The inspectors identified an Unresolved Item (
URI) associated with troubleshooting activities on
inoperable vacuum breakers. On May 14, 2009, and August 14, 2009, Entergy declared both the V1619- 5E and V16-19-5F torus-to-drywell vacuum breakers
inoperable, respectively. The vacuum breakers were declared
inoperable when it was identified that their breakaway force exceeded the maximum allowable TS value of 0.5 psid. Entergy entered
TS 3.7.A.6.b, which stated that up to two out of ten torus-to-drywell vacuum breakers may be determined to be
inoperable provided that they are secured, or known to be, in the closed position. On September 29,2009, and October 8,2009, Entergy conducted troubleshooting activities on both
inoperable vacuum breakers. The troubleshooting activities involved opening and closing the
inoperable vacuum breakers to obtain breakaway force data and to possibly repair the vacuum breakers. The inspectors noted
TS 3.7.A.6 did not have a condition that allowed the opening of an
inoperable vacuum breaker once it is secured in the closed position in accordance with the requirements of
TS 3.7.A.6.b. Furthermore,
TS 3.7.A.8 stated that if
TS 3.7.A.6 cannot be met, an orderly shutdown shall be initiated immediately, and the reactor shall be in a cold shutdown within
24 hours2.777778e-4 days <br />0.00667 hours <br />3.968254e-5 weeks <br />9.132e-6 months <br />. The inspectors noted that once the
inoperable vacuum breakers are secured in the closed position,
TS 3.7.A.6 can be met, and that opening the
inoperable vacuum breakers is a potential violation of
TS 3.7.A.6.b. Vacuum breakers can be opened for surveillance testing, however, there are no TS requirements to conduct surveillances on
inoperable equipment. This issue remains unresolved pending a review by the NRC Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation to determine if this issue constitutes a violation of Entergy
Vermont Yankee TS. (
URI 05000271/2009005-02, Troubleshooting Activities on
Inoperable Vacuum Breakers
