALED AMERICIUM - 241 CALIBRATION SOURCE HAD BEEN     |
| DAMAGED                                                                      |
|                                                                              |
| The sealed source was found damaged while performing calibration of a PCM    |
| whole body monitor.  The Am - 241 source was found to contain only a small   |
| fraction(>1%) of the original activity of 2.44E-2 µCi.  A thin mylar type    |
| covering was missing from the source when it was discovered damaged.  No     |
| loose contamination has been detected on the source or in the work area the  |
| source was used.  The thin mylar type covering was apparently removed        |
| sometime between 4/10/02 (last time source was used) and 6/25/02.  At this   |
| time it is not known how the source was damaged.  No theft is suspected at   |
| this time and they are still investigating.                                  |
|                                                                              |
| The NRC Resident Inspector was notified.  State and local agencies will be   |
| notified.                                                                    |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+


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