Headquarters Daily report OCTOBER 04, 1994 *************************************************************************** REPORT NEGATIVE NO INPUT ATTACHED INPUT RECEIVED RECEIVED HEADQUARTERS X REGION I X REGION II X REGION III X REGION IV X *************************************************************************** PRIORITY ATTENTION REQUIRED MORNING REPORT - HEADQUARTERS OCTOBER 4, 1994 MR Number: H-94-0091 NRR DAILY REPORT ITEM GENERIC COMMUNICATIONS BRANCH/EVENTS ASSESSMENT BRANCH DIVISION OF OPERATING REACTOR SUPPORT OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION Subject: N/A NRC Information Notice 94-70, "Issues Associated with Use of Strontium-89 and Other Beta Emitting Radiopharmaceuticals," was issued September 29, 1994. The NRC issued this information notice to alert its licensees of the following: A. special considerations for assaying pure beta emitting radiopharmaceuticals; B. safety considerations for managing patients who have been treated with therapeutic dosages of beta emitting radiopharmaceuticals; and C. physician training and experience requirements for the therapeutic use of radiopharmaceuticals other than I-131 (i.e., strontium-89, rhenium-186, samarium-153). Technical contact: Torre Taylor, NMSS (301) 504-1062 NRC Administrative Letter 94-15, "Reorganization of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation," to be issued October 6, 1994. The NRC is issuing this administrative letter to inform addressees of a reorganization of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. Contact: Donald C. Kirkpatrick, NRR (301) 504-1849 PRIORITY ATTENTION REQUIRED MORNING REPORT - REGION III OCTOBER 4, 1994 Licensee/Facility: Notification: Terracon Consultants Inc MR Number: 3-94-0178 Terracon Consultants Inc Date: 09/30/94 Davenport,Iowa TELECON FROM IL DEPT NUCLEAR SAFETY License No: IL 86-0140201 Subject: DAMAGED MOISTURE DENSITY GAUGE Reportable Event Number: N/A Discussion: The Illinois Department of Nuclear Safety (IDNS) reported that Terracon Consultants, Inc. (Iowa address) had a moisture/density gauge damaged by earth moving equipment on a construction site in Bolingbrook, Illinois. The incident involved a Troxler 3411B moisture/density gauge containing 8 millicurie cesium-137 and 40 millicurie americium-241 sealed sources. An IDNS inspector responded to the scene and performed surveys and field wipe tests of the damaged gauge. No leakage or contamination was identified. The cesium-137 source rod was bent, however, and could not be fully retracted into the gauge housing, protruding approximately 3 inches from the bottom of the device. The IDNS inspector had a lead shield delivered from the IDNS office, placed the cesium-137 source in the shield and taped the shield to the gauge housing. The gauge and lead shield were stored that evening in the IDNS office and were transferred to the licensee's Naperville, Illinois facility the next day, pending transfer to Troxler Corporation. Regional Action: The Region III State Agreements Officer is monitoring the situation. NMSS and OSP have been notified of this incident. Contact: J.L. LYNCH (708)829-9818 PRIORITY ATTENTION REQUIRED MORNING REPORT - REGION III OCTOBER 4, 1994 Licensee/Facility: Notification: Air Force MR Number: 3-94-0179 Wright Patterson Air Force Base Date: 09/30/94 Fairborn,Ohio PHONE CALL FROM LICENSEE TO NRC Dockets: 03028641 License No: 42-23539-01AF Subject: CONTAMINATED PACKAGE Reportable Event Number: N/A Discussion: On September 30, 1994, the licensee reported receiving a contaminated package from a local radiopharmacy (Mallinckrodt Medical,Inc.) on September 28, 1994. The package contained approximately 2.5 millicuries (92.5 MBq) of technetium-99m labeled white blood cells. G-M surveys showed no unusual radiation levels from the package upon receipt; however, smear surveys of the package revealed 130,000 disintegrations per minute (dpm) of removable contamination on one side of the package. Radiation surveys performed at Wright Patterson's laboratory showed no area or personnel contamination. Surveys of the radiopharmacy's driver and the delivery vehicle likewise showed no radiation levels above background radiation. The contaminated package was bagged and returned to the radiopharmacy. Additional wipe tests of both inside and outside surfaces of the package performed by the radiopharmacy showed no removable contamination above regulatory limits. Regional Action: NMSS has been notified. Region 3 will evaluate