ML18304A324

11-08-18 Updated Slides for NRC Public Meeting Regarding Wcff (002)

ML18304A324
Person / Time
Issue date:	11/08/2018
From:	Matt Bartlett, Jessie Quintero, Beverly Smith, Thomas Vukovinsky Division of Fuel Cycle Safety, Safeguards, and Environmental Review
To:
Bartlett M
References
Download: ML18304A324 (22)

Text

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Public Meeting on the Westinghouse Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility November 08, 2018 Division of Fuel Cycle Safety, Safeguards, and Environmental Review Brian Smith, Acting Director Matt Bartlett, Project Manager Jessie Quintero, Environmental Project Manager Region II, Division of Fuel Facility Inspection Tom Vukovinsky, Senior Project Inspector

Agenda 2

• NRC Introduction

• Westinghouse and Fuel Fabrication

• License Renewal Process

- Safety Review

- Environmental Review

• NRC Oversight

- Inspection and Enforcement

- Leaks in 2008, 2011, and 2018

3 The NRC licenses and regulates the Nations civilian use of radioactive materials to provide reasonable assurance of adequate protection of public health and safety, and to promote the common defense and security, and to protect the environment.

NRC Mission

Who We Are and What We Do Support for Decisions 4

Oversight

• Inspection

• AssessmentofPerformance

• Enforcement

• Allegations

• Investigations

• IncidentResponse Regulations and Guidance Operational Experience Licensing and Decommissioning

• Licensing

• Decommissioning

5 Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility

• Located in Hopkins, SC

• 1969: Original license issued

• License renewed 4 times

• 2027: Current license expires

• 5th license renewal currently under review

• Manufactures fuel assemblies for use in commercial nuclear power plants

Fuel Fabrication Process

• http://www.worldnuclear.org/info/nuclear_fuel_fabricationinf127.html 6

7 Hearing (ifgranted)

Adjudicatory Decision License Applicationand Environmental Report Hearing Requested?

SAFETYREVIEW LicenseApplicationandIntegratedSafetyAnalysis NRCs Acceptance Review Requests Additional Information Coordinate withOther Agencies NRCs Renewal Decision ENVIRONMENTALREVIEW EnvironmentalAssessment andFindingofNo SignificantImpact EnvironmentalImpact Statementand RecordofDecision or Site Visits License Renewal Process

8 Program Elements General Information Emergency Management Organization and Administration Environmental Protection Integrated Safety Analysis Decommissioning Radiation Protection Management Measures Criticality Safety Material Control and Accounting Chemical Process Safety Fire Safety Physical Protection Safety Review

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)

Review 9

• Evaluatetheenvironmental effectsofthefacilityoperating foranother40years

• Documentresultsinan EnvironmentalAssessment (EA)

• ReopentheNEPAreviewdue toleaks

- WillissuedraftEAfor publicreviewandcomment AirQuality Landuse NoiseandAesthetics Ecology Socioeconomics Transportation WaterQualityandUse

NEPA Review 10

Environmental Justice (EJ) 11

• Analyzefordisproportionatelyhighandadverse humanhealthandenvironmentaleffectsonlow incomeandminoritypopulations

• NRChasaPolicyStatementthatprovides guidanceforperformingEJ analyses

• PreviousEAs didnotincludeEJ analysisbecause therewerenosignificantimpacts

• DecisiontoconductEJ analysiswillfollowprocess outlinedinthePolicyStatement

• Verify Westinghouse is meeting the regulatory requirements as described in their license

• Assess the overall safety performance of the facility by reviewing trends

• Issue violations if regulatory requirements are not met Oversight 12 Level of violation (severity) ranges from I to IV

• June 2018: Leak occurred at Spiking Station #2 Pipe coupling leak Hydrofluoric acid and uranyl nitrate No workers injured Damage to liner and concrete floor Chemicals seeped into the soil

• July 2018: NRC and SC Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) notified 2018 Leak - Event 67 48 19 SmallCrackin ConcreteUnder theLiner 13

• NRC completed an inspection September 18-21, 2018, and issued a Level IV violation

- Westinghouse responded to violation on November 2, 2018

• Westinghouse completed an apparent cause evaluation, implemented compensatory measures, and continues to take corrective actions

• Westinghouse is still determining the extent of the leak into the subsurface and coordinating with DHEC for further actions

- Remediation plan submitted to DHEC to remove contaminated soil below the Spiking Station to a depth of approximately 9 feet 2018 Leak - Response 14

• DHEC approved Westinghouse Soil Sampling Plan

- Phase I (completed): Conduct 12 borings and collect samples from the area under the dike to a depth of up to 5 feet and analyze results for contamination levels

- Phase II (completed): Conduct additional borings and collect samples down to approximately 12 feet

- Phase III (if necessary): Obtain ground water samples below the dike for analysis Compensatory measures put in place for operating Hydrogen Fluoride Spiking Station #1:

- Hourly piping leak checks

- Protective mats placed on liner if an operator needs to walk on liner

- Following any entry to diked area, the liner integrity check will be completed

- Liner integrity check frequency changed from annual to quarterly DHEC well water sample results: Uranium concentration well below MCL limits 2018 Leak - Next Steps 15

2008/2011 Leaks

• Westinghouse found leaks in 2008 and 2011 in an underground piping system that goes from the facility to the wastewater treatment plant

• Westinghouse implemented corrective actions:

• 2008: Piping header was repaired

• 2011:

Re-routed acidic and/or caustic solutions Portions of the line inside the building were re-routed above ground Piping was re-lined 16

2008/2011 Leaks - Next Steps

• January 2018: Westinghouse initiated an effort to further characterize and determine the extent of the leaks Drilled temporary wells to obtain water samples to determine the extent of the contamination, if any Efforts are ongoing NRC will evaluate the results in the license renewal review 17

• Results from the temporary well water samples:

- 2 of 9 temporary wells show uranium above the drinking water limit in an area approximately 30 feet from the plant building

- The remaining 7 temporary wells were below the drinking water limits

- No other permanent or temporary wells show results above drinking water limits for uranium

• No impact to off-site groundwater

• Westinghouse met with DHEC on October 31 to discuss results and path forward 2008/2011 Leaks - Characterization 18

Decommissioning 19

• Westinghouse is required to decommission the site once operations have ceased and clean up to allow for unrestricted use

• NRC reviews and approves Westinghouses decommissioning funding plan every 3 years

• NRCs Decommissioning Planning Rule

Closing Remarks

• License renewal review is ongoing

- Draft EA will be published for public comment

- Safety Evaluation Report will document the conclusions of the safety review

• Oversight and Inspection

- Completed the inspection and issued a violation

- Westinghouse must respond to the violation

- Westinghouse continues to investigate the leaks 20

For More Information

• Visit the NRCs website at https://www.nrc.gov/info-finder/fc/westinghouse-fuel-fab-fac-sc-lc.html

• Find documents online in the Agencywide Documents Access and Management System at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html

• Contact NRC staff

- Matthew.Bartlett@NRC.gov or 301.415.7154

- Jessie.Quintero@NRC.gov or 301.415.7476 21

22 Acronyms DHEC Department of Health and Environmental Control EA Environmental Assessment EJ Environmental Justice NEPA National Environmental Policy Act SC South Carolina