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Home NRC Library Document Collections Events, Reports Associated with Event Notification Reports 2002

Event Notification Report for September 6, 2002


                    U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
                              Operations Center

                              Event Reports For
                           09/05/2002 - 09/06/2002

                              ** EVENT NUMBERS **

39170  

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|Fuel Cycle Facility                              |Event Number:   39170       |
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| FACILITY: WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC CORPORATION    |NOTIFICATION DATE: 09/05/2002|
|   RXTYPE: URANIUM FUEL FABRICATION             |NOTIFICATION TIME: 12:18[EDT]|
| COMMENTS: LEU CONVERSION (UF6 to UO2)          |EVENT DATE:        09/05/2002|
|           COMMERCIAL LWR FUEL                  |EVENT TIME:             [EDT]|
|                                                |LAST UPDATE DATE:  09/05/2002|
|    CITY:  COLUMBIA                 REGION:  2  +-----------------------------+
|  COUNTY:  RICHLAND                  STATE:  SC |PERSON          ORGANIZATION |
|LICENSE#:  SNM-1107              AGREEMENT:  Y  |THOMAS DECKER        R2      |
|  DOCKET:  07001151                             |FRED BROWN           NMSS    |
+------------------------------------------------+TIM MCGINTY          IRO     |
| NRC NOTIFIED BY:  CARL SNYDER                  |                             |
|  HQ OPS OFFICER:  RICH LAURA                   |                             |
+------------------------------------------------+                             |
|EMERGENCY CLASS:          NON EMERGENCY         |                             |
|10 CFR SECTION:                                 |                             |
|NBNL                     RESPONSE-BULLETIN      |                             |
|                                                |                             |
|                                                |                             |
|                                                |                             |
|                                                |                             |
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                                   EVENT TEXT                                   
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| MATERIAL/WATER IN SCRUBBER VENTILATION DUCT AT FUEL FACILITY                 |
|                                                                              |
| "Facility:  Westinghouse Electric Company, Commercial Fuel Fabrication       |
| Facility, Columbia SC, low enriched PWR fuel fabricator for commercial light |
| water reactors.                                                              |
| License: SNM-l 107. "                                                        |
|                                                                              |
| "Time and Date of Event: Approximately 17:00 hours, Wednesday, September 4,  |
| 2002.'                                                                       |
|                                                                              |
| "Reason for Notification: Material and liquid detected in wet scrubber       |
| ventilation system in Uranium Recycle and Recovery area."                    |
|                                                                              |
| "Summary of Process: This ventilation system draws from the safe geometry    |
| dissolver system in the Uranium Recycle and Recovery area."                  |
|                                                                              |
| "As Found Condition: A summary of the as found conditions is as follows:     |
| Material and liquid was found in ventilation ductwork during a planned       |
| shutdown and inspection. The ventilation system and associated processes     |
| remained shutdown and the Nuclear Criticality Safety (NCS) function was      |
| notified."                                                                   |
|                                                                              |
| "Double Contingency Protection: Double contingency protection for the wet    |
| side of scrubber ventilation ducts greater than 10 inches in diameter        |
| consists of preventing accumulation through prudent system design and        |
| operation, configuration control, and detection/mitigation through periodic  |
| visual inspection and/or gamma surveys of selected lines. A criticality      |
| would be possible in a ventilation duct given an excessive accumulation of   |
| uranium occurs in a scrubber vent line greater than 10 inches in diameter,   |
| and it becomes moderated, and it is not detected before a critical           |
| configuration is formed."                                                    |
|                                                                              |
| "After assessing the ductwork, it was determined that this was a nuclear     |
| criticality safety event, in an analyzed system, for which less than         |
| previously documented double contingency protection remains. The event       |
| requires 24-hour notification in accordance with Westinghouse Operating      |
| License (SNM-1107), paragraph 3.7.3 (c.5)."                                  |
|                                                                              |
| "Summary of Activity: Nuclear Criticality Safety (NCS) participated with     |
| engineering and operations to determine the source of the material and       |
| liquid. This investigation is continuing. The ventilation ductwork was       |
| inspected. Samples from the ductwork are being 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 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 formal causal analysis will be       |
| performed."                                                                  |
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