Release

["RON L. SHEPHERD" <SHEPHRL@GWSMTP.NU.COM>]

 CONTAMINATION EVENT AND UNMONITORED RELEASE.  Two workers at Grand Gulf 1 were
exiting the protected area and alarmed the portal monitors at the security
access point. The individuals had contamination on their shoes. The
investigation traced the contamination to the area around the condensate
storage tank, where a skid mounted hydro laser unit was set up. This hydro
laser had been used to provide wash water in the cask wash area of the spent
fuel pool. The Grand Gulf suspects that a small quantity of water may have
siphoned from the spent fuel pool a few days earlier. The hydro laser wand had
been lowered to the bottom of the cask wash area. Pressurized water was
supplied to the wand to stir up sediment in order that it could be vacuumed
from the cask wash area. At one point, the wand began floating towards the
surface. The pressurized water was secured for approximately a 2-minute time
period. It is believed that during this 2-minute period the static head from
the spent fuel pool may have caused a siphon effect to occur. The estimated
amount of contaminated water that could have migrated outside the radiological
controlled access area onto the concrete and gravel area was less than 7
gallons.  Surveys of the area found contamination levels as high as 60,000
counts per minute. This was the result of a direct frisk of a foot pedal for
the hydro laser unit. The smearable contamination level for this pedal was
approximately 30,000 disintegrations per minute. Surveys detected contamination
in a gravel area at a nearby storm drain. Upon opening the drain cover and
performing a large area survey in the drain, contamination levels in the range
of  1,500 disintegrations per minute were detected. This indicated that there
was likely an unmonitored release from the radiological controlled access area.
The drain flows to a hold up basin on site, outside the protected area on the
owner controlled area. The water from the hold up basin eventually flows to the
river. [NRC Daily Report]

This is easier to do than it sounds!!!

SHEPHRL@GWSMTP.NU.COM

Ron