SALEM NRC issues warning about the quality of Hunt Valve products

An executive said the company has fixed quality assurance problems.
SALEM -- Federal agencies are concerned about the reliability of valves made by Hunt Valve for Navy ships and submarines and for containers that transport nuclear material.
This month, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission told users of valves made by the Salem company to inspect certain valves and replace them within a year if necessary. The valves may be defective, the commission said in a news release.
What they do
The valves are used to seal containers that transport nuclear material. The containers hold solid uranium hexafluoride, a chemical compound used to make nuclear fuel.
The NRC said there is no immediate safety concern and there haven't been any leaks. The 1-inch valves are important, however, to prevent hazardous materials from leaking out of the container or water from entering the container, the agency said.
Bloomberg News Service reported that the material in the containers is less hazardous than other nuclear material because it is a solid, making it less likely to leak.
The NRC said that users of the valves should not rely on information from Hunt because of suspected deficiencies in its quality assurance program.
The agency is having a public meeting Tuesday in Rockville, Md., regarding the valves.
Other safety concerns
Last October, the NRC notified companies of two safety concerns relating to the Hunt valves -- cracked packing nuts and its quality assurance program.
Last March, the NRC announced that several Hunt valves failed testing at pressures required by NRC regulations but well above pressures expected during normal operating conditions.
Hunt officials couldn't be reached for comment Friday, but Gerald Bogner, Hunt chairman, told Bloomberg that Navy auditors and inspectors were at the Hunt plant this week looking into the quality assurance program.
Bogner said that "limitations" in the company's quality assurance program were corrected after a 2001 raid of the Salem plant by federal agents. He said the company has increased to 21 from six the number of employees dedicated to quality control.
A subpoena issued in 2001 indicated employees were asked about testing done at the plant by unqualified personnel and asked to give information about falsification of records. Hunt makes valves for ships and submarines as well as industry.
On alert
Bloomberg reported that the Navy has alerted the Coast Guard, Military Sealift Command, Army, Air Force and Marines of concerns with Hunt valves.
The company's certification of "thousands of valves provided for installation" was "produced by a quality assurance program which is highly suspect," according to a Aug. 12 Navy report on the Virginia-class submarines.
Bloomberg said that the report declared that the Virginia-class sub, which is to be delivered in June, will not "commence sea trials until all Hunt Valve issues associated with the ship are resolved."