the radiopharmacy's written report and review this matter during the next routine inspection. Contact: W.P. REICHHOLD (708)829-9839 B.J. HOLT (708)829-9836 PRIORITY ATTENTION REQUIRED MORNING REPORT - REGION IV OCTOBER 4, 1994 Licensee/Facility: Notification: Arizona Public Service Co. MR Number: 4-94-0116 Palo Verde 2 Date: 10/04/94 Wintersburg,Arizona RI E-mail to WCFO Dockets: 50-529 PWR/CE80 Subject: DEGRADED 125 VOLT DC SAFETY-RELATED BATTERIES Reportable Event Number: N/A Discussion: On September 23, 1994, with Unit 2 shut down for a midcycle outage, the licensee determined that the capacity of the Unit 2 Battery Banks A and C 125 volt safety-related DC batteries were 90.9 and 90.3 percent, respectively. The licensee had recently installed AT&T Model L-1SH round cell batteries in all the units. AT&T guaranteed these batteries would have a minimum of 100 percent capacity at the end of 40 years. The licensee installed the AT&T batteries in Unit 2 in May 1993. Each battery bank has a total of 60 cells. The battery capacity was determined by a constant rate discharge of 530 amps for 2 hours. A battery terminal voltage of 105 volts after 2 hours corresponds to a capacity of 100 percent. The Technical Specifications limit for the battery capacity is greater than 90 percent. Therefore, the licensee considered Battery Banks A and C to be operable but degraded. On September 28, after reverifying the test equipment, the licensee concluded that the results were valid and that the batteries were actually degrading. In October 1993, the licensee determined that the capacities of the four Unit 1 safety-related battery banks ranged from 105 to 108 percent. In January 1994, the licensee determined that the capacities of Unit 2 safety-related Battery Banks B and D were 100 percent. In April 1994, the licensee determined that the capacities of the four Unit 3 safety-related battery banks ranged from 105 to 113 percent. On September 30, an AT&T representative arrived on-site to investigate the problem with the Unit 2 batteries. The AT&T representative did not note any visible signs of degradation. The licensee conducted a review of the purchase orders for the Unit 2 batteries and noted that a significant number of the Unit 2 cells were reworked by the factory. Based on this information, the licensee suspects a manufacturing related problem for the Unit 2 batteries. On October 1, the licensee conducted another capacity test of the Unit 2 Battery Bank B and D batteries, which indicated capacities of 89 and 88 percent, respectively. Since this was less than the 90 percent capacity required by Technical Specifications, the licensee declared the Battery Banks B and D inoperable. The licensee stated that the batteries had additional margin between the capacity test and the actual design bases load for each battery bank. This margin ranged from approximately 23 to 69 percent. On October 1, the licensee also tested the spare cells in the Units 1 and 3 safety-related battery banks. All the capacities were greater than 105 percent, which the licensee believes indicates that the problem is limited to the Unit 2 batteries. The licensee has shipped three cells from Unit 2 Battery Bank D to AT&T for a root cause of failure analysis. The licensee also sent procurement engineers to the AT&T facility in Pennsylvania to begin commercial dedication of new cells. The licensee also has eight spare cells that could be installed immediately. The electrical engineering group was continuing to review the test data to determine how many cells needed to be replaced in all the Unit 2 battery banks to ensure that the batteries would remain operable until the Unit's next outage in January 1995. Regional Action: NRC inspectors observed the battery conditions in all units and reviewed previous battery testing data. The inspectors agreed with the AT&T representative and licensee personnel that there was no obvious physical degradation of the Unit 2 safety-related batteries. The inspectors noted that the physical condition of the safety-related batteries in all three units appeared the same. A conference call was held on September 30 between the licensee, Region IV, and NRR. The project and resident inspectors continue to monitor the licensee's evaluations and efforts to restore the degraded batteries. Units 1 and 3 are currently in Mode 1 operating at 98 and 100 percent power, respectively. Unit 2 is in Mode 5. Contact: H. Wong (510)975-0296 A. MacDougall (602)386-3638