Tools that should not have been taken out of the radiologically controlled area of the Susquehanna nuclear plant have been found by Pennsylvania Power & Light Co. at other company facilities.
"During a thorough investigation into a number of radiological safety concerns that have been raised at the Susquehanna plant, we have found 67 tools, mostly small hand tools, that should not have been outside the radiologically controlled area," said Herbert D. Woodeshick, PP&L's special assistant to the president for Susquehanna. About one-third of the tools had radioactive contamination levels that are above the limit allowed for release to the environment. The highest level of radioactivity found was far below amounts that constitute a personal safety hazard.
The limited-access radiologically controlled area is located in the plant's reactor, turbine and radwaste buildings. Personnel, protective clothing, tools and equipment leaving the area are monitored for radioactive contamination.
The highest level of radioactive contamination was found on an allen-head wrench, Woodeshick said. "If a plant worker had used the wrench every work day for a year, the person would have received an annual radiation dose of 1.2 millirem. To put that in perspective, the average person living in eastern Pennsylvania receives about 300 millirem a year from natural background radiation sources."
The investigation was begun after health physics technicians, who monitor radiological conditions at the plant, brought a number of concerns to the attention of PP&L's top management.
"We appreciate the health physics technicians bringing the concerns to the attention of the company's top management," Woodeshick said. "Not only does it give us an opportunity to improve radiological safety, but also we believe strongly that plant safety is best served by maintaining a work environment in which employees feel free to raise concerns to management."
PP&L took immediate action to address the concerns the health physics technicians identified, including strengthening controls at exits from the radiologically controlled area and providing additional training of workers in the proper procedures.
The review of these concerns enables PP&L to improve its programs and processes, Woodeshick said.
The technicians also expressed concern about the impact of proposed personnel reductions on safety of the plant. On Nov. 13, 1995, PP&L announced plans to reduce its bargaining unit work force by about 300 positions. Six out of a total of 46 positions in the health physics group would be affected by the proposed reduction, Woodeshick noted.
The reason for reducing the number of positions is that the workload for the technicians has dropped, so fewer are needed, he explained. Improvements which have reduced the workload include equipment modifications to reduce radiation exposure levels, use of computer-automated equipment to track personnel radiation exposure and reductions in the volume of radioactive waste.
The proposed staff reductions are being reviewed in light of the concerns raised by the technicians, Woodeshick said.
"We are committed to operating Susquehanna safely. That's why we take prompt and aggressive action to correct any problems that are identified," he added.
"Safe operation of the Susquehanna plant benefits everyone — plant area residents, PP&L, our customers, our shareowners and our employees, and we appreciate employees identifying areas where safety can be improved, as the health physics technicians have done."