Event Notification Report for November 18, 2020

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Operations Center

EVENT REPORTS FOR
11/17/2020 - 11/18/2020

EVENT NUMBERS
54294 54989 54990 55000 55002
Agreement State
Event Number: 54294
Rep Org: MARYLAND DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT
Licensee: GEO-TECHNOLOGY ASSOCIATES, INC
Region: 1
City: REISTERSTOWN   State: MD
County:
License #: MD-25-038-01
Agreement: Y
Docket:
NRC Notified By: ALAN GOLDEY
HQ OPS Officer: OSSY FONT
Notification Date: 09/25/2019
Notification Time: 16:09 [ET]
Event Date: 09/23/2019
Event Time: 15:20 [EDT]
Last Update Date: 11/17/2020
Emergency Class: Non Emergency
10 CFR Section:
Agreement State
Person (Organization):
CHRISTOPHER LALLY (R1DO)
NMSS_EVENTS_NOTIFICATION (EMAIL)
This material event contains a "Less than Cat 3" level of radioactive material.
Event Text
EN Revision Imported Date: 11/18/2020

EN Revision Text: AGREEMENT STATE REPORT - LOST PORTABLE DENSITY GAUGE

The following was received from the Maryland Radiological Health Program via phone and email:

"On September 23, 2019 at 1520 EDT, the Maryland Department of the Environment Radiological Health Program (MDE/RHP) was contacted via telephone by the Assistant Radiation Safety Officer (ARSO) of Geo-Technology Associates, Inc. that a portable density gauge was missing. The gauge was identified as a CPN model MC-1DR, serial number MD50707960 with nominal activities of 10 mCi of Cs-137 and 50 mCi of Am-241:Be. The last leak test was performed on April 11, 2019.

"On September 23, 2019 at approximately 1300 EDT, the density gauge was placed in the bed of a pick-up truck by the gauge operator after making measurements starting earlier in the morning for a residential development project known as Fields at Worthington. The area is located near the intersection of Baublitz Road and Worthington Ridge Road, Reisterstown, MD. Work was suspended due to equipment failure on the job site not related to the density gauge. The gauge operator proceeded to drive back to the licensee's office. After driving approximately 1.5 miles from the jobsite, the gauge operator realized that the gauge was not placed in its transportation case and pulled over near Knox Avenue. The gauge was missing from the bed of the pick-up truck. The tailgate was in the down position. The gauge operator called the ARSO at approximately 1330 EDT to report the missing gauge.

"The ARSO and the construction site manager looked for the gauge in the surrounding neighborhood with no success. The event has been reported to Baltimore County Police. The Case Number is: 192661514.

"MDE/RHP will conduct a reactive investigation."

* * * UPDATE ON 11/17/20 AT 1538 EST FROM ATNATIWOS MESHESHA TO JEFFREY WHITED * * *

The following was received from the Maryland Radiological Health Program via email:

"On November 2, 2020 at 1040 EST the Maryland Department of the Environment, Radiological Health Program (MDE/RHP) was contacted via telephone by the Assistant Radiation Safety Officer (ARSO) of Geo-Technology Associates, Inc. that the portable density gauge that was missing on September 23, 2019, at the area located near the intersection of Baublitz Road and Worthington Ridge Road, Reisterstown, Maryland was found, dropped at the Baltimore County Waste Central Acceptance Facility (BCWCAF) located at Cockeysville, in Maryland (10275 Beaver Dam Road, Cockeysville, Maryland 21030). The gauge was identified as a CPN model MC-1DR, serial number MD50707960 with nominal activities of 10 mCi of Cs-137 and 50 mCi of Am-241/Be. The rod above the gauge scale was bent and damaged but the source shutter at bottom was found closed and a leak test performed on the same day, November 2, 2020, reported no leakage. The gauge was transferred to an authorized service provider for disposal on November 2, 2020."

Notified R1DO (Greives) and NMSS Event Notifications (email).

