IR 05000220/1989008
| ML17056A768 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Nine Mile Point  |
| Issue date: | 04/10/1990 |
| From: | Kane W NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION I) |
| To: | Burkhardt L NIAGARA MOHAWK POWER CORP. |
| Shared Package | |
| ML17056A769 | List: |
| References | |
| EA-90-025, EA-90-25, NUDOCS 9004200663 | |
| Download: ML17056A768 (6) | |
Text
Docket No.:
50-220 License No.:
90-025 Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation ATTN:
Mr. Lawrence Burkhardt, III Executive Vice President Nuclear 301 Plainfield Road Syracuse, New York 13212 Subject:
Notice of Violation (NRC Region I Combined Inspection Report Nos.
50-220/89-08 and 50-410/89-08)
Gentlemen:
This refers to the NRC inspection conducted between September 7,
1989 and October 18, 1989 at Nine Mile Point Units
and 2 which identified apparent deficiencies with the control of and modification to the Unit 1 reactor build-ing emergency ventilation system.
The inspection report was sent to you on February 6,
1990, and an enforcement conference was held with you and members of your staff on March 9, 1990 to discuss these apparent violations and their safety significance.
At the enforcement conference, your staff addressed each of the apparent violations outlined in the inspection report discussing the safety significance, corrective actions, root causes and mitigating factors, as applicable.
Information provided to the NRC staff concerning the impact of the
KW heaters co the operability of the emergency ventilation system, in a design basis accident (DBA) scenario, indicated that the system would still be capable of providing its safety function..
Specifically, the
KW heaters minimize charcoal filter bed moisture intrusion while the emergency ventilation trains remain in standby.
The system
KW heater provides the necessary heat input to ensure the entrained air and steam mixture, under DBA conditions, does not degrade the charcoal filter performance.
Consequently, the safety significance of the
KW heater thermostats being uncalibrated and lower than specified was minimal.
However, until identified by the inspector, there had been no periodic calibration of the thermostats to ensure the heaters would support emergency ventilation system performance as described in the FSAR.
Accordingly, we concluded that this lack of calibration represented a Severity Level IV violation.
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Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation
'PR1 g )ggg Also, at the conference Niagara Mohawk agreed that the implementation of the Unit 1 system walkdown procedure (Nl-88-6.6)
was ineffective and inconsistent.
One of the specific examples of this was the failure of the station staff to identify that the emergency ventilation thermostat units were not calibrated.
We concluded that the ineffective walkdown procedure implementation represented a Severity Level IV violation.
The NRC staff was particularly troubled by the fact that procedures were still not being properly implemented, in that it demonstrated a clear lack of pro-gress by Niagara Mohawk in pursuing the proclaimed new and higher standards of performance established by the Restart Action Plan.
This lack of effectiveness of the system walkdown program and the delay in resolving the emergency venti-lation system operability concerns discussed at the enforcement conference contradicts the objectives established by you and your staff in the Restart Action Plan.
The violations, which are described in the enclosed Notice, are classified at Severity Level IV, in accordance with the "General Statement of Policy for NRC Enforcement Actions,"
CFR Part 2,
Appendix C
( 1989)
~
You are required to respond to this letter.
In your response, I request that you discuss the dif-ficulties and delays in resolving the design basis of the emergency ventilation system.
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 and its enclosure will be placed in the NRC Public Document Room.
We appreciate your cooperation in this matter.
Sincerely, OR(GWAL SlggEP gy.
William F.
Kane, Director Division of Reactor Projects Encl osur e:
Appendi x A, Notice of Violation
"OFFICIAL RECORD COPY MEYER 633 4/4/90 0002.0.0 04/06/90
Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation APR1O
@AU cc w/encl:
C. Mangan, Senior Vice President W. Hansen, Manager Corporate Quality Assurance M. Colomb, Unit 2 Superintendent, Operations C.
Beckham, Manager, Nuclear Quality Assurance Operations R. Abbott, Station Superintendent, Unit 2 J. Perry, Vice President, Quality Assurance K. Dahlberg, Station Superintendent, Unit I R. Randall, Unit I Superintendent, Operations C. Terry, Vice President Nuclear Engineering and Licensing J. Willis, General Superintendent J.
Warden, New York Consumer Protection Branch T. Conner, Jr.,
Esquire G. Wilson, Senior Attorney J. Keib, Esquire Director, Power Division, Department of Public Services, State of New York State of New York, Department of Law Public Document Room (PDR)
Local Public Document Room ( LPDR)
Nuclear Safety Information Center (NSIC)
NRC Resident Inspector State of New York bcc w/encl:
Region I Docket Room (with concurrences)
Management Assistant, DRMA (w/o encls)
W. Kane, DRP J. Wiggins, DRP J. Linville, DRP G. Meyer, DRP D. Limroth, DRP D. Vito, DRP D. Holody, EO M. Taylor, SLO J.
Dyer, EDO J.
Lieberman, OE R. Capra, NRR R. Martin, NRR RI: DRP WCook/mjd 4/$ /90 RI: DRP R: DRP Meyer JLinvi 1 le e
in 4/4 /90 4/] /90 4/ "1 l90 4/9 l90 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY MEYER 633 4/4/90 - 0003.0.0 04/04/90