IR 05000456/2006008

IR 05000456-06-008; IR 05000457-06-008; on 02/13/2006 - 05/25/2006; Braidwood, Units 1 and 2

ML061450522
Person / Time
Site:	Braidwood
Issue date:	05/25/2006
From:	Pederson C D Division of Reactor Safety III
To:	Crane C M Exelon Generation Co, Exelon Nuclear
References
EA-06-081, FOIA/PA-2010-0209 IR-06-008
Download: ML061450522 (33)

Text

May 25 , 2006 EA-06-081 Mr. Christo pher M. C rane President an d Chief Nucl ear Officer Exelon N uclear Exelon Ge neration Compa ny, LLC 4300 Winfield Road Warrenville, IL 60555 SUB JEC T: BRAIDW OOD NUCLEAR POW ER PLANT, UNITS 1 AND 2, BASELINE INSPE CTION RE PORT 05 00045 6/2006 008(DR S); 050 00457/20060 08(DR S);PRELIMINARY WHI TE FINDING Dear Mr. C rane: On May 25, 2006, the U.S. Nuclear R egulatory Co mmission (NRC) completed an inspection at your Braid wood Nucl ear Sta tion U nits 1 and 2. The p relim inary resul ts of thi s insp ectio n we re discu ssed o n Ma y 25, 2006, wit h Mr. K. Po lson and ot her memb ers of y our sta ff. The inspection examined activiti es conducted under your licenses a s they rel ate to safety an d to compliance with the Commission'

s rules and regulations an d with th e condition s of your lice nses. Speci ficall y, the insp ectio n focuse d on th e char acteri zati on and eval uatio n of ons ite and offsite tritium co ntamination th at was repo rted to the NRC Region III staff on November 30 , 2005. The in spectors revi ewed sel ected procedure s and records, observed activiti es, collecte d independ ent and confirmatory samples for anal ysis by NRC's co ntract laboratory, and interviewed station personnel.

We recognize the extensi ve, recent mon itoring performed by your staff to iden tify the exte nt of the contaminati on from historical leaks from the circul ating water b lowdow n line v acuum breakers. The NRC has also pe rformed confirmatory measure ments to provi de an inde pendent veri ficatio n of yo ur resu lts. I n this case, the co ntamin ation is l imited to the radio nucli de tri tium. Tritium is a l ow energy beta emitter w hich represen ts a very low rad iological risk as compared to other radion uclides. B ased upon the current radiol ogical condi tions and the concentration s of tritium identi fied at the Brai dwood si te, the NRC e stimated that the doses from the contamination to be a very small fraction of the NRC's limit for doses to members of the public and insigni ficant relativ e to normal ba ckground radiation dose. We have a lso re ceiv ed a mo re comprehensive assessment f rom your staff that calculated bounding doses f or the historical, unplanned radioactiv e releases.

This assessment i s more fully described i n Section 2 PS1.3 of the enclosed report. Althoug h the details of your assessment rem ain under review by the NRC staff, our inspection determined that public he alth and safety has not been , nor is li kely to be, adve rsely affected by th e his torica l cir culat ing w ater bl owdo wn l ine v acuum b reaker l eaks. Additional information rela tive to tri tium, its properti es, and its ra diological characteristic s may be foun d at http://w ww.nrc.gov/reacto rs/ope rating/ops-ex perie nce/grnd wtr-c ontam-t ritiu m.html.

C. Crane-2-Despite y our recent monito ring activi ties to addres s the groundw ater issue, w e concluded that your staff did not perform adequate, timely radiologica l evalu ations follow ing the histori cal leaks, whi ch imp acted your abil ity t o asse ss the envi ronmen tal i mpact fro m the re lease s and to mitigate the releases; did not account for the potent ial public impact; and did not adequately control lic ensed material. The multipl e failures of yo ur staff to adequately evaluate the radiological hazards a ssociated w ith the lea ks from the circulatin g water blow down li ne vacuum brea kers and to as sess the resu ltan t env iron ment al i mpac t we re de termi ned to be a fin din g, which w as assessed a pplying the public ra diation safety significance d etermination p rocess (NRC M anual Chapt er 060 9, App endix D). The NRC's pu blic radi ation safety si gnificance determin ation process was dev eloped to a ssess the risk of licen see non-compli ance wi th regulatory re quirements and l icensee programs a nd procedures. The p reliminary significance o f the NRC's find ing was no t based on the risk from offsite dose. The publ ic radiatio n safety significa nce determinati on process al so considers the potential i mpact of program breakdown s. In deve loping the rea ctor oversight p rogram, the NRC recogniz ed that a li censee's con trol of radioacti ve material is of interest to members of the publi c, ev en w hen, a s in t his ca se, v ery l ow l evel s of radi oacti ve mat erial s are i nvol ved. Conse quentl y, the NRC i ntegrate d a de termin istic factor i nto the publ ic rad iatio n safety significance determ ination process, which provides for a higher level of signif icance than would be warranted based sole ly on the risk from exposure to the radioac tive materia l. In this case, the prelimin ary significan ce of the NRC'

s finding is ba sed on the ade qua cy of the licensee's contro ls an d asse ssments of env ironme ntal i mpact. In our preli minary determi nation, w e assessed the finding utili zing the env ironmental moni toring program pathway within the significance det ermination process, as descr ibed in Section 2PS1 of this report. We determined that your long-term l ack of timely radi ological moni toring and assessments follow ing the leaks from the circulating w ater blow down li ne vacuum b reakers and failur e to re vise your envi ronmen tal mon itori ng progra m concu rrentl y to e valu ate the impac ts to the grou ndwa ter pat hway resul ted in an imp aired abil ity t o asse ss the envi ronmen tal i mpact. Furthe rmore, w e conc luded that th e abse nce of a ny en viro nmental monito ring da ta pri or to 2005 for that lea kage pathway and the impac t from the leaks also resulted in no assessment of the enviro nmental impact between 1 996 and 200 5. Although y our staff was know ledgeable of these lea ks when th ey occurr ed, the y did not f ully recog nize the pot ential ra dioactive compon ent of the leak s and did not respond properl y. Based on t his asses sment , we have preli minari ly d etermi ned th at the findin g is White. Th is find ing ap plie s to bo th uni ts. The finding also involv ed five appa rent viol ations of NRC requirements (effective a t the time of the le aks): (1) the fai lure to perform adequate radi ological su rveys, as required by 10 CFR 20.1 501; (2) the fai lure to ad equat ely implem ent a pro gram to asses s the cum ulative dose contribu tions, as require d by Techni cal Speci fication 6.8.4.e.5; (3) the failure to conduct an adequate env ironmental moni toring program to prov ide data on measurable l evels of radiation a nd radioacti vity i n the envi ronment resultin g from the releases, as required by Technical Sp ecification 6.9

.1.6; (4) the failu re to report the u nplanned re leases in annual reports, as required by Technic al Specifica tion 6.9.1.7; an d (5) the failure to maintain records of C. Crane-3-the spill s that resulted in the sprea d of contaminatio n in and a round the facil ity, as requi red by 10 CFR 50.7 5(g) and whi ch are being c onsidered for en forcement action in accordance w ith the NRC's Enforc ement P olic y. The curren t Enforc ement P olic y is incl uded o n the N RC's Web site at http://w ww.nrc.gov/readi ng-rm/ada ms.html. The significance d etermination p rocess encourages an open di alogue betw een the staff and the licensee; h owever, the dialogue should not i mpact the timeli ness of the staff's final determination.

Before we make a final decis ion on thi s matter, we are providi ng you an opportunity: (1) to present to the NRC y our perspectiv es on the facts an d assumptions, used by the NR C to arrive at the finding, at a Regulatory Conference; or (2)

submit your position on the finding to the NRC in writing. If you request a Regulatory Confer ence, it should be held within 30 days o f the receipt of this letter and w e encourage y ou to submit su pporting documentation o n the docket at l east 1 wee k prior to the con ference in an e ffort to make the conference more efficient and effective. If a R egulatory Co nference is hel d, it wi ll be ope n for public ob servation.

If you decide to submit onl y a wri tten response, su ch submittal s hould be sent to the NR C wi thin 3 0 day s of the recei pt of thi s lett er.Please conta ct Steven Orth at (630) 829-982 7 withi n 10 busin ess days o f the date of receipt of this lett er to notif y the NR C of your in tent ions. If we have n ot he ard f rom you with in 10 d ays, we will continue with our determination and enforcement dec ision and you will be advised via separa te corr espon dence of the r esult s of our deli berati ons on this matter.Since the N RC has not ma de a final de termination i n this matter, no Notice of Vio lation is being issued for the i nspection findi ng at this time.

