DSHW-2024-005571

8 Westinghouse
Doug Hansen, Director
Utah Division of Waste Management and Radiation Control
195 North 1950 West
2nd Floor
P.O. Box 144880
Salt Lake City, Utah 84114-4880
Re: Spill database information calendar year 2023
Dear Mr. Hansen:
Westinghouse Electric Company
Nuclear Fuel
Western Zirconium
10,000 West 900 South
Ogden, Utah 84404-9760
USA
March 27, 2024
The intent of this report is to fulfill the requirements for Bullet No. 2 of the approved drain line
monitoring letter dated 8/15/2023 which states that WZ will continue to maintain a database of
all chemical spills that occur onsite. It also states that WZ will provide the spill database
information to the Division at least annually. The spill database information for the previous
calendar year has been requested to be submitted by March 31 st of each year.
During 2023 WZ recorded spills in its incident database to record all the spills . This report
includes spills that occurred inside buildings and within containment areas along with spills that
happened outside of buildings and outside containment.
The calendar year database information has been divided into quarters to make the formatting
easier to understand and read. The information presented in the quarter tables include the
following categories.
Incident date. Date the spill occurred.
Description of the incident. This is the information reported by department supervisor regarding
the spill.
Department This is the department or area where the spill occurred.
Did the spill leave containment? This information is regarding whether the spill left the building
or containment areas sometimes referred to as pads.
Chemical or Oil. Indicates whether the spill was chemical or oil (petroleum based)
Name reported. Common name or name of spilled material listed on spill report.
Contents. Components of the material spilled if it was a mixture.
Estimated quantity. Estimate of the spilled material recorded on the spill report.
Corrective Action. Description of how the spill was managed and cleaned up.
Area impacted. Description indicating whether the material spilled impacted soil, asphalt, or was
contained.
Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at [phone].
Thank You,
Eric Dodson, PE
Principal Environmental Engineer
Westinghouse, Western Zirconium
[e-mail]
Quarter 1 2023
Did the spill
leave
Incident containment SWMU#(if Chemical Estimated Area
Date Description Department (building/pad)? applicable) or Oil name reported contents Quantity Corrective Action impacted
Hf stripper was started up and operator closed washout valve on bottom of stripper
discharge. Operator then went into Hf precip area to open Hf kettle valve and when 82%water Sodium Bicarb was
they returned to pad 5 they noticed that the ball valve was not all the way shut. 15% Sulfuric Acid put down to
Operator shut valve all the way. Some stripper discharge was able to make it out of the 1% Hafnium neutralize the low
2/8/2023 pad and run to the low spot with some gravel there. Seperation yes SWMU54 chemical stripper 1-2% MIBK 8 gallons pH. soil
Low pH liquid dripping out of back end of roll off, some of the liquid flowed into the
Operators put some
sodium bicarb down
edge of the gravel next to it. Looks to be old thio filter bags that got wet from the cover ammonium on liquid to neutralize
3/20/2023 of the roll off being sunk in by rain/snow. Seperation yes SWMU54 chemical thiocyanate ammonium thiocyanate >99.9% 3 gallons it. soil
At approximately 01 :00 a hydraulic line at the back of the 10 ton manipulator ruptured used absorbant to
3/24/2023 releasing hydraulic fluid into the pit and adjacent floor area. Round Products no NA oil hydraulic fluid hydraulic fluid 10 gallons clean up oil contained
Quarter 2 2023
Did the spill
leave
Incident containment SWMU#(if Chemical Estimated Area
Date Description Department (building/pad)? applicable) or Oil name reported contents Quantity Corrective Action impacted
The oil was cleaned
up with oil
absorbent pads and
The housing on the 3.4 Hone bed oil pump cracked and sprayed oil out the side of the placed in the proper
4/15/2023 pump. By the time operators noticed approximately 10 gallons went on the floor. Round Products no NA oil oil oil 10 gallons container. contained
10-lSL of 7% Nitric dripped from a carboy into the containment until it overflowed onto
the countertop and floor. It appears that the spigot was not closed all the way and had
4/17/2023 a small drip. Lab no NA chemical nitric acid nitric acid 7% 15 liters Cleaned up spill contained
Th e release was discovered by Western Zirconium personnel during preparation to
conduct a camera inspection of the underground drain line. Camera access to the
underground drain line was from an in-ground sump at the billet pickle facility. When
piping was removed to access the drain line, an elbow connecting the sump to the drain
