August 3, 2000

EA 00-125

Mr. G. Rainey, President

PECO Nuclear

Nuclear Group Headquarters

Correspondence Control Desk

Post Office Box 195

Wayne, Pennsylvania 19087-0195

SUBJECT: FINAL SIGNIFICANCE DETERMINATION AND NOTICE OF VIOLATION

(NRC INTEGRATED INSPECTION REPORT 05000277/2000-002,

05000278/2000-002 FOR PEACH BOTTOM)

Dear Mr. Rainey:

The purpose of this letter is to provide you with the final results of our significance

determination for the preliminary White finding (i.e. an issue with low to moderate importance to

safety, which may require additional NRC inspections) regarding a violation involving improper

classification of radioactive waste shipped for disposal at the Chem-Nuclear facility near

Barnwell, South Carolina on June 28, 1999. Specifically, the shipment was identified as Class

A waste containing 99 curies when it should have been classified as Class B waste containing

407 curies. This issue was previously described in NRC Combined Inspection Report

05000277/2000-002, 05000278/2000-002.

On May 20, 2000, the NRC completed the inspection at the Peach Bottom Atomic Power

Station. The report, presenting the results of that inspection, was sent to you on June 19, 2000.

In response, you sent a letter to the NRC, dated July 8, 2000, that provided your view on the

significance of this finding. At your request, a regulatory conference was also conducted with

Mr. J. Doering and other members of your staff on July 24, 2000, to further discuss your views

on the significance determination and the apparent violation. A copy of the handout you

provided at this meeting is attached.

During the regulatory conference, your staff described your assessment of the significance of

the finding. You stated that the violation occurred as described and you acknowledged that

application of the current significance determination process (SDP) would result in a White

finding. However, you contended that the safety significance of this particular event was very

low because there was no actual or potential risk to the public. Therefore, you requested that

the NRC exercise discretion and characterize the finding as Green. You also stated that the

SDP should be revised to consider the very low safety significance of such mis-classifications of

radioactive waste and characterize them as Green findings.
G. Rainey 2

After consideration of the information you provided at the conference and in your letter dated

July 8, 2000, the NRC has determined that the event should be assessed as White (i.e., an

issue with low to moderate increased importance to safety). This characterization is consistent

with the flowchart in the current SDP for Public Radiation Safety (appendix D to NRC Manual

Chapter 0609, pages D-13 through D-16) because a Low Level Burial Ground (LLBG) access

problem existed, LLBG access was not denied, and a (10 CFR) Part 61 waste underclassification occurred. This results in a White finding. The NRC also concluded that

enforcement discretion is not appropriate because the SDP was designed to determine the

significance and color by using the flowcharts to maximize consistent treatment of such

findings. The request, previously submitted by you and NEI, that the SDP for such findings be

revised, is currently being evaluated by the NRC.

The related violation for this White finding, namely, the failure to properly classify radioactive

waste for shallow land burial contrary to 10 CFR 20.2006 and 10 CFR 61.55, is described in the

attached Notice of Violation (Notice). This violation is being cited in accordance with the

Enforcement Policy, as described in NUREG-1600, because it is associated with a White

finding.

You are not required to respond to this letter because the NRC has sufficient information on the

docket, from your letter dated July 8, 2000, and from your presentation at the Regulatory

Conference, regarding your corrective actions to prevent recurrence of the violation. These

actions included; (1) immediate action to correct the paperwork error after notification from the

burial site, (2) initiation of an investigation of the issue, (3) entering the issues in a corrective

action program, (4) identifying and analyzing a second sample of the waste material to provide

more accurate information regarding the radioactive content, (5) changing procedures to

provide instruction on obtaining a more representative sample of the waste, (6) updating the

computer program to recognize the requirements for dose rates at 3 meters from the shipment

package, (7) enhancing the training provided to radwaste handlers and shippers, and (8)

initiating a review of the entire radwaste shipping program to identify negative trends.

We will notify you by separate correspondence of any additional agency follow up actions as

determined by the NRC Action Matrix.

In accordance with 10 CFR 2.790 of the NRC’s “Rules of Practice,” a copy of this letter and its

enclosures will be available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document

Room or from the Publically Available Records (PARS) component of NRC’s document system

(ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible from the NRC Web site at

http://www.nrc.gov/NRC/ADAMS/index.html (the Public Electronic Reading Room).
G. Rainey 3

Should you have any questions regarding this matter, please contact Mr. John White at

610-337-5114.

