Report to Congress on Abnormal Occurrences - Fiscal Year 2007 (NUREG-0090, Volume 30)

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Publication Information

Manuscript Completed: April 2008
Date Published: April 2008

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research
Washington, DC 20555-0001

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Abstract

Section 208 of the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-438) defines an "abnormal occurrence" (AO) as an unscheduled incident or event that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) determines to be significant from the standpoint of public health or safety. The Federal Reports Elimination and Sunset Act of 1995 (Public Law 104-66) requires that the NRC report AOs to Congress annually.

This report describes the five events that the NRC identified as AOs during Fiscal Year (FY) 2007, based on the criteria defined in Appendix A to this report. All five of those events occurred at NRC-licensed medical institutions. The first event involved radiation exposure to an embryo/fetus. The other four NRC-licensee events were medical events, as defined in Title 10, Part 35, of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR Part 35).

In addition, this report describes six events that Agreement States identified as AOs during FY 2007, based on the criteria in Appendix A to this report. Agreement States are those States that have entered into formal agreements with the NRC, pursuant to Section 274 of the Atomic Energy Act (AEA), to regulate certain quantities of AEA material at facilities located within their borders. Currently, there are 34 Agreement States. All six of the events that were reported by Agreement States occurred at medical institutions and were medical events, as defined in 10 CFR Part 35.

Appendix A to this report presents the NRC's criteria for selecting AOs, as well as the guidelines for selecting "Other Events of Interest." Appendix B, "Updates of Previously Reported Abnormal Occurrences," provides an update regarding an event that was reported in the FY 2006 Report to Congress on Abnormal Occurrences, which involved a spill of high-enriched uranium at a fuel fabrication facility. Appendix C, "Other Events of Interest," presents two events of interest identified during FY 2007 at two U.S. commercial nuclear power plants. Appendix D, "Glossary," contains a glossary of terms used throughout this report. Appendix E, "Conversion Table," presents commonly used conversions when calculating doses.