Protecting People and the EnvironmentUNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
SSINS No.: 6835
IN 87-32
UNITED STATES
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555
July 10, 1987
Information Notice No. 87-32: DEFICIENCIES IN THE TESTING OF NUCLEAR-
GRADE ACTIVATED CHARCOAL
Addressees:
All nuclear power reactor facilities holding an operating license or a con-
struction permit.
Purpose:
This information notice is provided to call attention to deficiencies found in
the testing of nuclear-grade activated charcoal used for accident mitigation
in nuclear facilities. It is expected that recipients will review the
information for applicability to their facilities and consider action, if
appropriate, to preclude a similar problem at their facilities. However,
suggestions contained in this information notice do not constitute NRC
requirements; therefore, no specific action or written response is required.
Background:
The ASME Committee on Nuclear Air and Gas Treatment (CONAGT) first identified
a problem with testing nuclear-grade activated charcoal when the committee
conducted an interlaboratory comparison and found that seven U.S. and eight
foreign testing companies obtained vastly differing results from testing
samples of the same charcoal. After efforts to resolve the differences
failed, the NRC contracted with the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory
(EG&G) to investigate the problem. The contractor has conducted independent
laboratory studies and has worked with the testing companies to identify the
principal problems. Serious problems were found with the capabilities of the
testing companies and with the testing standard (ASTM Standard D-3803-1979,
"Standard Methods for Radioiodine Testing of Nuclear-Grade Gas-Phase
Adsorbents"). Specific suggestions were made to improve the capabilities of
the testing companies; a new testing protocol was developed to correct
shortcomings found in the standard; and a final interlaboratory comparison was
conducted.
The results, which were received in November 1986, indicate a substantial
improvement over the original CONAGT results, but some companies still did not
report acceptably accurate results. The contractor's technical evaluation
report, EGG-CS-7653, "Final Technical Evaluation Report for the NRC/INEL
Activated Carbon Testing Program," has been published and has been placed in
the NRC Public Document Room.
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IN 87-32
July 10, 1987
Page 2 of 2
Discussion
Engineered safety features, including charcoal, are provided at nuclear power
plants to protect employees and the public from accidentally released radio-
active materials. It has been recognized that only certain charcoals would
meet the special needs of nuclear plants (see NUREG/CR-3990, "Charcoal
Performance Under Accident Conditions"). ASTM Standard D-3803-1979 was
developed to specify the requirements for testing charcoal and was accepted by
the NRC (Regulatory Guide 1.52, 1979). The NRC investigation, which followed
the CONAGT interlaboratory comparison, identified serious shortcomings in the
standard and found that it had never been verified. The standard is currently
being revised. However, until it is available the protocol developed by EG&G
is one possibility for consideration by testing companies.
Although shortcomings in testing capabilities were identified by EG&G, defi-
ciencies can be corrected only by the individual companies. The failure to
upgrade equipment so the test parameters can be adequately controlled is the
principal reason for the unacceptable results in the recent tests.
Additional information on test accuracies and changes made to improve the
accuracy of test results may be sought by direct contact with the individual
testing companies.
No specific action or written response is required by this information notice.
If you have any questions about this matter, please contact the Regional
Administrator of the appropriate regional office or this office.
Charles E. Rossi, Director
Division of Operational Events Assessment
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
Technical Contacts: Charles A. Willis, NRR
(301) 492-8340
Charles R. Nichols, NRR
(301) 492-9416
Attachment: List of Recently Issued NRC Information Notices