Event Notification Report for September 18, 2024

EN Revision Imported Date: 9/26/2024

EN Revision Text: AGREEMENT STATE REPORT - LOST GAUGE

The following information was provided by the Florida Bureau of Radiation Control (BRC) via email and phone:

"On September 18, 2024, at 1345 EDT, BRC received call from the licensee's radiation safety officer (RSO), that an employee noticed their soil moisture density gauge [containing 10 mCi of Cs-137 and 50 mCi of Am-241:Be] was missing from the back of their pick-up truck at 1215 while traveling between job sites. The employee left a job site at the intersection of Triton and Roma in Port Saint Lucie and noticed the gauge missing at the intersection of Kanner Hwy and I-95. The employee called their supervisor at 1230, who in turn called the RSO at 1330. The employee admitted that the gauge case was not chained to truck, but that the gauge was secure in the case which had two locks on it. The employee retraced their route several times, but could not locate the gauge.

"BRC will assign an inspector to respond."

Device Information:
Device type: soil moisture density gauge
Manufacturer: CPN
Model Number: MC-DR
Serial number: MD40107276

Florida incident number: FL24-092

* * * UPDATE ON 9/25/2024 AT 1511 EDT FROM MARK SEIDENSTICKER TO TENISHA MEADOWS * * *

"On September 25, 2024, at 1440 EDT, BRC was notified that the gauge had been returned. A worker on the job site returned the gauge in its case on September 25, 2024. The gauge was intact. A latch on the case was broken off, but the other latch was intact with a lock on it."

Notified R1DO (Dimitriadis), NMSS (email), and ILTAB (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

EN Revision Imported Date: 10/11/2024

EN Revision Text: OFFSITE NOTIFICATION FOR OIL RELEASE

The following information was provided by the licensee via email:

"On September 18, 2024, Columbia Generating Station determined that lubricating oil was likely released into the plant service water system due to a failed heat exchanger on the reactor feed turbine alpha. Isolation of the heat exchanger from the plant service water system is in progress. The plant service water system returns water to a water basin that contains, at a minimum, 300,000 gallons of water. The water basin is connected to the Columbia River via a blowdown line. The blowdown line was secured at 0739 PDT on 9/18/2024. A visual inspection of the basin did not identify any oil sheen or film, but a sample downstream of the affected heat exchanger revealed an oily sheen in the sample bottle. It does not appear the oil released poses a threat to human health or the environment. However, there could have been a discharge of an unknown quantity of oil into the Columbia River. This matter is immediately reportable under Revised Code of Washington 90.56.280 to the U.S. Coast Guard National Response Center, Washington State Department of Ecology, and to the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council per National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit section S3.F.2.b.i.

"This condition is being reported pursuant to 10 CFR 50.72(b)(2)(xi) for notification of other government agencies concerning an event related to the health and safety of the public or protection of the environment. Notifications to off-site agencies were performed at 0850 PDT on 9/18/2024. The NRC Resident Inspector has been notified."

United States Coast Guard National Response Center Incident Report #141183
Washington State Department of Ecology #733853

* * * RETRACTION ON 10/10/24 AT 1513 EDT FROM CHASE WILLIAMS TO KAREN COTTON * * *

The following information was provided by the licensee via email:

"On September 18, 2024, Columbia Generating Station notified the NRC (event notification 57329) under 10 CFR 50.72(b)(2)(xi) of an offsite notification for potential oil release to the plant service water system and potentially the Columbia River.

"Further troubleshooting efforts refuted the possibility of leakage from the heat exchanger to the plant service water system. Engineering determined the most likely path of oil leakage was through a seal in the reactor feed turbine 'A' pump. This leakage would exit with seal water leak-off into the marine oil separator into collection barrels which are collected and processed.

"Since troubleshooting efforts determined oil leakage was not from the heat exchanger to the plant service water system, the offsite notification retractions were completed as of October 10, 2024, and therefore event notification 57329 is being retracted."

The NRC Resident Inspector was notified.

Notified R4DO (Gaddy).