In addition , please be advised that the characteriza tion of the appa rent viol ations descri bed in thi s letter may change as a resu lt of fur ther NRC re view.In acco rdance wit h 10 C FR 2.3 90 of th e NRC's "Rul es of Pr actice ," a co py of t his l etter a nd its enclosure w ill be a vailabl e electronic ally for pub lic inspe ction in the NRC Publ ic Document Room or from the Publ icly Av ailable Records (PAR S) component of NR C's document sy stem (ADAM S), acc essib le from t he NR C Web site a t http://w ww.nrc.gov/readi ng-rm/ada ms.html (the Publi c Ele ctroni c Read ing Ro om).Since rely , /RA by A. B oland acting fo r/Cynthia D. Pederson, Di rector Divi sion of Reac tor Safe ty Docket Nos. 50-45 6; 50-457 License No s. NPF-72; NP F-77

Enclosure:

Inspection Re port 05000456/2 006008; 05000 457/2006008 w/Attachmen t: Supplementa l Information See Attached Distributio n

C. Crane-3-the spill s that resulted in the sprea d of contaminatio n in and a round the facil ity, as requi red by 10 CFR 50.7 5(g) and whi ch are being c onsidered for en forcement action in accordance w ith the NRC's Enforc ement P olic y. The curren t Enforc ement P olic y is incl uded o n the N RC's Web site at http://w ww.nrc.gov/readi ng-rm/ada ms.html. The significance d etermination p rocess encourages an open di alogue betw een the staff and the licensee; h owever, the dialogue should not i mpact the timeli ness of the staff's final determination.

Before we make a final decis ion on thi s matter, we are providi ng you an opportunity: (1) to present to the NRC y our perspectiv es on the facts an d assumptions, used by the NR C to arrive at the finding, at a Regulatory Conference; or (2)

submit your position on the finding to the NRC in writing. If you request a Regulatory Confer ence, it should be held within 30 days o f the receipt of this letter and w e encourage y ou to submit su pporting documentation o n the docket at l east 1 wee k prior to the con ference in an e ffort to make the conference more efficient and effective. If a R egulatory Co nference is hel d, it wi ll be ope n for public ob servation.

If you decide to submit onl y a wri tten response, su ch submittal s hould be sent to the NR C wi thin 3 0 day s of the recei pt of thi s lett er.Please conta ct Steven Orth at (630) 829-982 7 withi n 10 busin ess days o f the date of receipt of this lett er to notif y the NR C of your in tent ions. If we have n ot he ard f rom you with in 10 d ays, we will continue with our determination and enforcement dec ision and you will be advised via separa te corr espon dence of the r esult s of our deli berati ons on this matter.Since the N RC has not ma de a final de termination i n this matter, no Notice of Vio lation is being issued for the i nspection findi ng at this time.

In addition , please be advised that the characteriza tion of the appa rent viol ations descri bed in thi s letter may change as a resu lt of fur ther NRC re view.In acco rdance wit h 10 C FR 2.3 90 of th e NRC's "Rul es of Pr actice ," a co py of t his l etter a nd its enclosure w ill be a vailabl e electronic ally for pub lic inspe ction in the NRC Publ ic Document Room or from the Publ icly Av ailable Records (PAR S) component of NR C's document sy stem (ADAM S), acc essib le from t he NR C Web site a t http://w ww.nrc.gov/readi ng-rm/ada ms.html (the Publi c Ele ctroni c Read ing Ro om).Since rely , /RA by A. B oland acting fo r/Cynthia D. Pederson, Di rector Divi sion of Reac tor Safe ty Docket Nos. 50-45 6; 50-457 License No s. NPF-72; NP F-77

Enclosure:

Inspection Re port 05000456/2 006008; 05000 457/2006008 w/Attachmen t: Supplementa l Information See Attached Distributio n DOCUM ENT NAM E:C:\M yFiles\Copies\M ay 25.wpd G Publicly Av ailable G Non-Publicly Available G Sensit ive G Non-Sen sitive To receive a copy of thi s documen t, indicate in the con curren ce box "C" =

Copy with out attach/

encl "E" =

Copy with attach/en cl "N" = N o copy OFFICE RIII RIII RIII RIII RIII NAME JCassidy:jb SOrth JCameron RSkokowski KO'Brien DATE 05/25/06 05/25/06 05/25/06 05/25/06 05/25/06 OFFICE RIII NAME CPederson DATE 05/25/06 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY C. Crane-4-cc w/encl:

Site Vice President - B raidwood Station Plant M anager - Braidw ood Station Regulatory A ssurance M anager - Braidw ood Station Chief Operating Officer Senior Vi ce President - Nuclear Se rvices Vice Presi dent - Operati ons Su pport Vice Presi dent - Licen sing an d Regul atory Affairs Dir ecto r Li cens ing Manager Li censing - Brai dwood an d Byron Senior Cou nsel, Nucl ear, Mid-West Regional Operating Group Document Control Desk - Licensi ng Assistant Attorn ey General Illinois Emergency M anagement Agency State Liais on Officer Chairman, Ill inois Commerce Commission C. Crane-5-ADAMS Distributio n: ADAMS (PARS)

SECY OCA L. Reyes, EDO W. Kane, DEDR M. Jo hnson , OE C. Nol an, OE D. Sta rkey, OE J. Cal dwel l, RIII G. Grant, RIII L. Cha ndler , OGC B. Jon es, OGC J. Dyer, NRR S. Richards, Chief, IIPB, NRR M. Tschiltz, Chief, SPSB, NRR D. Merzke, NRR J. Stang, NRR D. Holody, Enforcement Coordinat or, RI C. Ev ans, E nforceme nt Coo rdina tor, RII K. O'B rien, Enforce ment Co ordin ator, R III K. Ful ler, E nforceme nt Coo rdina tor, RIV R. Pascarelli, Enforceme nt Coordinator, NRR Resident Insp ector E. Brenner, OPA H. Bel l, OIG G. Capu to, OI J. Sc hlu eter , OSTP C. W eil, RIII:EICS J. Strasma, RIII

PA R. Lic kus, RII I J. Ly nch, R III OEW EB OEMA IL Enclo sure U.S. N UCLEA R REGU LATORY COMM ISSION REGION III Docket Nos:

50-456, 50-457 License No s: NPF-72, NPF-7 7 Report No:

05000456/2006008; 05000457/2 006008(DRS)

Licensee: Exelon Ge neration Compa ny Facility: Braidwoo d Nuclear P ower Stati on, Units 1 and 2 Location: Bracevil le, IL Dates: February 13 , 2006 through M ay 25, 200 6 Inspectors:

S. Orth, Plant S upport Team Leader J. Cassidy , Radiation Speciali st NRC Sampli ng and Analy sis: W. Snell, S enior Heal th Physic ist E. Bonano, H ealth Phy sicist Approved by: C. Pederson, D irector Divi sion of Reac tor Safe ty Enclo sure 1 SUMMA RY OF F INDING S IR 05000456/2 006008; IR 05 000457/200600 8(DRS); 02/13/06 - 05/25/2006; E xelon Gene ration Company, Braidwood Nuclear Power Station, Units 1 and 2; Event Follow-up and Public Radiatio n Safet y.The report cove red the inspe ction activ ities for an un resolved item regarding the mi gration of trit ium t o the unre str icte d are as an d to t he env iron ment. The inspe ctio n was co nduc ted b y two region al in specto rs wi th resi dent i nspect or sup port. Th e ins pecti on id entifi ed one preli minary White finding and five assoc iated apparen t violati ons (AVs). The N RC's program for overseeing the safe operat ion of commercial nuclear power react ors is described in NUREG-1649, "R eactor Oversight Process," Rev ision 3, d ated July 2000.A.Inspector-Identified and Self-Rev ealed Findings Corne rstone: Pub lic Rad iation Safety Preli minary White. A finding and five AVs of NRC requirements were ide ntified associated w ith unplan ned radioacti ve leaks from v acuum breakers alo ng the circulati ng water blo wdown line that occurred in 1 996 through 2005 and that resul ted in the sp read of radioactiv e contaminatio n in groundw ater beyond the site bou ndary. Bas ed on these events, appa rent viol ations of 10 CF R 20.1501; Techn ical Spec ifications 6.8.4.e.5, 6.9.1.6, and 6.9.1

.7; and 10 CF R 50.75(g) were identified.