line piping was observed to have failed. At the same time, an inspection of the main
pickle building floor was being conducted. A small hole was observed in the floor
where a water line form the Pickle Air Scrubber was located . The damaged concrete
extended to the soil contact. Therefore, it is suspected that acid may have reached the
4/20/2023 soil at this location. Round Products yes AOCl chemical unknown acid unknown new pipe installed soil
Found a leak on the MIBK ling going to solven still. leak was on the north side of flow
5/1/2023 meter. Ops tightened up bolts and stopped leak. Seperation no NA chemical MIBK Methyl isobutyl ketone 100% 1 gallon Cleaned spill contained
Placed a tub under the area where contractors were cutting into glycol lines. Plastic tub
5/2/2023 caught about 1/2 gal but then another gallon was spilled onto the ground. Seperation yes SWMU 54 chemical glycol ethylene glycol 55% 1 gallon Cleaned spill soil
63%water
24% Zirc-oxychloride
10% Ammonium chloride
zirconium 1-2% MIBK
5/19/2023 line izoiniz from Pad3 sumo to north BLT was leakiniz under the catwalk. Seoeration no NA chemical raffinate <1% Ammonium Thiocvanate 3 izallons washed down contained
A repair was made
63%water to the leak and
Small pinhole leak on Zr raffinate line in overhead pipe rack spilled into the gravel 24% Zirc-oxychloride operators put down
between pad 2 and pad 3 in Separation and was a lpH. The leak was only noticed due 10% Ammonium chloride some sodium
to the discoloration of the gravel that looked more yellow than normal. A repair was zirconium 1-2% MIBK bicarbonate to
S/22/2023 made to the leak and operators put down some sodium bicarbonate to neutralize Seperation yes SWMU54 chemical raffinate <1% Ammonium Thiocyanate 1 gallon neutralize soil
While in the area looking at the status of a project I noticed the PSD line had a small The line was
leak from a drain valve. The leak was located at the base of the pipe bridge between shutdown, washed
Reduction and Recycle at a low point in the line. This appears to be a very small leak sodium and drained. Valve is
6/2/2023 which is dripping on the insulation blanket that fell off. Chlorination yes SWMU 54 chemical hypochlorite sodium hypochlorite 12.5% 1 gallon being replaced. soil
During the camera inspection it appears to show a piece of rebarextending into
the pipe at the failure point, which likely was the cause of the rupture. It's
unknown how the rebar became embedded in the pipe. A few feet away from
the ruptured section the camera also found a joint where two sections of pipe
are held together with a hugger clamp that was seperated. This is likely the
location of a previous repair, although Westinghouse does not have a record of a
repair at this location. Hugger clamps were used to mechanically hold two
sections of pipe together in repairs performed during the early years of plant
operation. Hugger clamps tend to corrode in the soil and fail over time, so this is
a location of concern and potential leakage. Westinghouse banned the use of
6/13/2024 hugger clamps on drain lines approximately 10 years ago . Round Products yes AOCl chemical unknown acid unknown new pipe installed soil
Pipe leak on PAD drain line. Roughly 20 yards from barrier wall, the vault box was found
to have a white substance on top of the soil. The soil was found to be dry, indicating a
previous leak of unknown origin, composition , and quantity. Drain line monitoring will unknown
explain the leak more in depth in the future. Monitoring the vault until the monitoring white
6/20/2023 is done will be done by MX/EHS. Ponds no NA chemical substance unknown unknown contained
63%water
24% Zirc-oxychloride
10% Ammonium chloride
ITT valve just south of the Zr raff feed pumps was leaking. Operator tightened up bolts zirconium 1-2% MIBK
6/27/2023 and stopped leak. Seperation ves SWMU 54 chemical raffinate <1% Ammonium Thiocvanate 5 ••lions sodium bicarb asphalt
This drain line break is in the same line that was reported on June 13th, 2023,
upstream of the previously reported line break. The leak was due to a failed
pipe. When the previous line break (June 13, 2023) was discovered, the line was
6/29/2023 blocked, and construction of this new drain line commenced . Round Products yes AOCl chemical unknown acid unknown new pipe installed soil
Quarter 3 2023
Did the spill
leave
Incident containment SWMU#(if Chemical Estimated Area
Date Description Department (building/pad) 7 applicable) or Oil name reported contents Quantity Corrective Action impacted
63% water
24% Zirc-oxychloride
10% Ammonium chloride
trying to fill col 6 with raff and could not get flow so increased out put of pump when zirconium 1-2% MIBK
7/2/2023 gasket blew out and sprayed out onto the asphalt. Seperation yes SWMU54 chemical raffinate <1% Ammonium Thiocyanate 15 gallons sodium bicarb asphalt
63% water
24% Zirc-oxychloride
10% Ammonium chloride
