NRC: Radioactive scrap metal nearly dumped at local recycling facility

NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — A manufacturing facility in Wilmington must take corrective action after radioactive scrap metal was nearly dumped at a local metal recycling facility.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission says an inspection report documented a September 2016 incident where Global Nuclear Fuel-Americas made arrangements with a contractor to ship a dumpster of scrap metal piping to a recycling facility. The dumpster was loaded onto a truck and shipped offsite to a scrap metal recycling facility, located approximately 15 minutes from GNF-A.

The NRC says prior to entering the recycling facility, the shipment was checked by a radiation portal monitor, which caused an alarm to sound. The shipment from GNF-A was not allowed to enter the scrap metal facility and was returned to GNF-A.

That led to several violations, including failure to properly survey the material before it was released.

GNF-A entered into an alternative dispute resolution program to resolve the enforcement issues. The NRC says GNF-A agreed with several of the violations and agreed to take corrective steps. Some actions include revising procedures related to the release of materials, additional training, improvements in recordkeeping, and the initiation of a safety culture assessment. The company also agreed to install a vehicle portal monitor to detect surface radiation levels on future shipments.

The NRC will not issue violations or civil penalties because of the detailed corrective actions and enhancements. The company has one year to complete some of these actions.

We reached out to Global Nuclear Fuel-Americas. Spokesperson Jonathan Allen sent the following statement.

“GNF-A remains committed to safe and compliant operations and after having implemented both near-term and broader corrective actions continues to take this event as a learning opportunity to improve across the organization.”

 

Categories: Local, New Hanover

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