Follow ing each lea k, the licensee fai led to perform adequate radiologica l survey s to characteriz e the haza rd and to assess the d ose to the pub lic and, for certa in releases , to report the un planned occurrences in required annua l reports and to maintain re cords of the contami nation for decommissioni ng purposes. In a ddition, the licensee fai led to rev ise its radi ological environmenta l monitoring p rogram in a timel y manner to e nsure that the i mpact to the groundwater effluent p athway resulting from the unp lanned radi oactive rel eases was adequately mon itored.The finding was determined to be more than min or because the finding was associated with the Program & Process a ttribute of the Pub lic Radi ation Safety C ornerstone and potentially affected t he cornerstone objective to ensur e adequate protection of the public from exposure to ra dioactiv e materials from the release of li quid effluents. Alth ough the finding has been determined to not result in any publ ic health risk, the finding w as preliminari ly determin ed to be a White finding foll owing the s ignificance dete rmination process (SDP)

evaluati on because o f the licensee'

s failure to ass ess the impact on the environment from the leakage pathw ay. Correcti ve action s taken by the licensee included the cessation of all liqui d radioactiv e releases th rough the circul ating water blowdow n line, pe rforming a plume chara cterization study, and performing a boundi ng dose a naly sis.

Enclo sure 2 Based on curre nt environ mental measurements, the calcula ted doses to membe rs of the public from the c ontamination represent a v ery small fraction of the NRC'

s limit for doses to members o f the public a nd insignifica nt relativ e to normal ba ckground radiation dose. Our inspection determ ined that public health and safety has not been, nor is likely to be adve rsely affected by the historic al circula ting water bl owdow n vacuum bre aker leaks. (Section s 2PS1)B.Licensee-Identified Violations No viol ations of significa nce were i dentified.

Enclo sure 3 REPORT D ETA ILS 2.RADIATION SAFETY Corne rstone: Pub lic Rad iation Safety 2PS1 Radio activ e Gaseo us and Liqui d Efflue nt Treat ment an d Mo nitori ng Sys tems (71122.01)

.1 Radiologica l assessment o f unplanned rad ioactive releases from the circulating w ater blowdow n line a.Inspection Sc ope The inspectors re viewe d the lice nsee's radi ological as sessment of leaks from the circ ula ting wa ter (CW) blo wdo wn lin e tha t occ urre d from Nov embe r 199 6 thr ough November 20 05, which resulted in the spread of con tamination (tri tium) in the groundwater bo th onsite and beyond th e site bound ary. The in spectors revi ewed historical records to ev aluate the l icensee's response to the leaks, inclu ding radiolo gical surveys, d ose assessments, and mitigativ e actions. The inspectors'

evaluati on was performed to det ermine if the lice nsee a dequate ly i mpleme nted th e requi rements contain ed in 10 CFR Par t 20 and th e licensee

's Techn ical Specif ications. Specif ically, the inspectors discussed as pects of the 1996, 1998, and 20 00 leaks from Vacuum Breakers No. 1, No. 3, and No. 2 , respective ly, as w ell as oth er leaks from the va cuum breakers with licensee s taff. The inspectors al so review ed:*radia tion p rotecti on sur vey s for affect ed are as; *maintenance w ork orders for selected vacuum brea kers associated w ith the relea ses; *identificatio n of potential pathway s based upon release l ocation;*reports contain ed in the l icensee's corrective a ction program for these events;*param eters a nd result s of lice nsee's g roundwat er char acteri zation st udy;*files that contai n environ mental contamin ation eve nts;*select annua l effluent release reports; and

• select liqui d effluent release permits. b.Fin din gs Introduction

A self-reveal ed prelimin ary White finding and five apparent v iolations (AVs) were identified foll owing the re view of the events th at resulted i n the identi fication of tritium in ons ite and offsite groundw ater monitoring w ells. The i nspectors iden tified a failure to perform adequa te radiologic al eval uations of the l eaks that occurred o n the blowdow n line ne cessary to p roperly quanti fy and assess t he radiolo gical impact o f the leaks a nd to r eport a nd doc ument th e asso ciate d rele ases. Description

On November 3 0, 2005, the N RC Region III o ffice was notified that the licensee had measured tritium levels as high as 58,000 picocur ies per liter (pCi/L) in shallow , groundwater mon itoring wel ls located at the northern e dge of the owner controlled a rea. The lice nsee attributed the contaminati on to histori cal leakage of vacuum breakers a long the circul ating water b lowdow n line tha t is routinel y used for Enclo sure Enclo sure 4 radioactiv e liquid rel eases to the K ankakee River.

As an immedi ate correctiv e action, the license e suspended all further rele ases of liquid radioactiv e material, w hile the lice nsee p erformed a more compreh ensiv e eva luati on of th e inc ident s. During Marc h 2005, the l icensee w as notified by the Illin ois Envi ronmental Protec tion Agency of reports o f tritium in w ells in a nearby c ommunity. Fol lowing tha t notification, the license e began monitori ng groundwater be tween the community and the Braidw ood statio n and obtai ned sa mples from a dra inage ditch that w as nea r the c ommuni ty. While no contaminated ground water w as identified , the licens ee did measu re level s of tritium in the drainage ditc h near the Bra idwood access road. The licensee performed additional monitoring to i dentify the so urce of that tritium contamination.

Between M arch 2005 and March 20 06, the lice nsee sampled the well s of several homeow ners w ith dr inking wate r wel ls an d ins talle d groun dwat er moni toring wel ls to determine the e xtent of the triti um contaminatio n. Beginnin g in December 2 005, the NRC performed an independen t analysi s of split sampl es taken from some of the lice nsee's moni toring wel ls an d col lecte d ind epend ent sa mples from some resid ents nearest to the s ite boundary. The NRC samp le results w ere consistent with the lice nsee's resul ts. The licensee identified tri tium level s between 1400 and 16 00 pCi/L i n one reside ntial drinking water well. The tritium lev els detected in that w ell we re below the Environmenta l Protection Agency (EPA) drinking wate r standard of 20,000 pCi/L. The tritium lev els also c orresponded to calculated doses whi ch are wel l below the corresponding N RC dose l imits. The remai ning residenti al wel l samples h ad no measurable tritium above normal back ground levels. However, the licensee's monito ring i denti fied an area o f contami nated groundw ater th at ex tended about 2000 to 2500 feet north of the site boundary. Initial measurements by the license e and independen t measurements by the NRC co nfirmed that gamma emitting ra dionucli des and st rontiu m-90 w ere no t detec ted in the co ntamin ated gro undw ater. The in specto rs rev iew ed the origi n of the triti um cont aminat ion w ith th e lic ensee's sta ff. Based on the informa tion p resent ed and the l icens ee's measure ments, t he in specto rs confirme d that the mea sured leve ls of tri tium i n the e nvir onment were consi stent w ith past leakage of the v acuum breakers on th e circulati ng water blo wdown line. That l ine normally c arried non-radi oactive C W discharge back to the Kankakee Ri ver but al so served as a dilution pathway for planned l iquid radioa ctive rel eases. The li ne was a bout 5 mile s lon g and co ntain ed 11 vacu um brea kers tha t compe nsated for pres sure transients w ithin the l ine from liquid surges. The lice nsee's recen t investi gation identified tha t significant unp lanned radi oactive rel eases from three of these vacuum breakers during 199 6, 1998, and 2000 and oth er minor relea ses betwee n 1996 and 2005 entered th e groundwater system. The 199 6 event resu lted in the leakage of an estimated 250,00 0 gallons of w ater. The 1998 a nd 2000 ev ents each resul ted in a leakage of an estimated 3,000,000 gall ons of water.

Each leak from a v acuum breaker occurred ove r a period c oincident w ith ongoing, li quid radioacti ve releas es through the blowdow n line. The inspectors rev iewed th e licensee

's effluent releas e documents for the tim e periods describe d above and c onfir med the that int ended re leases would have met NRC requir ements if the r eleas es had been made to the Ka nkakee R iver.

