Contaminated drums from Columbia nuclear fuel plant discovered in Washington state
Two contaminated barrels were trucked across the country from the Westinghouse nuclear fuel factory in South Carolina after plant workers failed to properly examine the containers for signs of excessive radioactivity, according to a federal agency that oversees the site.
Only after the drums arrived in Washington state did anyone learn the barrels had radiation levels that exceeded federal standards, records show. The contamination showed up on and near valve covers on the outside of the tanks, according to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
The contaminated drums, shipped on a flat bed trailer that took two days to reach Washington, didn’t endanger the public, the NRC says.
But the matter was serious enough that the agency issued a violation notice last week. Regulators hit Westinghouse with what is known as a Level 4 violation, which means the misstep doesn’t warrant a fine but is notable, NRC spokesman Roger Hannah said.
The NRC violation notice is the latest in a line of troubles the 50-year-old plant has encountered since 2016, when radioactive material accumulated to potentially unsafe levels inside an air pollution control device.
Westinghouse’s Bluff Road facility, which opened in 1969, manufactures fuel rods for use in commercial atomic power reactors across the country. It is one of only three of its kind in the United States. The plant, between Congaree National Park and Interstate 77, employs more than 1,000 people and is a major part of the local economy of Richland County.
Company officials say NRC violations are not unique to Westinghouse. But they say they are working systematically to improve the Richland County plant’s safety culture. The work, however, is taking time, according to Westinghouse.
In the most recent case, outlined in a Nov. 22 letter and report from the NRC to Westinghouse, the federal agency said the company failed to make sure containers shipped off site were properly inspected before they were put on the flatbed and trucked to Washington.
The barrels contained residue from uranium hexafluoride, a material used in the nuclear fuel rod production process. Radioactive contamination on the outside of the barrels exceeded that allowed by the U.S. Department of Transportation, the NRC said.
Westinghouse failed to “evaluate the magnitude and extent of radiation levels, concentration and the potential radiological hazards of radiation levels detected,’’ the NRC’s Nov. 22 violation notice said. The notice said NRC inspectors “determined that the violation was more than minor.’’
Westinghouse officials in Columbia concede the factory could have done a more thorough job. They have put measures in place to make sure similar incidents don’t happen again, including a more thorough oversight process, Westinghouse plant manager Mike Annacone said Tuesday.
It’s possible the contamination originated at a plant other than Westinghouse because the barrels are shared by multiple nuclear facilities to haul material between facilities. But Annacone said that shouldn’t matter. It was Westinghouse’s responsibility to make sure contamination wasn’t on the drums before they were shipped to Washington state, he said.
“When it leaves our site, it has to be OK,’’ Annacone said.
NRC spokesman Roger Hannah said his agency will follow up during upcoming inspections to make sure improvements have been made.
Annacone said Westinghouse was shipping the mostly empty barrels to Framatome for cleaning so they could be reused. Framatome is a corporation that services U.S. nuclear facilities across the country. Efforts to reach Framatome were unsuccessful.
Westinghouse’s nuclear fuel factory has a legacy of environmental pollution in eastern Richland County, including substantial groundwater contamination. But it has run into a rash of troubles since a potentially deadly incident in 2016.
In 2016, uranium accumulated to unsafe levels in an air pollution control device, threatening to cause a burst of radiation that could have exposed plant workers. Among its troubles this year were a fire in a drum filled with contaminated nuclear material and a uranium leak from a rusty shipping container into the soil. Last year, uranium leaked through a hole in the plant’s floor, also contaminating the soil
Nuclear safety watchdogs and residents living near the plant have raised concerns about the company’s past operating practices and continuing troubles. Some question why the NRC doesn’t take tough enforcement action against the plant.
“It seems like there is a new problem every week,’’ said Columbia resident Leslie Minerd, a nuclear industry critic. “There is something wrong with management and oversight at the NRC. Their job is to protect us, instead of protecting industry. I don’t know how you change that culture.’’
Westinghouse says it is working with the NRC and the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control to address safety and pollution on the site. So far, state officials and Westinghouse say contaminated groundwater has not trickled off the site, and if that ever happens, groundwater will likely drain away from the Hopkins area toward the Congaree River.
This story was originally published November 27, 2019 at 9:12 AM.
