Event Notification Report for August 03, 2017
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Operations Center
EVENT REPORTS FOR
08/02/2017 - 08/03/2017
EVENT NUMBERS
52886
Fuel Cycle Facility
Event Number: 52886
Facility: LOUISIANA ENERGY SERVICES
Region: 2 State: NM
Unit: [] [] []
RX Type:
NRC Notified By: NORMA WELLS
HQ OPS Officer: DONG HWA PARK
Region: 2 State: NM
Unit: [] [] []
RX Type:
NRC Notified By: NORMA WELLS
HQ OPS Officer: DONG HWA PARK
Notification Date: 08/04/2017
Notification Time: 10:56 [ET]
Event Date: 08/03/2017
Event Time: 15:00 [MDT]
Last Update Date: 08/04/2017
Notification Time: 10:56 [ET]
Event Date: 08/03/2017
Event Time: 15:00 [MDT]
Last Update Date: 08/04/2017
Emergency Class: NON EMERGENCY
10 CFR Section:
PART 70 APP A (a)(4) - ALL SAFETY ITEMS UNAVAILABLE
10 CFR Section:
PART 70 APP A (a)(4) - ALL SAFETY ITEMS UNAVAILABLE
Person (Organization):
BINOY DESAI (R2DO)
BERNARD STAPLETON (IRD)
GRETCHEN RIVERA-CAPE (NMSS)
NMSS_EVENTS_NOTIFICA (EMAI)
BINOY DESAI (R2DO)
BERNARD STAPLETON (IRD)
GRETCHEN RIVERA-CAPE (NMSS)
NMSS_EVENTS_NOTIFICA (EMAI)
ADMINISTRATIVE CRITICALITY CONTROLS NOT USED
The following was received from the licensee via email:
"(1) Radiological or chemical hazards involved, including isotopes, quantities, and chemical and physical form of any material released.
"There was no material released.
"(2) Actual or potential health and safety consequences to the workers, the public, and the environment, including relevant chemical and radiation data for actual personnel exposures to radiation or radioactive materials or hazardous chemicals produced from licensed materials (e.g., level of radiation exposure, concentration of chemicals, and duration of exposure);
"No personnel were exposed to radiation, radioactive materials or hazardous chemicals. IROFS54a [Items Relied On For Safety] and IROFS54b are administrative criticality controls for the SCDT [Small Component Decontamination Train] and limit the amount of U-235 to less than 730g. The material was put into the SCDT without using bookkeeping procedures which could have potentially led to a criticality in the SCDT.
"(3) The sequence of occurrences leading to the event, including degradation or failure of structures, systems, equipment, components, and activities of personnel relied on to prevent potential accidents or mitigate their consequences; and
"Last week material from the pH adjustment tanks on the LECTS [Liquid Effluent Collection and Transfer System] slab tanks was moved into the SCDT without the use of administrative criticality control IROFS54a and 54b. During a work package review yesterday (8/3/2017) the transfer into the SCDT was questioned by the lSA engineering group. Material was approximately 250ml of waste water and 12L of NaOH solution in a 5 gallon bottle. Conservative estimate of the total amount of U-235 in the Slab Tanks at the time the 250ml of waste water was removed was less than 600 g U-235.
"(4) Whether the remaining structures, systems, equipment, components, and activities of personnel relied on to prevent potential accidents or mitigate their consequences are available and reliable to perform their function;
"The amount of material transferred into the SCDT was below subcritical mass limits therefore UUSA [URENCO USA] could not enter into a condition in which 10 CFR 70.61 performance requirements would not have been met
"(5) External conditions affecting the event;
"None.
"(6) Additional actions taken by the licensee in response to the event;
"When the event was discovered an anomalous condition was declared and Recycling and Engineering made a conservative estimate of how much material could potentially be in the SCDT. It was determined that if they had transferred all of the waste water from the slab tank into the SCDT it would still have been below the acceptance criteria for IROFS54a and IROFS54b. Furthermore the 250mL of waste water and the 12L of NaOH solution were transferred in a 5 gallon container which is a single parameter safe value for 6 w/o% enrichment. Based on this discovery at no time would the SCDT have exceeded 10 CFR 70.61 performance requirements.