Enclo sure Enclo sure 5 Follow ing the 1996 a nd 1998 v acuum breaker lea ks, the license e failed to rec ognize the potential rad iological component of the l eaks and, consequen tly, failed to perform any radiological measurements to ev aluate the quan tity of radioa ctive materi al that w as released from the l ine through the vacuum breakers a nd to eval uate its impa ct to the public an d the envi ronment. Foll owing the 2 000 vacuu m breaker leakage inci dent, the licen see s ampl ed, c ollec ted, and re tur ned t he ava ilabl e sur fac e wate r to t he blo wdown line. Al though the lic ensee's corp orate staff develop ed a plan to evalua te the potentia l for groun dwat er con tamina tion, the pl an w as not imple mented due to a lac k of conti nuity durin g person nel c hanges. Cons equentl y, the lice nsee fai led to accou nt for an d to evaluate the potential impact to the groundwater pa thway. The licensee also ide ntified seve ral (a pprox imatel y 14) small er lea ks from oth er va cuum br eakers l eaks du ring i ts root cause ev aluation, w hich also were not a dequately ev aluated. Ba sed on a rev iew of licensee re cords and di scussion w ith licen see staff, the inspectors concluded that the lic ense e fai led to p erfor m ade quate radi olo gica l ev alu atio ns fo llo wi ng ea ch o f the lea ks from the blowdo wn lin e vacuum bre akers. Although the licensee had recogniz ed each leak and appe ared to correct the applicab le mechanica l issues re lated to in dividua l vacuum breakers, th e licensee failed to ade quately ev aluate the rad iological hazards associ ated w ith th e lea kage, to c alcul ate a d ose to a membe r of the publi c, to re vise its environmenta l monitoring p rogram to adequately measure the i mpact to the environment, to report aspects of the leakage in i ts annual rep ort, and to record the resid ual c ontami natio n in fi les for decommi ssion ing pu rposes. Analysis: The inspectors identified a performance deficien cy in tha t the licens ee failed to perform adequate radi ological ev aluations o f the leaks from the blow down li ne vacuum breakers n ecessary to properly quan tify, assess, an d report the radi ological impact of these ass ociated rele ases. In accord ance wi th Inspection Manual Chapter (IMC) 0612, "Power Rea ctor Inspection Reports," Appen dix B, "Iss ue Screenin g," issued on May 19, 2005, the inspectors dete rmined that the issue wa s associated with the Program & Process att ribute of the Public Radiation Safet y Cornerstone and potentially affected the cornerstone objective to ensure adequate protection of the p ublic from exposure to radioactiv e materials from the release of li quid effluents. Therefore, the issue wa s more than mino r and represente d a finding w hich wa s evalua ted using the Signi ficance Determ inati on Pro cess (S DP). Since the find ing invol ved a prob lem with the license e's radiol ogical effluent and environmental assessment prog ram, the inspectors ut ilized IMC 0609, Appendix D,"Public Ra diation Sa fety SDP," to as sess its signi ficance. This fail ure was ev aluated with the Environmental Monitoring Program branc h of the SDP:

Impaired Ability to Assess Environmental Impact

The failure to perf orm timely radio logica l asse ssments and mo nitori ng follo win g the l eaks an d to re vise its environmental monitoring prog ram concurrently to provide data on measur able levels of radioactiv ity in th e environ ment to eval uate the impacts to the groundwater pa thway i mpaired the l icensee's ability to assess the environmenta l impact of the rele ases. At the ti me of the releases , the licens ee's groundw ater sampli ng was performe d near the Ka nkakee R iver and a t the B raidw ood Ci ty Well (deep well), w hich wo uld not hav e been affected by the leaks from the vacu um brea kers.

Enclo sure Enclo sure 6 Failed to Assess Env ironmental Impac t: Although the licensee h ad undertaken recent, significant efforts to monitor the curren t environmen tal impact, the licensee d id not monito r the groundwa ter pathway near the site at the time of the release s nor in th e short term af terward s. As such , the lice nsee did no t have any env ironmental moni toring data prio r to 2005 for that p athway and the impac t of the vacuum bre aker leaks. Conse quently, the l icensee fail ed to assess th e envi ronmen tal i mpact o f these l eaks be twee n 1996 and 2 005 i n a ti mely manner , which co uld have afforded the opportuni ty for earlier mitigative mea sures.Based on the Public R adiation S afety SDP, the inspectors prel iminarily determined tha t the finding is White.

Enforcement

The licens ee's action s followi ng the leaks from the ci rculating w ater line represent multip le exampl es of five appare nt viola tions.1. 10 CFR 20.1 501 req uires th at each lic ensee ma ke or ca use to be m ade surve ys that may be n ecessary for the licensee to comply w ith the regulati ons in Part 20 and that are rea sonable und er the circumstan ces to eval uate the ex tent of radiation l evels, con centrations or quantities of radi oactive mate rials, and th e potent ial r adiol ogical haza rds tha t coul d be p resent. Purs uant to 10 CFR 20.10 03, survey means an ev aluation o f the radiologica l conditi ons and potential h azards in cident to the production, us e, transfer, release, disposal, o r presen ce of rad ioact ive materi al or other s ources of radi ation. 10 CFR 20.1 301 requires the licensee to conduct ope rations so tha t the total effective dose equi valent to indivi dual members of the public from the l icensed operat ion d oes no t exc eed 0.1 rem (1 mSv) in a y ear.Betw een No vembe r 1996 and M arch 2 005, th e lic ensee did n ot make s urvey s to evaluate the potential hazards a nd to assure c ompliance w ith 10 CFR 20.1301, which l imits radiati on exposu re to members of the pu blic from lice nsed operations to 0.1 rem. Speci fically, i n November 1996, December 1998, and Nove mber 20 00, fai led v acuum b reakers in the lice nsee's radi oacti ve w aste blowdow n line res ulted in l arge volumes o f liquid contami nated wi th licensed material to l eak in an unc ontrolled man ner to the unres tricted areas.

Follow ing the identified releases of radi oactive mate rial, the l icensee fail ed to perform an adequa te radi ologi cal su rvey to id entify the ex tent of r adiat ion l evel s, to e valu ate the potential hazards a ssociated w ith the radi oactive mate rial, and to ensure that the do se to t he pub lic d id no t exc eed th e lev els sp ecifie d in 1 0 CFR 20.13 01. (AV 05000456 , 457/2006008-0 1)2. Technical Sp ecification 6.8

.4.e.5 requires that the license e maintain a nd implement a program to determine the cumulative dose contribut ions from liquid effluents f or the current calendar q uarter and the current calenda r year in accordance w ith the methodo logy and p arameters in the Offsite Dose Calcu latio n Ma nual (ODCM) at le ast on ce per 31 da ys.

Enclo sure Enclo sure 7 Between N ovember 1996 and Marc h 2006, the l icensee fail ed to determine the cumula tive dose contri butio ns from l iquid effluent s that inadv ertentl y le aked in to onsite and o ffsite groundwater (resul ting from failed vac uum breakers alon g the circulating w ater blow down li ne in 1996 , 1998, and 2 000) in acco rdance wi th the methodology an d parameters in the ODCM w ithin 31 d ays. Spec ifically, an estimated 250,00 0 gallon l eak from Vacuum Breaker No.1 in Nov ember 1996 relea sed w ater w ith ra dioac tive materi al to the grou ndwa ter pat hway; how ever, the license e did not d etermine the do se from the release.

In December 19 98, an estima ted 3 mi llio n gall on le ak from Va cuum B reaker N o. 3 re lease d wa ter w ith radioactiv e material to the groundwate r pathway; howev er, the licen see did no t determine the d ose from the release. In Novemb er 2000, an e stimated 3 mil lion gallon leak from Vac uum Breaker No. 2 released w ater with radioactiv e material to the groundw ater pathway

howev er, the licen see did no t determine the dose from the r eleas e. (AV 05000 456, 4 57/200 6008-0 2) 3. Technical Sp ecification 6.9

.1.6 requires that th e Annual R adiological Environmenta l Operating Rep ort include summaries, interpre tations, and analyses of trends of the results of the radiolo gical envi ronmental monito ring program for the reporting pe riod and tha t the material shall be consistent w ith the objectives outlined i n the Offsite Dose Ca lculation Manual (ODCM) and in 10 CFR Part 5 0, App endix I, Sec tions IV.B.2 , IV.B.3, and IV.C. 10 CFR Part 50, Appendi x I, Sectio n IV.B.2 states th e licensee shall esta blish an appropriate surveillance and monitoring pr ogram to provide data on measur able levels of radiation an d radioactiv e materials i n the envi ronment to eva luate the relationshi p between quantities of radi oactive mate rial relea sed in effluents a nd resultant dose s to indiv iduals from prin cipal pathw ays of expo sure.Between N ovember 1996 and Marc h 2006, the l icensee di d not establi sh an appropriate surveillance and monitoring pr ogram to evaluate the relationship between quan tities of radio active materi al released in effluents and resultant doses to ind ividual s from principal pathway s of exposure.

