Nuclear Fuel Services In Erwin
Nuclear Fuel Services In Erwin
Two “Severity Level IV” violations were identified by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission during a recent inspection of the Nuclear Fuel Services facility in Erwin.
The findings of an inspection of NFS concluded on June 30 were detailed in an Aug. 1 letter to NFS President Ronald Dailey from Robert E. Williams Jr., chief of the NRC Projects Branch 1 Division of Fuel Facility Inspection.
The Unicoi County plant is near the Nolichucky River, about 28 miles upriver from Greeneville. NFS processes weapons-grade uranium into nuclear reactor fuel and also produces reactor fuel for U.S. Navy ships and commercial domestic operations.
Severity Level IV violations are “those of more than minor concern or are associated with issues assessed through the reactor oversight process’s Significance Determination Process,” according to the NRC.
The first violation pertains to a materials storage license relating to “activities involving the handling of special nuclear material,” or SMN.
The NRC inspection found that on Jan. 25, NFS failed to follow chemical safety instructions in a procedure to segregate cheesecloth that had been in contact with nitric acid, “an incompatible chemical,” that resulted “in a small fire involving NRC-licensed material” in one of the complex buildings.
On Jan. 25, a chemical reaction occurred in a two-liter container during material inventory clean-out activities in Building 302 on the NFS site.
“The container was inside a process enclosure at the time plant operators observed the first indications of a chemical reaction and smoldering, which eventually progressed to a small fire,” the NRC stated.
The container was damaged in the fire, releasing its contents to the enclosure.
“The contents of the two-liter container were a combination of cleanup material waste co-mingled with highly enriched uranium,” according to the NRC.
The NFS Fire Brigade responded and extinguished the fire inside the enclosure. NFS did not identify any personnel injuries, exposures, contamination “or releases to the environment exceeding regulatory limits,” according to the NRC.
The NRC determined that on Jan. 20, operators completed planned nitric acid rinses of some components in the enclosure. Some of the acid solution overflowed and spilled onto the bottom of the enclosure. Between Jan. 20 and 22, other operators performed water rinses of the the components and used cheesecloth rags to clean up the enclosure floor.
“However, the operators did not rinse the cheesecloth rags with water prior to placing them in the container under the wrong assumption that the solution being handled was just water,” the NRC found.
The nitric acid reacted with the organic materials in the container, eventually resulting in the fire.
As the fire brigade responded, personnel were evacuated from the process area and operations were shut down.
Corrective actions taken by NFS include a plant-wide chemical safety policy “to clearly communicate management expectations for chemical safety” and a revision of policy “to specifically cover instructions for rinsing and drying combustible cleaning materials that have been used for wiping down enclosures.”
The Level IV violation was considered by the NRC as less serious than higher violation levels “but are of more-than-minor concern and result in no or relatively inappreciable potential safety violations,” according to the NRC.
The violation did not result “in actual radiological consequences” and is considered closed, according to the NRC.
The second violation states that between May 13 and May 18, NFS failed to maintain criticality accident alarm system speakers capable of generating “clearly audible alarm signals” in areas of the facility where nuclear material is handled.
“Specifically, an announcement for a non-nuclear event revealed that (speakers) and fire protection systems were unable to provide annunciation coverage in certain peripheral buildings” where SNM is handled because of “a mispositioned switch that disabled the signal amplification system to the speakers” for five days.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission found that NFS took, or is taking, corrective actions to address the violations.
The NRC “concluded that information regarding the reason for the violations, the corrective action taken and planned to correct the violation and the date when full compliance was achieved is already adequately addressed” according to the Aug. 1 agency letter to Dailey.
“NFS works diligently to maintain safe operations at all times. We are pleased that the NRC acknowledged our efforts to address these two events and closed the violations as a result of the depth of our investigations and quick response in completing our action plans,” NFS Communications Manager Laura E. Bailey wrote Friday in an email response to questions.
Both violations are not subject to enforcement action, according to the NRC.
Other NFS operational activities were evaluated by the NRC during the 2022 inspection period, including an April 26 “emergency training drill” simulating a fire in a protected plant materials processing area.
“The drill exercised activation of the Emergency Control Center, fire scenario response, event classification and notification to off-site organizations,” according to the NRC.
NRC inspectors also observed an NFS exercise on June 14 that included a scenario simulating “a large fire at the Wastewater Treatment Facility that resulted in simulated spills and injuries to several individuals,” according to the NRC. Similar exercises are conducted every two years at NFS.
NFS has been in continuous operation under different ownership groups since 1957. NFS is a subsidiary of BWX Technologies, Inc., headquartered in Lynchburg, Virginia.
BWXT recently announced Sharon H. Smoot would begin Aug. 1 as president of the company’s Nuclear Operations Group. Joel Duling, who held position since 2014, has retired from BWXT.
“Smoot devoted more than 30 years of her civilian career to the U.S. Navy, including her final senior executive service assignment as executive director for logistics, maintenance and industrial operations for the Naval Sea Systems Command. She also held positions of increasing responsibility in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, U.S. Fleet Forces Command and Norfolk Naval Shipyard,” a BWXT news release stated.
The NRC granted a 25-year renewal of the NFS operating license in August 2012. The license authorizes NFS “to receive, possess, store, use and ship special nuclear material enriched up to 100 percent.”
There are no public meetings scheduled in 2022 in Erwin by the NRC regarding NFS operations. The next NRC Licensee Performance Review public meeting will be held in 2023, Bailey said.
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Invalid password or account does not exist
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the e-mail address listed on your account.
Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
A receipt was sent to your email.