Event Notification Report for July 15, 2003






                    U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

                              Operations Center



                              Event Reports For

                           07/14/2003 - 07/15/2003



                              ** EVENT NUMBERS **



39989  39994  





+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

|General Information or Other                     |Event Number:   39989       |

+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

| REP ORG:  LOUISIANA RADIATION PROTECTION DIV   |NOTIFICATION DATE: 07/10/2003|

|LICENSEE:  MONSANTO CHEMICAL PLANT              |NOTIFICATION TIME: 18:55[EDT]|

|    CITY:  LULING                   REGION:  4  |EVENT DATE:        06/29/2003|

|  COUNTY:                            STATE:  LA |EVENT TIME:             [CDT]|

|LICENSE#:  LA-2216-L01           AGREEMENT:  Y  |LAST UPDATE DATE:  07/11/2003|

|  DOCKET:                                       |+----------------------------+

|                                                |PERSON          ORGANIZATION |

|                                                |KRISS KENNEDY        R4      |

|                                                |SUSAN FRANT          NMSS    |

+------------------------------------------------+TIM MCGINTY          IRO     |

| NRC NOTIFIED BY:  MIKE HENRY                   |                             |

|  HQ OPS OFFICER:  BILL GOTT                    |                             |

+------------------------------------------------+                             |

|EMERGENCY CLASS:          NON EMERGENCY         |                             |

|10 CFR SECTION:                                 |                             |

|NAGR                     AGREEMENT STATE        |                             |

|                                                |                             |

|                                                |                             |

|                                                |                             |

|                                                |                             |

+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+



                                   EVENT TEXT                                   

+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

| PERSONNEL OVEREXPOSURE                                                       |

|                                                                              |

| Mike Henry from the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality reported   |

| the potential personnel over-exposure due to a loss of control of a 1 Curie  |

| Cesium-137 source that came out of a damaged Berthold level gauge (Model #   |

| LB7442).  The event occurred at the Monsanto Chemical Plant in Luling, LA.   |

| The gauge was damaged on 06/29/03 causing the source to come out of its      |

| shield.  The source was then carried to a planner's desk where it remained   |

| until discovery on 07/10/03.  The owner of the desk spent approximately 50   |

| to 60 hours in the proximity of his desk during this time.  When the source  |

| was discovered, the building was evacuated and secured.  Medical personnel   |

| at Monsanto have contacted the Radiological Emergency Assistance Center, Oak |

| Ridge, TN.  Preliminarily, the licensee estimates that the planner may have  |

| received a whole body dose of 25 Rem and the person that carried the source  |

| may have received 1800 Rem to the hand.  Others may have also been exposed.  |

| No one has shown signs of sickness or erythema (redness of the skin).  A     |

| Berthold representative is scheduled to arrive on 07/11/03 to secure the     |

| source.  Mr. Henry will be traveling to the site to obtain additional        |

| information.  The State is not requesting NRC assistance at this time.       |

|                                                                              |

| A Commissioners' Assistants brief was held at 1900 EDT 07/10/03.             |

|                                                                              |

| * * * * UPDATE FROM MIKE HENRY TO NRC CONFERENCE CALL 1620 EDT ON 07/11/03   |

| * * * *                                                                      |

|                                                                              |

| Mr. Henry provided the following information based on his visit to the       |

| Monsanto plant this morning, 07/11/03.  A manufacturer's representative for  |

| Berthold arrived at the plant and retrieved the source around 0300 CDT       |

| 07/11/03.  Currently the source is in a shielded pig at the plant site.      |

|                                                                              |

| Blood tests were performed for seven individuals which were favorable with   |

| no cell changes noted.  These blood tests will be repeated periodically.  It |

| was determined that the planner who returned after days off to occupy the    |

| desk where the source had been previously left received 39.1 Rem over the    |

| calculated 44.7 hours that he occupied the desk during the 10-day period     |

| involved.  This determination was based on an analysis of his schedule and   |

| work habits and on the emissivity of the source.  Further dose calculations  |

| will be made.  The Monsanto company physician is in contact with REAC        |

| (Radiological Emergency Assistance Center) in Oak Ridge, TN and has          |

| requested their assistance in having a cytogenetic blood study performed for |

| the planner.                                                                 |

|                                                                              |

| Preliminarily, it appears that vibration of the centrifuge unit upon which   |

| the gauge was mounted may have caused a failure which allowed the source     |

| holder with attached source to fall from the gauge.  Surveys of the relevant |

| areas and smears taken on the source indicate that no source leakage         |

| occurred.                                                                    |

|                                                                              |

| Notified R4DO (K. Kennedy), NMSS EO (S. Frant)                               |

+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+



+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

|Power Reactor                                    |Event Number:   39994       |

+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

| FACILITY: FERMI                    REGION:  3  |NOTIFICATION DATE: 07/14/2003|

|    UNIT:  [2] [] []                 STATE:  MI |NOTIFICATION TIME: 01:57[EDT]|

|   RXTYPE: [2] GE-4                             |EVENT DATE:        07/13/2003|

+------------------------------------------------+EVENT TIME:        22:00[EDT]|

| NRC NOTIFIED BY:  HARRY GILES                  |LAST UPDATE DATE:  07/14/2003|

|  HQ OPS OFFICER:  RICH LAURA                   +-----------------------------+

+------------------------------------------------+PERSON          ORGANIZATION |

|EMERGENCY CLASS:          NON EMERGENCY         |MARK RING            R3      |

|10 CFR SECTION:                                 |                             |

|AIND 50.72(b)(3)(v)(D)   ACCIDENT MITIGATION    |                             |

|                                                |                             |

|                                                |                             |

|                                                |                             |

+-----+----------+-------+--------+-----------------+--------+-----------------+

|UNIT |SCRAM CODE|RX CRIT|INIT PWR|   INIT RX MODE  |CURR PWR|  CURR RX MODE   |

+-----+----------+-------+--------+-----------------+--------+-----------------+

|2     N          Y       100      Power Operation  |100      Power Operation  |

|                                                   |                          |

|                                                   |                          |

+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

                                   EVENT TEXT                                   

+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

| HPCI SYSTEM INOPERABLE AT FERMI 2                                            |

|                                                                              |

| "On 7/13/2003 at 2200 hours, while performing the HPCI Pump Time Response    |

| and Operability Test, the HPCI main steam supply outboard containment        |

| isolation valve, E4150F003, failed to close. The E4150F003 was declared      |

| inoperable and the HPCI main steam supply inboard containment isolation      |

| valve, E4150F002, was closed and de-activated per Technical Specifications.  |

| Isolating the HPCI main steam supply rendered HPCI inoperable. The E4150F003 |

| the was documented per the site corrective action process. All other ECCS    |

| equipment and RCIC are operable. This is being reported under                |

| 10CFR50.72(b)(3)(v)(D)."                                                     |

|                                                                              |

| The licensee notified the NRC Resident Inspector.  The licensee entered the  |

| applicable 14 day LCO for the HPCI system inoperability and initiated        |

| maintenance troubleshooting.                                                 |

+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+





                    

Page Last Reviewed/Updated Thursday, March 25, 2021