Specificall y, the unplanned radioactiv e material rel eased in 1 996, 1998, and 2000 from the circulating w ater blow down li ne vacuum b reakers constituted new prin cipal pathway s of exposure (i.e., the groundw ater pathway) which the license e had not adequately e valuated with the existing R adiological Effluent Moni toring Program (REMP). (A V 05000456, 457/2006008-03

)4. 10 CFR 50.7 5(g) requires each l icensee to keep records of information important to the safe and e ffective decommissi oning of the facili ty in an identified l ocation until the l icens e is t ermina ted by the Co mmissi on. The Commis sion consi ders information importan t to the decommiss ioning to in clude records of spills o r other unusual occ urrences inv olving the spread of contamina tion in an d around the facility, equi pment, or site. The se records may be limited to instances when significant contam ination remains after any cleanup procedu res or when there is reasonable l ikelihood th at contaminants may have spread to ina ccessible areas as in the ca se of po ssibl e seep age in to poro us mate rials such a s conc rete. These records must i nclude any known informatio n on identi fication of inv olved nuclides, quan tities, forms, and co ncentrations.

Enclo sure Enclo sure 8 As of March 6 , 2006, the l icensee di d not keep records of spills o r other unusual occurrences in volvi ng the spread of con tamination i n and around the facility for the 1996 or 1 998 unplan ned radioacti ve releas es from the circula ting water blowdow n line v acuum breakers. Sp ecifically , in Nov ember 1996, an estimated 250, 000 g allon leak fro m Vac uum B reak er No. 1 re leas ed wat er wit h unk nown quantities of radi oactive mate rial to the groundwater pa thway th at was not recorded. In D ecember 1998, an estimated 3 mi llion gal lon leak from Vacu um Breaker No. 3 relea sed w ater w ith un known quanti ties o f radio activ e mater ial t o the grou ndwa ter pat hway that w as not record ed. (AV 05 00045 6, 457/20060 08-04) 5. Technical Sp ecification 6.9

.1.7 requires that th e Radioacti ve Effluent Rel ease Report incl ude a summary of the quantities o f radioactive liquid an d gaseous effluent and soli d waste rel eased from the facili ty during the prior year and that the material shall be consistent with the objectives outlined in the ODCM and in 10 CFR Part 5 0, App endix I, Sec tion I V.B.1. The ODCM Se ction 12.6.2 re quires, in part, that the Annua l Radioac tive Effluent Relea se Rep ort in clude a li st and descri ption of unpl anned relea ses from the si te to areas beyond the site boundary of radioactive mater ials in gaseous and liquid effluents made during the reporting perio d.As of March 6 , 2006, the l icensee fail ed to identi fy the occurrence of unplanned releases of radi oactive l iquid effluent that co rrespond to the vacuum breaker leaks to areas b eyond the site boundary in the 199 6 and 1998 Annual Radiologica l Envi ronmental Operati ng Reports. Spec ifically, in Nove mber 1996, an estimated 25 0,000 gallon leak from Vacuum Breaker N o. 1 released water with unknow n quantities o f radioactive material to th e groundwater pathway that was not rep orted in the 1996 annual report. In Dec ember 1998, an estimated 3 mill ion g allon leak fro m Vac uum B reak er No. 3 re leas ed wat er wit h unk nown quantities of radi oactive mate rial to the groundwater pa thway th at was not reported in the 1998 annua l report. (AV 05000456, 457

/2006008-05)

.2 Characteriz ation of the ex tent of tritium groundw ater contaminati on from the unplan ned radio activ e rele ases fro m the ci rcula ting w ater bl owdo wn l ine v acuum b reakers a. Inspection Sc ope The in specto rs rev iew ed the lice nsee's radi ologi cal mo nitori ng and assess ments performed during M arch 2005 throu gh March 200 6, to characteri ze the ex tent of groun dwater co ntamin ation f rom blowdo wn line vacuum break er leak age. Spe cifica lly, the inspectors review ed:*the license e's characteri zation rep ort, which docu ment ed th e lo cal hyd rogeo logy around the facil ity through the installa tion of groundwa ter monitoring w ells on licensee o wned prop erty around the blow down li ne;*the license e's sampli ng and analy sis program, wh ich inclu ded groundwa ter and drinking water samples from priv ate well s near the bl owdow n line; an d

Enclo sure Enclo sure 9*the license e's eval uation of blow down li ne integrity, which i ncluded aco ustical monitoring of the l ine.The inspectors c ompared the li censee's resu lts to the in dependent ana lysis p erformed by the NRC's contract laboratory to evaluate the accuracy of th e licensee's measurements.

The tritium results f rom the NRC's independent analysis of split sample and samp les that were indepen dently obt ained by the NRC are inclu ded in Appen dix A to thi s repo rt. b.Fin din gs No find ings of s ignific ance w ere id entifi ed. The inspectors i ndependently estimated the e xtent and magni tude of the groundw ater tritium contamin ation through NR C's contract a nalysis of water sample s collected from residential drinking wel ls near the faci lity and from shallow monitoring w ells insta lled by the license e. The NRC'

s contract labo ratory anal yzed the samples for triti um contamination.

In additio n, the NRC'

s contract labo ratory anal yzed se lected sample s for other radionuc lides usi ng gamma spectroscopy , and analy ses have a lso been performed for Stro ntium-90 (Sr-90) an d Techn etium-99 (Tc-9 9). The contra ct lab oratory also util ized spe cial techni ques to identi fy "difficult to detec t" radionucli des, such as Iron-55 (Fe-55), N ickel-63 (Ni-6 3), and transuran ic elements.

The NRC's res ults confirmed that tritium was present in o ne offsite residenti al wel l at levels of about 1300 to 1500 picocuries per liter, which is a small fraction of the EPA drinking water standard of 20,000 picocuries per liter. In all other residential wells , no measurable l evels of triti um or other li censed radio active materi al above normal background have been detect ed. In a deeper onsite groundwater well, the NRC measured tritium as high as 28 2,000 picocu ries per li ter. Measu rable lev els of tritium have been found offsite in shal low moni toring well s and in a pond loca ted near pla nt boundary.

Appendix B contains a map of the area n ear the plan t and the corres ponding tritium results from various lo cations. The co lored dose grad ients represen t licensee monitoring resul ts whil e the specific values a nnotated indi cate selected NRC monitori ng resul ts.3 Assessment of offsite doses from the leaks relea ses from the circul ating water blowdow n line a. Inspection Sc ope The inspectors re viewe d the lice nsee's asses sment of the boundi ng dose from historic al releases from the ci rculating w ater blow down li ne vacuum b reakers, which was comple ted by the l icens ee nea r the e nd of th e NRC's in specti on. The insp ectors reviewed the assessment to ensure that the licensee pr ovided a technically sound basis for its underly ing assumptions (historical, current, and projec ted radiolo gical source terms), included the most probabl e exposure pathway s, and calcu lated the do ses using technicall y sound h ealth phy sics princi ples. The in spectors also compared the licensee's dose estimate s to the NRC dose limi ts contained in 10 CFR 20 and the licensee's Technical S pecifications.

Enclo sure Enclo sure 10 b. Fin din gs The licensee calculated an estimated bounding dose of about 0.16 mil lirem per y ear from the ingestion of dri nking water from the co ntaminated resi dential dri nking water well th at contained about 1500 p Ci/l of tritium from the vacuum brea ker releases. That calculatio n was ba sed on a hy pothetical c hild consu ming the tritiated water and was performed usin g the met hods o f Regula tory Gu ide 1.109, "Calcu latio n of Ann ual D ose to Man from Routi ne Release s of Reactor Effluents for the Purpose of Ev aluating Compliance with 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix I." The licen see also pe rformed an additional calculati on that consi dered the actua l residents.

Based on th at most reasonable s cenario define d by the l icensee, the licensee c alculated a maximum dose of about 0.072 mil lirem per y ear to a member of the public. That scenario w as based on adults consuming the trit iated water and used the updated NRC guidance contained in NUREG/CR 4013, "LADTAP II - Tec hnical Reference and User Guide."

The NRC inspectors also calculated a dose of about 0.07 millirem to an adult using applicable NRC methods.