Sincerely,

/RA/

Hubert J. Miller

Regional Administrator

Docket Nos. 05000277, 05000278

License Nos. DPR-44, DPR-56

Enclosures:

1. Notice of Violation

2. Copy of Licensee’s Presentation for the Regulatory Conference, July 24, 2000.

cc w/encls:

J. Hagan, Senior Vice President, Nuclear Operations

J. Doering, Vice President, Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station

M. Warner, Plant Manager, Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station

J. A. Hutton, Director, Licensing, PECO Nuclear

G. D. Edwards, Chairman, Nuclear Review Board

R. Boyce, Director, Nuclear Quality Assurance

A. F. Kirby, III, External Operations - Delmarva Power & Light Co.

A. A. Winter, Manager, Experience Assessment

J. W. Durham, Sr., Senior Vice President and General Counsel

H. C. Kresge, Manager, External Operations, Connectiv

N. J. Sproul, Manager, Financial Control & Co-owner Affairs, Connectiv

R. McLean, Power Plant Siting, Nuclear Evaluations

D. Levin, Acting Secretary of Harford County Council

R. Ochs, Maryland Safe Energy Coalition

J. H. Walter, Chief Engineer, Public Service Commission of Maryland

Mr. & Mrs. Dennis Hiebert, Peach Bottom Alliance

Mr. & Mrs. Kip Adams

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

State of Maryland

TMI - Alert (TMIA)
G. Rainey 4

DISTRIBUTION w/encl:

PUBLIC

CA

SECY

WTravers, EDO

FMiraglia, DEDR

RBorchardt, OE

DDambly, OGC

HMiller, RI

SCollins, NRR

JJohnson, NRR

EAdensam, NRR

GVissing, NRR

WScott, NRR

JWilcox, NRR

TFrye, NRR

CSee, NRR

JShea, RI EDO Coordinator

Enforcement Coordinators

RI, RII, RIII, RIV

BBeecher, OPA

HBell, OIG

PLohaus, OSP

GCaputo, OI

DScrenci, PAO-RI

NSheehan, PAO-RI

Resident Inspector, Peach Bottom

LTremper, OC

To receive a copy of this document, indicate in the box: “C” = Copy w/o attach/encl “E” = Copy w/ attach/encl “N” = No copy

OFFICE ORA/RI DRP/RI DRS/RI ORA/RI

NAME JNick CCowgill JWhite DHolody

DATE 07/27/00 07/27/00 07/27/00 07/31/00

RI DRS/RI RA/RI

BFewell WLanning HMiller (JTW for)

07/31/00 07/28/00 08/03/00

Review and concurrence from OE (D. Nelson) - 8/2/00

Review and concurrence from NRR (V. Ordaz) - 8/2/00

OFFICIAL RECORD COPY
ENCLOSURE 1

NOTICE OF VIOLATION

PECO Nuclear Docket Nos. 50-277, 50-278

Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station License Nos. DPR-44, DPR-56

EA No. 00-125

During an NRC inspection conducted on April 17 - 20, 2000, and on April 25, 2000, a violation

of NRC requirements was identified. In accordance with the "General Statement of Policy and

Procedure for NRC Enforcement Actions," NUREG 1600, the violation is listed below:

10 CFR Part 20, Section 2006(d), Transfer for Disposal and Manifests, (10 CFR

20.2006 (d)), requires that each person involved in transfer for disposal of waste comply

with the requirements specified in Section III of Appendix G to 10 CFR 20.

10 CFR 20, Appendix G, Requirements for Transfer of Low-Level Radioactive Waste

intended for Disposal at Licensed Land Disposal Facilities, Section III, requires that any

licensee who transfers radioactive waste to a land disposal facility prepare all wastes so

that the waste is classified according to 10 CFR 61.55.

10 CFR 61.55, Waste Classification, provides the methodology for classification of

waste for near surface disposal based on concentrations of radionuclides present within

the waste. Waste containing mixtures of radionuclides must be classified as Class B if

determined to meet the criteria specified in 10 CFR 61.55 for Class B waste.

Contrary to the above, on June 28, 1999, the licensee transferred to a licensed disposal

facility (Chem-Nuclear, Barnwell, SC) for disposal, spent resin waste (Shipment No. 99-

013) that was not properly characterized for disposal in accordance with 10 CFR 61.55,

in that the sample upon which characterization was based was not representative of the

actual radioactivity contained in the shipment. As a result, radioactive waste material,

transported for disposal, was characterized and described as 99 curies of Class A

waste, instead of 406 curies of Class B waste material. Re-analysis of waste samples

identified that the radioactive concentrations in the isotopic mixture met the criteria

specified in 10 CFR 61.55 for characterization as Class B radioactive waste.

This violation is associated with a White Significance Determination Process finding.

The NRC has concluded that information regarding the reason for the violation, the corrective

actions taken and planned to correct the violation and prevent recurrence and the date when

full compliance was achieved is already adequately addressed on the docket in the letter from

the Licensee dated July 8, 2000 and in the NRC inspection report. However, you are required

to submit a written statement or explanation pursuant to 10 CFR 2.201 if the description therein

does not accurately reflect your corrective actions or your position. In that case, or if you

choose to respond, clearly mark your response as a "Reply to a Notice of Violation," and send it

to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ATTN: Document Control Desk, Washington, DC

20555 with a copy to the Regional Administrator, Region I, and a copy to the NRC Resident

Inspector at the facility that is the subject of this Notice, within 30 days of the date of the letter

transmitting this Notice of Violation (Notice).
Enclosure 1 2

If you contest this enforcement action, you should also provide a copy of your response to the

Director, Office of Enforcement, United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington,

DC 20555-0001.

If you choose to respond, your response will be made available to the Public. Therefore, to the

extent possible, the response should not include any personal privacy, proprietary, or

safeguards information so that it can be made available to the Public without redaction.

In accordance with 10 CFR 19.11, you may be required to post this Notice within two working

days.

Dated this 3rd day of August 2000