"(7) Status of the event (e.g., whether the event is on-going or was terminated);
"No event took place, the material transferred to the SCDT never exceeded subcritical mass limits.
"(8) Current and planned site status, including any declared emergency class;
"No emergency class declared. Stop work issued for the LECTS and Decontamination room recycling activities. Anomalous condition is in the process of being lifted
"(9) Notifications, related to the event, that were made or are planned to any local, State, or other Federal agencies;
"One hour (late) report to the NRC; this is a conservative response based on a prior NOV. No other notifications were made.
"(10) Status of any press releases, related to the event that were made or are planned.
"None."
The following was received from the licensee via email:
"(1) Radiological or chemical hazards involved, including isotopes, quantities, and chemical and physical form of any material released.
"There was no material released.
"(2) Actual or potential health and safety consequences to the workers, the public, and the environment, including relevant chemical and radiation data for actual personnel exposures to radiation or radioactive materials or hazardous chemicals produced from licensed materials (e.g., level of radiation exposure, concentration of chemicals, and duration of exposure);
"No personnel were exposed to radiation, radioactive materials or hazardous chemicals. IROFS54a [Items Relied On For Safety] and IROFS54b are administrative criticality controls for the SCDT [Small Component Decontamination Train] and limit the amount of U-235 to less than 730g. The material was put into the SCDT without using bookkeeping procedures which could have potentially led to a criticality in the SCDT.
"(3) The sequence of occurrences leading to the event, including degradation or failure of structures, systems, equipment, components, and activities of personnel relied on to prevent potential accidents or mitigate their consequences; and
"Last week material from the pH adjustment tanks on the LECTS [Liquid Effluent Collection and Transfer System] slab tanks was moved into the SCDT without the use of administrative criticality control IROFS54a and 54b. During a work package review yesterday (8/3/2017) the transfer into the SCDT was questioned by the lSA engineering group. Material was approximately 250ml of waste water and 12L of NaOH solution in a 5 gallon bottle. Conservative estimate of the total amount of U-235 in the Slab Tanks at the time the 250ml of waste water was removed was less than 600 g U-235.
"(4) Whether the remaining structures, systems, equipment, components, and activities of personnel relied on to prevent potential accidents or mitigate their consequences are available and reliable to perform their function;
"The amount of material transferred into the SCDT was below subcritical mass limits therefore UUSA [URENCO USA] could not enter into a condition in which 10 CFR 70.61 performance requirements would not have been met
"(5) External conditions affecting the event;
"None.
"(6) Additional actions taken by the licensee in response to the event;
"When the event was discovered an anomalous condition was declared and Recycling and Engineering made a conservative estimate of how much material could potentially be in the SCDT. It was determined that if they had transferred all of the waste water from the slab tank into the SCDT it would still have been below the acceptance criteria for IROFS54a and IROFS54b. Furthermore the 250mL of waste water and the 12L of NaOH solution were transferred in a 5 gallon container which is a single parameter safe value for 6 w/o% enrichment. Based on this discovery at no time would the SCDT have exceeded 10 CFR 70.61 performance requirements.
"(7) Status of the event (e.g., whether the event is on-going or was terminated);
"No event took place, the material transferred to the SCDT never exceeded subcritical mass limits.
"(8) Current and planned site status, including any declared emergency class;
"No emergency class declared. Stop work issued for the LECTS and Decontamination room recycling activities. Anomalous condition is in the process of being lifted
"(9) Notifications, related to the event, that were made or are planned to any local, State, or other Federal agencies;
"One hour (late) report to the NRC; this is a conservative response based on a prior NOV. No other notifications were made.
"(10) Status of any press releases, related to the event that were made or are planned.
"None."