Although the es timated dose w as well below NRC requirements, the NRC wi ll contin ue to eval uate the detai ls of the lic ensee's dos e assessment w ith respect to historical and future dose estimates durin g subsequent inspe ctions..4 Eva lua tion of po tent ial sou rces of un dergr ound lea kage a. Inspection Sc ope The inspectors re viewe d the ana ly sis of groundw ater mo nitori ng wel ls in stall ed ons ite to determine the h ydrogeology characteristics of the site. Ba sed on these measurements, the inspectors evaluated the licen see's characte rization of the groundwater contamination both onsite a nd offsite and the o rigin of that contami nation. The inspectors v erified that id entified areas of underground contami nation w ithin the protec ted are a of the facili ty ne ar the turbin e bui ldin g were adequa tely inco rporate d into the licensee's fleet wide initiative to "evaluation of systems that handle radioact ively contami nated wate r." b. Fin din gs No find ings of s ignific ance w ere id entifi ed. 2PS3 Radiological Environmental Monitoring Program (REMP) And Radioactive Material Control Program

.1 Evaluati on of prelimin ary results from routine envi ronmental w ater sample l ocations a. Inspection Sc ope The in specto rs rev iew ed the conce ntrati ons of l iquid radio activ e mater ial t hat w ere measured in th e environ ment from January 20 05 through Decembe r 2005. The inspectors rev iewed th e results of the c omposite sampl es collecte d at the circu lating wate r blow down disch arge po int, ju st before the w ater en ters th e Kanka kee Ri ver.Based on the se meas uremen ts, the insp ectors eval uated the res ults o f the com posit e sample s coll ected at the input to the Wilmington munici pal w ater sy stem, w hich coll ects Enclo sure Enclo sure 11 water from the Kan kakee River do wnstream of the p lant. The ins pectors also review ed the results of ground water sampl es near the K ankakee River and surface wa ter sample s coll ected from the K ankakee Rive r dow nstrea m of the p lant. The in specto rs review ed this data to ensure that a ny envi ronmental impac t from plant operati ons was adequately e valuated by the li censee as requi red by its Offsite Dose Calcu lation M anual and Technical Specificatio ns. b. Fin din gs No find ings of s ignific ance w ere id entifi ed. 4.OTHER ACT IVITIES 4OA3 Event Follow-Up (71153).1 Events that resulted in tritium contamin ation in u nrestricted areas a.Inspection Sc ope The inspe ctor s revi ewed t he lic ense e's hi stor ical r ecor ds of circ ulat ing wa ter blowdo wn line va cuum breaker leakage, i ncluding the licensee's root cause e valuatio n report and applicabl e condition reports. The in spectors also conducted staff interv iews an d physical walkdow n of the facility. Based on that review , the inspecto rs develo ped a timeline of events (Appendix C) associated with the tritium cont amination to fully unders tand th e eve nts an d the l icens ee's respon se to t hose e vents. b.Fin din gs Findings are documented in Section 2PS 1.1..2 Radiolog ical stea m releas e from relief valve a. Inspection Sc ope The inspectors re viewe d the lice nsee's ini tial radio logical asse ssment and acti ons concerning a rel ease of steam that w as discharged from a failed relie f valve i n the feedwater sy stem on April 6, 2006. The re lief valv e provide s over press ure protection for the fee dwat er hea ter dra in co oler a nd con tains low lev els o f tritiu m. The i nspect ors evaluated the licen see's preli minary resul ts of air and w ater samples taken in the immediate area of the r elease and the actions taken to mitig ate the spread of potent ially contaminated steam/

water. In addition, the inspectors reviewed the licensee's preliminary radiologica l assessment for a group of workers w ho were i n the area ne arby the steam release. The inspect ors assessed the licensee's actions to ensure th at NRC require ments (e.g., 10 C FR 20, Techni cal S pecifi catio ns, an d lic ensee proce dures) were adequa tely imple mented.

Enclo sure Enclo sure 12 b. Fin din gs On Thursday, Apri l 6, 2006, a relief val ve failed open on the shell sid e of the drain c ooler in the feedw ater system. The relief lifted at 1

25 p.m. (Central time), and the l icensee was succes sful in isol ating the drain cooler and the release a t about 5:47 p.m. (C entral time). Based o n water usa ge from the condensate storage tank, the lic ensee estimated that about 114,0 00 gallons o f steam/water w as released from the Turbine Bui lding through the re lief v alve. A group of workers (ap proximately 10 persons) w as working on the primary w ater storage tanks, whi ch were i n the vic inity of the steam release.

The licensee discussed with the inspectors i ts evalua tion of the poten tial exp osure of the person s to the steam and its appl ication of proce dure RP-AA-22 0, Revisi on 03, "Bioa ssay Program." S ince the airborne levels of tritium were less than the licensee's detect ion limits, the licensee's program and procedu res did not re quire specific b ioassay mo nitoring, wh ich was consi stent w ith th e NRC requir ements for moni toring contai ned i n 10 C FR Pa rt 20. The licensee collected samples of conden sed steam that ac cumulated as s urface water on areas of the si te. The licen see detected tri tium at lev els of about 41

,000 to 46,000 pCi/l in sa mples near th e rele ase po int. Th e lic ensee also obtai ned sa mples from a drainage ditch that was l ocated near the licensee'

s property l ine and meas ured tritium levels of about 400 - 60 0 pCi/l. Immed iately foll owing the re lease, the l icensee in stalled dams to preve nt the contamina ted water from migrati ng across the si te boundary. The lice nsee a lso co llec ted the surface wate r and w as stor ing the wate r in te mporary onsi te tanks. The licen see indica ted that it w as planni ng to conduct add itional s oil and groundwater samp les to ensure the full ex tent of the contamina tion was determined and to assess how potential offsite dose from the relea se and any previous steam releases from the secondary system whi ch wil l be revi ewed in future NRC ins pections.4OA5 Other Activi ties.1 (Closed) Unre solved Item (URI) 05000456 , 457/2005010-0 2: Tritium contamination from past vacuum bre aker leaks on circ ulating wa ter blowd own li ne The inspectors re viewe d the lice nsee's acti ons to determine whether the licensee had fully charac terized the extent of the tri tium contaminati on, whether the source of the contamination was properl y identi fied, whether the license e had correctl y eval uated the integrity of the b lowdow n line, w hether correctiv e actions w ere appropriate ly dev eloped to prevent future release s from the blowdown line, and whether the licensee adequately evaluated potential mitigative a ctions for the triti um already released. The results of that review are describe d in Secti on 2PS1. The licensee's corrective actions and potential mitigative a ctions wi ll be rev iewed b y NRC d uring future inspec tions. This U RI is close d.

Enclo sure Enclo sure 13 4OA6 Mee ting s.1 Exit M eeting The inspectors p resented the i nspection resu lts to Mr.

K. Polson a nd other members o f licensee man agement at the concl usion of the i nspection on May 25, 2006. The inspectors asked the license e whether any material s examined during the in spection should be considered p roprietary.

No proprietary information w as identified

.

Attachment 1 SUPPL EMENT AL INFORM AT ION KEY POINTS OF CONTACT Licensee K. Ai nger, Re gulato ry Affai rs R. Claes, P roject Engineer J. Eggart , Chemi stry J. Goesnell, P roject Engineer A. Haeger, Tritium Team M anager P. Harvey , Hydrologi st - Contractor J. Moser, R adiation P rotection M anager J. Vano, Sy stem Engineer ITEMS OPENED, CLOSED, AND DISCUSSED Opened 05000456, 457

/2006008-01 AV Failure to perform surveys to assure compl iance with 10 CFR 20.1301 , which limits radi ation exposure to 0.1 rem. (Sectio n 2PS1)05000456, 457

/2006008-02 AV Failure to determine dose contributions with the methodo logy and pa rameter s in t he ODC M. (Section 2PS 1)05000456, 457

/2006008-03 AV Failure to establish a n appropriate surveill ance and monitoring prog ram to evaluate the relationship between quan tities of radio active materi al released in effluents and re sultant doses to indiv iduals from principal pathway s of exposure. (Section 2PS 1)05000456, 457

/2006008-04 AV Failure to keep records of spil ls or other un usual occurrences in volvi ng the spread of con tamination in and arou nd the facili ty for the 1996 or 1998 vacuum breaker l eaks. (Section 2 PS1)05000456, 457

/2006008-05 AV Failure to identify the occurrence of unpl anned release of radi oactive l iquid effluent that correspond to th e vacuum bre aker leaks to areas beyond the site bounda ry in the Annual Radiologica l Envi ronmental Operati ng Report for 1996 or 1998. (Section 2 PS1)

Attachment 2 Closed 05000456, 457

/2005010-02 URI Tritium contamination from past vacuum bre aker leaks on circu lating wate r blowdo wn lin e (Section 4OA5)