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. For additional information go to http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/Pub1227_web.pdf


Agreement State
Event Number: 54989
Rep Org: KANSAS DEPT OF HEALTH & ENVIRONMENT
Licensee: Desert NDT LLC
Region: 4
City: Fort Worth   State: TX
County:
License #: 21-B1006
Agreement: Y
Docket:
NRC Notified By: Aaron Short
HQ OPS Officer: Solomon Sahle
Notification Date: 11/10/2020
Notification Time: 15:51 [ET]
Event Date: 11/02/2020
Event Time: 14:30 [CST]
Last Update Date: 11/10/2020
Emergency Class: Non Emergency
10 CFR Section:
Agreement State
Person (Organization):
JOHN DIXON (R4DO)
NMSS_EVENTS_NOTIFICATION (EMAIL)
Event Text
AGREEMENT STATE REPORT - POSSIBLE MISCONNECT OF RADIOGRAPHY SOURCE

The following information was received from the State of Kansas via email:

"On November 3, 2020, at 1100 CST, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) was notified that the Desert NDT LLC radiography crew experienced a possible misconnect at 1430 CST on November 2, 2020, at a job site in Liberal, KS. The two crew members performed an exposure using the Delta 880 exposure camera containing an Iridium-192 source with 51.9 curies (1902 GBq). After the exposure the crew noticed that they did not hear the source click back in place in the camera. Through surveys, the crew noted abnormally high readings at the front of the exposure device. The crew ensured 2 mR boundaries were appropriately set and that all personnel was clear of the area. The crew then called their radiation safety officer (RSO) explaining the problem.

"The site RSO from the Perryton, Texas [location] was notified to assist with the possible misconnect. The RSO arrived onsite at 1545 CST on the same date and was able to assess possible reasons for the disconnect and devised a plan to retrieve the source. After reducing the radiation area to a manageable level, he was able to disconnect the Source Guide Tube from the device to be able to remove it from the radiation area and inspect the device for further inspection and investigation as to why the disconnect had occurred. After disconnecting the controls from the device it was determined that the Assistant Radiographer had not connected the drive cable to the pig-tail of the source assembly creating a 'Misconnect.' Once the reason for the misconnect was discovered, the RSO replaced the controls on the device and moved forward with the retrieval and was able to connect the drive cable to the source and retract it into the shielded position. The RSO stated that he completed the retrieval at 1610 CST on November 2, 2020.

"There was no exposure to the general public or any other individuals other than the three crew members. The closest area for any member of the public to be exposed was at a roadway approximately 300 feet away. The RSO, who was authorized to perform source retrieval, received an exposure of 45 mR to his hands and 20 mR to his trunk. Surveys were taken using a ND-2000 survey meter, serial number 54261, and calibration date of July 28, 2020. The RSO wore a model 883 pocket dosimeter and alarm rate meter (ARM) model RA-500, serial number 71037, and calibration date of February 11, 2020. Landauer whole body badges were also worn during the retrieval process.

"KDHE staff will be performing a reactive inspection of this licensee on the next entry into Kansas and will provide additional details after that inspection."

Kansas Incident Number: KS00006.


Agreement State
Event Number: 54990
Rep Org: NE DIV OF RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
Licensee: Nebraska Department of Agriculture
Region: 4
City: Lincoln   State: NE
County:
License #: GL0481
Agreement: Y
Docket:
NRC Notified By: Deb Wilson
HQ OPS Officer: Solomon Sahle
Notification Date: 11/10/2020
Notification Time: 16:27 [ET]
Event Date: 09/17/2020
Event Time: 00:00 [CDT]
Last Update Date: 11/10/2020
Emergency Class: Non Emergency
10 CFR Section:
Agreement State
Person (Organization):
JAMNES CAMERON (R3DO)
JOHN DIXON (R4DO)
NMSS_EVENTS_NOTIFICATION (EMAIL)
ILTAB (EMAIL)
This material event contains a "Less than Cat 3" level of radioactive material.
Event Text
AGREEMENT STATE REPORT - ACCIDENTALLY SOLD A SEALED SOURCE DEVICE

The following was received from the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (the Department) via email:

On November 2, 2020, the Department received a call from a licensee about disposal of a sealed source device.