At 1600, the pad 2 pumps ruptured a gasket. Approximately 10 gallons of Zirc Raff was zirconium 1-2% MIBK Added sodium
7/22/2023 leaked outside of the secondary containment onto the asphalt. Seperation yes SWMU54 chemical raffinate <1% Ammonium Thiocyanate 10 gallons bicarbonate to spill . asphalt
Towards the end of shift on 7/22/23 the micro separator at the 3.4 hone had a clog in
it, due to this it ended up spilling approximately 13 gallons on to the floor. All oil was clean up and put in
7/23/2023 cleaned up and properly placed in waste barrels . Round Products no NA oil oil oil 13 gallons wa ste barrels contained
Approximately 18 gallons of hydraulic fluid was spilled onto the floor from the micro-clean up and put in
7/23/2023 separator in the 3.4 cell overflowing because of a plug. Round Products no NA oil hydraulic fluid hydraulic fluid 20 gallons waste barrels contained
Dampener failed on PSD tank pump, creating a release of process liquids outside of PSD sodium washed down and
7/28/2023 Pad . Chlorination yes SWMU54 chemical hypoch lorite sodium hypochlorite 12.5% 1.5 gallons drained to pcd line asphalt
Gauge on stand alone recic pump in area 15 broke off. This caused crystal feed to spill wa shed down into
7/28/2023 onto the floor, into trench and into the sump. This sump gravity feeds into the ENU's. Seperation no chemical crysta I feed Zirconium oxychloride 100% 50 gallons trench contained
The section of drain line that was compromised runs behind (east side) of the
Reductions process area . Some separated joints and cracks were found during SWMU37
8/28/2023 the camera inspection . Reduction yes SWMU57 chemical unknown acid unknown new pipe installed soil
closed va Ive,
ITT valve that is just downstream of feed pumps on Pad 2 was leaking out of gasket. sodium bicarbonate
8/5/2023 Contents of pipe was leaking out of secondary containment. Seperation yes SWMU54 chemical HCI Hydrochloric acid 37% 3 gallons to neutralize soil
The drain line is connected to the Chlorination department was found to be
compromised during the camera inspection. This section runs behind (east side)
of the Chlorination process area . The compromised areas in the line are breaks SWMU45
9/1/2023 and cracks. Chlorination yes AOC5 chemical unknown acid unknown new pipe installed soil
The section of the drain line that was compromised runs inside and under the
Separations building in area 7. The inspection found breaks and cracks in the
9/20/2023 drain line under the Separations building. Seperation yes SWMU54 chemical unknown acid unknown new pipe installed soil
Quarter 4 2023
Did the spill
leave
Incident containment SWMU#(if Chemical Estimated Area
Date Description Department (building/pad) ? applicable) or Oil name reported contents Quantity Corrective Action impacted
A roll off was moved over to the jazucci 10/12/23 or 10/13/23. The door was loose
which allowed liquid to go down into the jazucci. Potential liquid was rain water on went down drain at
10/16/2023 column packing which was previously tested to be a pH of 4. Sepe ration no NA chemical pH 4water pH 4 water lgallon jacuzzi contained
3gallons
63%water of
24% Zirc-oxychloride zirconium
Tubing on Zr stripper level leg connected to top washout and bottom washout was put 10% Ammonium chloride raffinate Area operators put
on level leg to assist instrument tech with verifying level of stripper. The tubing broke zirconium 1-2% MIBK and 0.5 down sodium
off one end before instrument tech could remove it and sprayed Zr raff onto east side raffinate <1% Ammonium Thiocyanate gallons of bicarbonate on spill
11/11/2023 of pad 5. 0 pH contents contacted some gravel and asphalt. Sepe ration yes SWMU54 chemical mibk Methyl isobutyl ketone 100% MIBK to neutralize . soil
clean up and put in
11/13/2023 Hydraulic leak on Backhoe Reduction yes SWMU 13 oil hydraulic fluid hydraulic fluid 5gallons waste barrels asphalt
Hose for pad 45 Pump out came out of PCD drain line releasing process water with a PH Sodium Bicarbonate
of 5 onto asphalt. An ARO pump was utilized to pump water from asphalt back into was placed on
drain line . Water did not leave asphalt containment. AU bolt was placed around hose process water to
11/22/2023 to hold it in place preventing it from coming out. Chlorination no NA chemical pH 5water pH 5 water l0gallons neutralize it.
sodium bicarb
neutralization,
material was
captured a pumped
out of the sump
feed Line form feed Makeup line broke and sprayed all over the barrels and the and put in the
12/17/2023 ground. It then ran down into the drain line on west side of the building. Seperation no NA chemical crysta I feed Zirconium oxychloride 100% 35 gallons jacuzzi sump
While moving a piece of material, the material made contact with a pressure gage on clean up and put in
12/22/2023 the Hem saw . This broke the gage off and hydraulic oil was released . Melting no NA oil hydraulic fluid hydraulic fluid 2 gallons waste barrels contained