Attachment 3 LIST OF DOCUMENTS REVIEWED The followi ng is a lis t of licensee documents revi ewed duri ng the inspecti on, includi ng documents prepared by others f or the licensee. Inclusion on this list does not imply that NRC inspectors rev iewed th e documents in their entire ty, but rather, th at selected s ections or por tio ns o f th e d ocu men ts w ere ev al uat ed as p art of t he ov era ll in spe cti on effo rt. In clu sio n o f a document in thi s list does not imply NRC accep tance of the documen t, unless spe cifically stated in the insp ectio n repo rt.2PS1 Radio activ e Gaseo us and Liqui d Efflue nt Treat ment an d Mo nitori ng Sys tems Root Cause E valuatio n (RCE), "Circ Water Blowdown L ine Vacuum B reaker Failure Due to Low Stress , High Cycl e Fati gue, Re sulti ng in F loodi ng of Ow ner Co ntroll ed Pro perty and Discha rge Outside of NPDE S Approve d Path;" dated December 5, 200 0 RCE "Inadequate Response to U nplanned E nvironmental Tritium Relea ses from Braidwoo d Station Du e to Weak Managerial Ove rsight and the L ack of Integrated Procedureal Guidance;" dated February 1 4, 2006 Tritium Investi gation; dated March 200 6 Braidwoo d Station An nual Radi ological En vironmental Operating Report, D ocket Number STN 50-45 6 and STN 50-4 57; dated Apri l 2, 1997 1998 Annual Radiologi cal Envi ronmental Operati ng Report; dated M ay 14, 199 9 1999 Annual Radioacti ve Effluent Repo rt; dated April 27, 2000 2000 Annual Radioacti ve Effluent Repo rt; dated April 25, 2000 2001 Annual Radioacti ve Effluent Repo rt; dated April 26, 2002 2002 Annual Radioacti ve Effluent Repo rt; dated April 25, 2003 2003 Annual Radioacti ve Effluent Repo rt; dated April 30, 2004 an d June 23, 20 04 2004 Annual Radioacti ve Effluent Repo rt; dated April 27, 2005 File - 10 CFR 50.75(g) for Ci rculating Water Blowdow n Leak of Novembe r 26, 2000, Books 1 and 2 Action Repo rt (AR) No. 003 28451; dated A pril 1, 200 5 AR 00428868

dated Nov ember 30, 2005 Problem Identi fication Form (PIF)

No. A1998-043 24; dated Dec ember 04, 1998 PIF No. A200 0-04281; dated November 6, 2000 Attachment 4 TR-01-2006 DM A-TR-27; "Assessment of Offsite Doses from Inadvertent Releases o f Water from the Blowdown L ine at Brai dwood Sta tion;" dated M arch 28, 2006 2PS3 Radiological Environmental Monitoring Program (REMP) And Radioactive Material Control Program MONTHLY CIR CULATING WATER BLOWDOW N FORM, B wCP 100 3-5T1; Revisi on 6;January 200 5 through December 2005 4OA3 Event Follow-Up AR 00475790 25B Drain Cooler Shell Side Relief Valve Lifted (2DV021B)

Attachment 5 LIST OF ACRONYMS USED AV Apparent Vio lation CFR Code of Federal Regulations CR Condi tion R eport IMC Inspection M anual Chap ter LLD Lower Li mit of Detection ODCM Offsite Dose Calcul ation Ma nual pCi/L picocuries per liter REMP Radiologica l Envi ronmental M onitoring Program SDP Significance D etermination P rocess VB Vacuum Breaker Appendix A Tritiu m Sampl e Resu lts Attachment 6 Braidwood Tritium Sample Results NRC Split Samp le Results Licensee 4 Sample Designation Collection Date pCi/L 1 pCi/L 1 NRC Sample ID Ratio Licensee to NRC 2 P-1 12-01-05 2484 2930 NRC-1-R3 0.848 P-4 12-01-05 33041 33630 NRC-2-R3 0.982 P-5 12-01-05 6621 6820 NRC-3-R3 0.971 P-6 12-01-05 450 190 3 NRC-4-R3 Statistically Insignifican t P-7 12-01-05 1210 1200 NRC-5-R3 1.008 P-8 12-01-05 2998 2720 NRC-6-R3 1.102 RW-1 12-01-05 2050 2650 NRC-7-R3 0.774 RW-2 12-01-05 33736 34760 NRC-8-R3 0.971 BL-17 12-01-05 25 240 3 NRC-9-R3 Statistically Insignifican t BL-18 12-01-05 108 150 3 NRC-10-R3 Statistically Insignifican t BL-19 12-01-05 37 300 3 NRC-11-R3 Statistically Insignifican t PW-9 12-05-05 142-340 3 NRC-12-R3 Statistically Insignifican t PW-11 12-05-05 99 100 3 NRC-13-R3 Statistically Insignifican t PW-4 12-02-05 43 200 3 NRC-14-R3 Statistically Insignifican t SW-4 12-02-05 83 210 3 NRC-15-R3 Statistically Insignifican t PW-8 12-03-05 1151 1490 NRC-16-R3 0.772 D-3 12-02-05 137-60 3 NRC-17-R3 Statistically Insignifican t RW-3 12-02-05 197 140 3 NRC-18-R3 Statistically Insignifican t RW-4 12-02-05 380 420 3 NRC-19-R3 0.905 Appendix A Tritiu m Sampl e Resu lts Braidwood Tritium Sample Results NRC Split Samp le Results Attachment 7 P-2 12-02-05 4344 2750 NRC-20-R3 1.580 P-3 12-02-05 3258 2470 NRC-21-R3 1.319 VB3-7 12-02-05 169-90 3 NRC-22-R3 Statistically Insignifican t VB3-8 12-02-05 171 110 3 NRC-23-R3 Statistically Insignifican t PW-1 11-30-05-26 200 3 NRC-24-R3 Statistically Insignifican t PW-2 11-30-05 48 180 3 NRC-25-R3 Statistically Insignifican t PW-3 11-30-05 25-250 3 NRC-26-R3 Statistically Insignifican t PW-8 12-06-05 1524 1020 NRC-27-R3 1.494 SW-1 11-30-05 2464 2480 NRC-28-R3 0.994 SW-2 11-30-05 2347 2490 NRC-29-R3 0.943 G-1 12-06-05 133 290 3 NRC-30-R3 Statistically Insignifican t G-2 12-06-05 87 230 3 NRC-31-R3 Statistically Insignifican t G-3 12-06-05 81 140 3 NRC-32-R3 Statistically Insignifican t P-9 12-05-05 1346-40 3 NRC-33-R3 Statistically Insignifican t P-10 12-05-05 1934 2120 NRC-34-R3 0.912 P-11 12-05-05 1681 1770 NRC-35-R3 0.950 P-12 12-05-05 1535 1400 NRC-36-R3 1.096 S-1 12-05-05-21-70 3 NRC-37-R3 Statistically Insignifican t S-2 12-05-05 95 110 3 NRC-38-R3 Statistically Insignifican t S-3 12-05-05 145 140 3 NRC-39-R3 Statistically Insignifican t S-4 12-05-05 1280 1230 NRC-40-R3 1.041 Appendix A Tritiu m Sampl e Resu lts Braidwood Tritium Sample Results NRC Split Samp le Results Attachment 8 S-5 12-05-05 2023 2190 NRC-41-R3 0.924 S-6 12-05-05 679 490 3 NRC-42-R3 1.386 D-4 12-06-05 91-30 3 NRC-43-R3 Statistically Insignifican t D-2 12-05-05 125-40 3 NRC-44-R3 Statistically Insignifican t P-4 12-06-05 25311 30020 NRC-45-R3 0.843 P-8 12-06-05 2212 2500 NRC-46-R3 0.885 VB2-6 12-05-05 2348 1640 NRC-47-R 3 1.432 VB3-4 12-05-05 43708 42580 NRC-48-R 3 1.026 MW-113 12-05-05 3598 3840 NRC-49-R3 0.937 NRC Sample (VB 3-4) 11-30-05 39400 NRC-50-R3 D-5 12-02-05 73 280 3 NRC-51-R3 Statistically Insignifican t NRC Sample (PW-3)12-07-05 280 3 NRC-52-R3 NRC Sample (PW-2)12-08-05 210 3 NRC-53-R3 NRC Sample (PW-1)12-08-05 150 3 NRC-54-R3 PW-5 12-07-05 9 310 3 NRC-55-R3 Statistically Insignifican t PW-10 12-07-05 72 210 3 NRC-56-R3 Statistically Insignifican t PW-12 12-07-05 44 190 3 NRC-57-R3 Statistically Insignifican t PW-7 12-07-05-58 170 3 NRC-58-R3 Statistically Insignifican t PW-13 12-07-05-62 100 3 NRC-59-R3 Statistically Insignifican t VB3-4D 12-14-05 747 910 NRC-60-R3 0.821 VB3-9D 12-13-05 21715 21720 NRC-61-R3 1.000 Appendix A Tritiu m Sampl e Resu lts Braidwood Tritium Sample Results NRC Split Samp le Results Attachment 9 MW-113D 12-14-05 4835 4810 NRC-62-R3 1.005 P-2D 12-12-05 2599 2480 NRC-63-R3 1.048 RW-2@10'12-13-05 54111 55920 NRC-64-R3 0.968 RW-2@20'12-13-05 171166 160400 NRC-65-R3 1.067 RW-2@25'12-13-05 246442 281800 NRC-66-R3 0.875 NRC Sample (PW-8)12-27-05 1310 NRC-67-R3 NRC Sample (S W)12-08-05-30 3 NRC-68-R3 NRC Sample (PW-8)12-08-05 1360 NRC-69-R3 1 The negative n umbers indica ted radioacti vity sta tistically indistin guishable from backgrou nd rad iatio n or from the la borato ry's Low er Lim it of De tectio n (LLD).2 The term Statistical ly Insig nificant applied when sample results are near the LLD.