"The licensee was getting ready to dispose of their device and was informed by their surplus department that it had been accidentally sold at a surplus auction on September 17, 2020. Sale information was retrieved from auction records on November 3, 2020, and the purchaser was located and contacted. The device had been delivered to the purchaser in Columbus, Ohio and the purchaser is working with the licensee to properly dispose of the device. The device is to be retrieved from Columbus, Ohio by the disposal company, but a date has not yet been set. The licensee will notify the Department when disposal arrangements have been finalized."

Nebraska Incident Number: NE200009.

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. For additional information go to http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/Pub1227_web.pdf


Power Reactor
Event Number: 55000
Facility: Limerick
Region: 1     State: PA
Unit: [1] [] []
RX Type: [1] GE-4,[2] GE-4
NRC Notified By: Rachel Heath
HQ OPS Officer: Andrew Waugh
Notification Date: 11/16/2020
Notification Time: 12:13 [ET]
Event Date: 11/16/2020
Event Time: 06:15 [EDT]
Last Update Date: 11/24/2020
Emergency Class: Non Emergency
10 CFR Section:
50.72(b)(3)(v)(D) - Accident Mitigation
Person (Organization):
CARFANG, ERIN (R1)
Power Reactor Unit Info
Unit SCRAM Code RX Crit Initial PWR Initial RX Mode Current PWR Current RX Mode
1 N Y 2 Startup 5 Startup
Event Text
EN Revision Imported Date: 11/24/2020

EN Revision Text: HIGH PRESSURE COOLANT INJECTION INOPERABLE

"During normal plant start up on Limerick Unit 1, reactor pressure was raised above 200 psig prior to unisolating the Unit 1 high pressure coolant injection system (HPCI) which remained inoperable. Per TS 3.5.1, HPCI is required to be operable in Mode 2 above 200 psig. HPCI has since been restored to operable."

The NRC Resident Inspector has been notified.


Power Reactor
Event Number: 55002
Facility: Clinton
Region: 3     State: IL
Unit: [1] [] []
RX Type: [1] GE-6
NRC Notified By: James Forman
HQ OPS Officer: Brian Lin
Notification Date: 11/17/2020
Notification Time: 03:40 [ET]
Event Date: 11/16/2020
Event Time: 19:18 [CST]
Last Update Date: 11/24/2020
Emergency Class: Non Emergency
10 CFR Section:
50.72(b)(3)(v)(D) - Accident Mitigation
Person (Organization):
KENNETH RIEMER (R3DO)
Power Reactor Unit Info
Unit SCRAM Code RX Crit Initial PWR Initial RX Mode Current PWR Current RX Mode
1 N Y 98 Power Operation 98 Power Operation
Event Text
EN Revision Imported Date: 11/24/2020

EN Revision Text: BOTH TRAINS OF MAIN CONTROL ROOM VENTILATION AND AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEMS INOPERABLE

"At 1918 CST on 11/16/2020, it was discovered both required trains of the Main Control Room Ventilation and Air Conditioning systems were simultaneously inoperable. Due to these inoperabilities, the systems were in a condition that could have prevented the fulfillment of a safety function; therefore, this condition is being reported as an eight-hour, non-emergency notification per 10 CFR 50.72(b)(3)(v).

"Subsequent post-maintenance testing demonstrated that the Division 1 Main Control Room Ventilation system was available at the time of the event and was restored to operable status at 2036 CST on 11/16/2020.

"There was no impact on the health and safety of the public or plant personnel.

"The NRC Resident Inspector has been notified."