IR 05000206/1986007
| ML20149E373 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | San Onofre  |
| Issue date: | 09/17/1986 |
| From: | Martin J NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION V) |
| To: | Fogarty D SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EDISON CO. |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20149E307 | List: |
| References | |
| FOIA-97-177 50-206-86-07, 50-206-86-7, EA-86-097, EA-86-97, NUDOCS 9707180179 | |
| Download: ML20149E373 (3) | |
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NUCLEAR RE20LATCRY C3MMISSION C
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1450 MARIA LANE, SUITE 210 WALNUT CREEK. CALIFORNIA e4908
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Docket No. 50-206 License No. OPR-13 L
EA 86-97 a
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Southern California Edison Company.
ATTN:
Mr. D. J. Fogarty Executive Vice President P. O. Box 800-2: -
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Rosemead, California 91770
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SUBJECT:
NOTICE OF VIOLATION AND PROPOSED IMPOSITION OF CIVIL-PENAt. TIES
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L(NRC INSPECTION REPORT.NO. 50-206/86-07)
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' Gentlemen:
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This refers'to'a special inspection conducted during the period of February 12 l
- April 25, 1986 at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating' Station, Unit.1 of acti-vities authorized by NRC License DPR-13.
The report of this. inspection
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(50-206/86-07) was sent to you by letter dated May 16, 1986.
This special
inspection was conducted as foilowup to the inspection performed in November ~
and December 1985, by an NRC Ixident Investigation Team (IIT) of the loss of.
power and water hammer event which occurred at San Onofre 1 on November 21, 1985.
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The report of this inspection was published in January 1986 as NUREG-1J90..
' Based on the results of these special' inspections, it appears that certain of
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your-licensed activities were not conducted in full compliance with NRC require-
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ments. 'An Enforcement Conference was held with you and members of your staff
at the San Onofre site.on May 22, 1986.
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Item A in the enclosed Notice of Violation and Proposed' Imposition of Civil Penalties (Notice) involves the failure of five feedwater check valves to close i
as designed' rendering the auxiliary feedwater flow path inoperable.
With the
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check valves not fully closed, the low pressure portion of the feedwater system on the suction side of the pumps:was overpressurized when the electrical power was-lost to the motors driving the pumps.
The overpressure condition ruptured
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the housing of a' low pressure evaporator in the system.
This in turn-permitted
the coolant flow from the auxiliary feedwater pumps to be diverted from the-
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steam generators and.a portion of the.feedwater lines to empty.
Closure of
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selected isolation valves in'accordance with system emergency procedures re-stored auxiliary feedwater flow to the steam generators.
However the resto-ration of the flow resulted in a water hammer event in.the "B" feedwater line
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t which caused significant line movement,and the failure of four pipe supports.
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CERTIFIED MAIL RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED e
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9707180179 970700!
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.PDR-FOIA
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FOWLER 97-177 PDR
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Southern California Edison Company-2-
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Item B in the enclosed Notice involves the failure of your test program to assure the continued operability of check valves in the feedwater system.
Your failure to adequately test and maintain operability of the check valves within the feedwater system resulted in conditions which contributed to the water hammer event of November 21, 1985.
Item C in the enclosed Notice involves the failure to thoroughly analyze, evaluate, and identify the source of noise in the "B" feedwater line during plant operations in June 1985.
Both the Onsite Review Committee and the Nuclear Safety Group reviewed and evaluated the results of radiographic examination of a block valve in the line and a noise analysis of the feedwater line.
The noise analysis identified that the noise could be from either a failed block valve or a failed check valve.
Neither the engineering group nor the safety committees addressed the safety consequences of multiple check valve failures in the feedwater lines.
The valves were scheduled to be disassembled and examined during the next plant outage; however the valves were not inspected during the brief outages in August and September 1985 even though the outages were of sufficient duration to permit inspection of the valves
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suspected of being defective.
To emphasize the importance which the NRC attaches to maintaining operability of safety-related systems, effective testing programs, and the proper correc-tion of identified deficiencies, I have been authorized, after consultation with the Director, Office of Inspection and Enforcement, to issue the enclosed Notice of Violation and Proposed Imposition of Civil Penalties in the amount of One Hundred Eighty Thousand Dollars (5180,000) for the violations s.et forth in the enclosed Notice.
Violation A has been categorized as a Severity Level II violation oder the " General Statement of Policy and Procedure
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for NRC Enforcement Actions," 10 CFR Part 2, Appendix C (1986) (Enforcement Policy), based on the inability of the auxiliary feedwater system to perform its intended safety function of providing auxiliary fee.dwater to the steam generators until operator actions were taken and be:ause it is of very
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significant regulatory concern.
Violations B and'C have been categorized as Severity Level III violations. The base civil penalties for Severity Level II and III violations are 580,000 and 550,000, respectively.
The escalation and mitigation factors of the Enforcement Policy were considered and no mitigation J
or escalation has been deemed appropriate.
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You are required to respond to this letter and should follow the instructions specified in the enclosed Notice when preparing your response.
In your response, you should document the specific actions taken and any additional actions you plan to prevent recurrence.
After reviewing your response to this Notice, including your proposed corrective actions, the NRC will determine whether further NRC enforcement action is necessary to ensure compliance with NRC regulatory requirements.
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~f Southern California Edison Company-3-i In accordance with Section 2.790 of the NRC's " Rules of Practice," Part 2, Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, a copy of this letter, its enclosure, and your response will be placed in the NRC Publ.ic Document Room.
The responses directed by this letter and the enclosed Notice are not subject to the clearance procedures of the Office of Management and Budget as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980, PL 96-511.
Sincerely,
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fm RegionalAdminiktor Enclosure:
1. Notice of Violation and Proposed Imposition of Civil Penalties cc w/ enclosure:
K. P. Baskin, SCE H. B. Ray, SCE (San Clemente)
H. E. Morgan, SCE (San Clemente)
S. B. Allman, SDG&E
State of California
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