3 The NRC's co ntract laboratory

's LLDs: S drinking water wells 200 picocuri es per liter S non-drinking w ater well s 500 picoc uries per l iter 4 The Licensee Sample Desi gnation code p rovides so me indicati on of the locati on: BL Blowdow n Line PW Private W ell D near the on-si te Ditch RW Remediation W ell G Private W ell S Private W ell MW Monitoring W ell SW Surface Water P Pond VB Vacuum Breaker Attachment 10 Appe ndix B Appendix C Sequen ce of Ev ents Attachment 11 Date Descr iption of Ev ents 11/1996 - 07/19 97 Based on a Braidwoo d work order (WO), the licensee repaired a 1-inch pipe break associate d with V acuum Breaker No. 1 (VB-1) along th e circulating w ater blow down li ne. The pipe break resulted i n an onsite release of an estimated 25 0,000 gallons of water contai ning radioacti ve effluent from the blowdown lin e. Since th e License e did not re cognize the radio active component of the l eakage, the Braidw ood staff did not sa mple the lea kage for radio activ e mater ial. 01/1998 Braidwoo d WO indicated that the li censee repai red a small leak on VB-2, which i s located on site. No do cumentation cou ld be found co ncerning the size of the leak or if the leak was sampled f or radioactive material.

12/1998 Braidwoo d WO indicated that the li censee repai red a significan t leak on VB-3

, which res ulted in a n estimated rel ease of 3,000,000 gallons of wa ter to areas onsite and i nto a draina ge ditch alon g Smiley R oad. The lic ensee also documented the i ncident in a corrective action docu ment, but that docu ment did not indicate that radioactive material was involved. Since the Licensee did not rec ogn iz e th e ra di oac tiv e co mpo nen t of the le aka ge, the Bra id wo od sta ff did not sample the leakage f or radioactive material; however, onsite soil contamination was detecte d in April of 2001.11/2000 The Illinoi s Environ mental Protecti on Agency rec eived a call from a loc al resident conce rning water th at was poo ling on Brai dwood pro perty and i n a ditch along the south side of Smiley Road, which borders the site.

The Illinois Envi ronmen tal Pr otecti on Agen cy no tified the Br aidw ood faci lity of the r eport.Braidwoo d staff identified that the float in v alve VB-2 had been damaged, resulting in an 8-inch op ening in the valve. The Braidw ood staff estimated that the openi ng in the v alve resu lted in a release of appro ximately 3,000,000 gallons of wa ter containin g radioactiv e liquid e ffluent from the blowd own li ne onto the ground.

The Braidw ood staff and the Ill inois Dep artment of Nuclear Safety measured tri tium at lev els of approx imately 20

,000 - 35,000 p icocuries per liter i n the draina ge ditch on the south side of Smiley R oad. The Braid wood staff als o ide ntifie d radi oacti vely conta minate d soi l ons ite. On November 9, 2000, the Braidwood staff notified the NRC Region III Office and Il linois D epartment of Nuclea r Safety of the contami natio n found in th e Smil ey Ro ad di tch. On November 1 0, 2000, the B raidwood staff began pumping the stan ding wate r back to the bl owdo wn l ine to the Ka nkakee R iver. 11/2000 Braidwoo d WO indicated that a small leak was repaired on the valv e seat of VB-6. No documentation could be found conc erning the size of the leak or if the leak was sampled for radioactive mat erial.

Appendix C Sequen ce of Ev ents Attachment 12 11/2000 Braidwood WO indicated that a leak was repaired on VB-1. No documentation c ould be found concerning the s ize of the l eak or if the leak was sampled for radioactive material.

04/2001 The Braidw ood staff issued the 2000 Radio active Effluent R elease Rep ort that documented the N ovember lea kage from VB-2 as an abn ormal release

.06/2001 Braidwoo d WO indicated that the li censee repai red a leak on VB-3, whi ch was located onsi te. No documen tation could be found concern ing the siz e of the leak or if the leak was sampled fo r radioactive material.

06/2001 Braidwoo d corrective action docu ment indicated that non-contami nated water was found i n the val ve vaul t for VB-9. No do cumentation cou ld be found concer ning th e siz e of the leak. 06/2001 Braidwoo d corrective action docu ment indicated that non-contami nated water was found i n the val ve vaul t for VB-10. No d ocumentation co uld be found concer ning th e siz e of the leak. 06/2001 Braidwoo d corrective action docu ment indicated that water w as found in the valve vault f or VB-11. No docum entati on could be found c oncern ing the size of the leak or if the leak was sampled for radioactive material.

05/2002 Braidwoo d WO indicated that a lea king air release valve was repl aced on VB-3. No documentation could be found conc erning the size of the leak or if the leak was sampled for radioactive mat erial.08/2003 Braidwoo d corrective action docu ment and/or WO indicated that l eakage was identified on VB-4 durin g modification testi ng. No particul ate radioacti vity w as detect ed. No docume ntatio n coul d be fou nd con cerni ng the s ize of the l eak. Braidwoo d staff notified the NR C resident i nspector of the le akage and that no radio activ e mater ial w as det ected. 09/2003 Braidwoo d WO indicated that small leak was i dentified on V B-4 at low system operating flow.

No documentati on could b e found concerni ng the size of the leak or if the leak was sampled fo r radioactive material.

11/2004 Braidwood W O indicat ed that a leak was ide ntifie d on VB-8 (within the valve vault). The v alve w as subsequently replaced. N o documentation could be found concerning the size of the leak or if the le ak was sampl ed for radioactive material.

03/2005 The Illinoi s Environ mental Protecti on Agency no tified the Brai dwood si te of an investigati on into pote ntial triti um contaminatio n in we lls near the Braidwo od site.

Appendix C Sequen ce of Ev ents Attachment 13 03/2005 - 11/20 05 Beginn ing in Marc h 2005 , the B raidw ood st aff expa nded t he ons ite groundw ater mo nitori ng progra m. Duri ng that expa nsion , the B raidw ood si te identified el evated le vels in tritium in o nsite groundw ater monitoring w ells.05/2005 Braidwoo d WO indicated that a lea k was iden tified on VB-1 , which was repaired. Li censee documen tation indi cated that the l eak rate was approximatel y 20 drops per minute. The licensee's limited s urvey documentation i ndicated that approximatel y 50,000 p icocuries p er liter of tritium was measured in water from the v alve v ault. How ever, no ad ditional survey d ocumentation co uld be lo cated.05/2005 Braidwood WO indicated that a leak was identified on VB-6 that resulted in about 1-foot of wate r in the v alve v ault. The va lve w as subsequently rebuilt by the Bra id wo od sta ff.11/2005 On November 2 3, 2005, the B raidwood staff stopped all radioactiv e releases through the ci rcula ting w ater bl owdo wn l ine b ased o n the r esult s of ons ite monitoring efforts. On Nov ember 30, 2005, the NRC Re gion III office was notified by the Braidw ood staff of an elev ated tritium meas urements in a Braid wood onsi te groun dwat er we ll. 01/2006 Braidwoo d identified a leak on VB

-7, which resulted in non-radioacti ve releas e of wate r to the envi ronmen t.