EDITOR'S NOTE: The following is a regular summary
of operations at DOE's Idaho Site. It has been compiled
in response to a request from stakeholders for more
information on health, safety and environmental
incidents at DOE facilities in Idaho. It also includes a
brief summary of accomplishments at the laboratory. The
report is broken down by contractor:
Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project (AMWTP),
Idaho Cleanup Project (ICP)
and
Idaho National Laboratory (INL). This summary will
be sent to everyone on INL's regular news release
distribution list every other week. To be added to this
distribution list, please call Brad Bugger at (208)
526-0833.
Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project
Dec. 1: The Idaho Treatment Group (ITG) is reviewing
a draft report looking into issues regarding ITG’s
implementation and execution of its Issues Management
and Performance Improvement Programs. The contractor is
conducting a factual accuracy check of the concerns
raised by the report and formulating an action plan to
address the concerns. (EM-ID—ITG-AMWTF-2012-0023).
Operational Summary
Waste Shipments: Eight of eight planned
shipments of contact-handled transuranic waste and two
of two planned shipments of remote-handled transuranic
waste were made from Idaho to the Waste Isolation Pilot
Plant in New Mexico for disposal the week ending Dec. 1,
2012. Eight shipments of contact-handled waste and two
shipments of remote-handled waste were scheduled for the
week ending Dec. 8.
Idaho Cleanup Project
Nothing to report.
Operational Summary
Waste Repackaging Project: The Idaho Cleanup
Contractor received the second and third transfers of
waste drums to be repackaged under the Sludge
Repackaging Project during the week ending Dec. 1. A
total of 28 drums were opened, which generated 53
primary waste drums for shipment and disposal after
absorbent was added to the drums.
Idaho National Laboratory
Nov. 19: An unreviewed safety question was raised at
the Advanced Test Reactor after a recent safety
inspection showed that the reactor shutdown system
neutron level and wide range neutron level subsystem
channel cables do not meet separation requirements
defined in the ATR design basis. Management was notified
and interim controls were instituted until the situation
can be reviewed and remedied, if necessary.
(NE-ID—BEA-ATR-2012-0027).
Nov. 20: A subcontract construction employee using a
scissor lift entered into the path of an overhead crane
prior to completing lockout/tagout verification of the
crane. The employee was replacing overhead lights in an
area of Building Test Area North 679. The crane was
properly locked and tagged out and personal locks were
hung. The supervisor observed the worker in the scissor
lift and notified the worker to stop work and lower the
lift. There were no injuries, management notifications
were made and a critique was held.
(NE-ID—BEA-SMC-2012-0005).
Nov. 28: A primary coolant pump (PCP) at the Advanced
Test Reactor failed to shut down properly in September
of this year. Trouble-shooting efforts during a recent
outage showed the cause of the pump breaker failure,
which led to categorizing the event as reportable after
the fact. A snap ring on the trip shaft of the breaker
was missing from the end of the shaft and found on the
bottom of the breaker case. Since the trip shaft is
common to all trip functions of the breaker, the
engineering safety features that trip the breaker open
were degraded. All other PCP breakers were inspected and
snap rings were found to be intact.
(NE-ID—BEA-ATR-2012-0028).
Dec. 3: While rebuilding an electrical breaker at the
Advanced Test Reactor, electricians found what appeared
to be about 50 suspect/counterfeit fasteners throughout
the breaker. The suspect parts will be replaced with
authentic parts. (NE-ID—BEA-RTC-2012-0006).
Dec. 4: A tool used to measure the cooling channel width
between reactor fuel plates at the Advanced Test Reactor
canal became lodged between two fuel plates. The
operator dislodged the tool, bending the top of one of
the fuel plates. Work was immediately stopped and the
fuel element was removed to an approved storage grid in
the canal, and will be placed in the restricted fuel
database. (NE-ID—BEA-ATR-2012-0029).
Dec. 6: A security officer was able to open a
confinement door at the Advanced Test Reactor that is
not supposed to be able to be opened from the outside
during reactor operations. A door watch was stationed
until the door knob could be repaired by the INL
locksmith. (NE-ID—BEA-ATR-2012-0030).
Operational Summary
Trapping Contaminants: The U.S. Department of
Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and the United
Kingdom’s National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL) recently
entered into a partnership that merges their respective
innovations into a one-of-a-kind contamination
containment tool. The tool captures radioactive
particles in nuclear facilities to reduce airborne
contamination hazards during reactor decommissioning.
The one-year, $250,000 project – funded by the U.S.
Department of Energy – will test and demonstrate how
these two technologies can be successfully designed and
engineered into one functioning unit.
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