05000305/FIN-2009002-06
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Finding | |
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| Title | Seismic Monitoring System Repeatedly Fails Surveillance |
| Description | An unresolved item was identified by the inspectors for the inability of the seismic monitoring system to be maintained operable and support entry into the emergency plan. Description: While performing a plant status review of the relay room, the inspectors noticed that the seismic monitoring system was tagged as needing repair on multiple components, including the recording chart. Because this instrument was a TS-required instrument, it was used to determine reporting requirements for declaration of an unusual event, and its chart may be a necessary backup to assess reporting elements, the inspectors elected to review the next surveillance performed on the system. The licensee performed SP-87-133, Seismic Monitoring System Calibration and Functional Test, Revision I, for seismic monitoring on January 8, through February 3, 2009. During the performance of the related surveillance, the two channels for horizontal motion had alarm triggers which were found to be non-conservatively out-of-specification. The inspectors reviewed the related data and determined that the instrument started performing erratically in 2005; with all of the trigger cards were found out-of-specification during the 2005 and 2007 surveillance tests. The inspectors assessed the licensees instrumentation calibration practices and found that the licensee did write a CR when instrumentation was found out of specification; did not re-zero instruments to a reference value unless the instrument was found out of specification; did not consider replacing an instrument until the instrument experienced three consecutive failures; and did not trend instrument set-point data to assess the predictability of instrument failures. The inspectors concluded that the seismic monitor failure was predictable and that the lack of a program to monitor instrument performance contributed to the failure. Because the instrument failure was predictable, the inspectors concluded that the ability of the licensee to use the seismic monitor as a reliable method to assess and enter the emergency plan was impaired, and that for some period of time during the calibration interval, the related instruments were inoperable. Additionally, the surveillance procedure indicates reliance on the Point Beach Generating Station seismic monitors when the Kewaunee instruments were out-of-service. The inspectors did not review the Point Beach instrument outages to assess if there may have been periods when the Kewaunee seismic monitor were inoperable coincident with the Point Beach instrument. The fact that the alarm cards for both operating and design basis earthquakes of the instrument were found out-of-specification in the non-conservative direction, during the last three surveillance tests, called into question the stations ability to ensure that the reporting requirements would be able to be met nor the applicable response plant equipment procedures would be entered in the event of an earthquake. Because this issue is similar to the issue identified in September 2008 (AV 2008503-01)where radiation instrumentation was found to be incapable of supporting entry into the emergency plan, the inspectors are considering this as an unresolved item pending review during the inspection of the radiation instruments in June 2009(URI 05000305/2009002-06) |
| Site: | Kewaunee  |
|---|---|
| Report | IR 05000305/2009002 Section 1R22 |
| Date counted | Mar 31, 2009 (2009Q1) |
| Type: | URI: |
| cornerstone | Mitigating Systems |
| Identified by: | NRC identified |
| Inspection Procedure: | IP 71111.22 |
| Inspectors (proximate) | M Munir J Cassidy T Bilik M Kunowski S Burton K Barclayj Cassidym Kunowski S Burton K Barclay D Lawver |
| INPO aspect | |
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Finding - Kewaunee - IR 05000305/2009002 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Finding List (Kewaunee) @ 2009Q1
Self-Identified List (Kewaunee)
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