IR 05000255/1979002
| ML18043A543 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Palisades  |
| Issue date: | 01/29/1979 |
| From: | Chow E, Kohler J, Streeter J NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION III) |
| To: | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML18043A541 | List: |
| References | |
| 50-255-79-02, 50-255-79-2, NUDOCS 7903130330 | |
| Download: ML18043A543 (5) | |
Text
U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION OFFICE Of INSPECTIO:~ A:rn ENFORCEHE1~T
]{EC IO:~ 11 l Report No. 50-255/79-02 Docket No.:
50-255 License ::o.:
D"PR-20 Licensee:
Consumers Power Company 212 West Michigan Avenue Jackson, MI 49201 Facility Name:
Palisades Inspection At:
Covert, MI Inspection Conducted:
January 8-10, 1979 I
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Inspector(s):
J. E. Kohler
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E. T. Chow Approved By:
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J. F. Streeter, l\\uclear Support Inspection Summarv Chief Section 1
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Inspection on January 8-10, 1979, Report No. 50-255/79-02)
Areas Inspected:
Routine, announced inspection of plant operations after refueling (Cycle 3), nonroutine event followup, and Cycle 3 reactor physics testin The inspection involved 29-inspector hours onsite by two NRC inspector Results:
No items of noncompliance or deviations were identifie J
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- DETAILS Persons Contacted
- J. Lewis, Plant Superintendent
- K. Berry, Technical Superintendent
- H. Keiser, Operations Superintendent
- G. Pettijean, Technical Engineer
- J. Meineke, Reactor Engineer
- B. Kennedy, Assistant Engineer B. Schaner, Shift Supervisor
- W. Adams, General Engineer
- Denotes those present at the exit intervie.
Licensee Action on Previous Inspection Items (Closed) Noncompliances (Report 50-255/77-09, Paragraph 3):
Failure to follow established administrative controls regarding changes to procedures during Cycle 2 physics testin During the present inspection, the inspector found that reactor physics procedures were followed and that the completed procedures were not characterized by excessive changes or changes of inten The inspector is satisfied that corrective action regarding the items of noncompliance was implemented and has no further questions regarding these item.
Moderator Temperature Coefficient The inspector reviewed the results of the testing performed to determine the value of the moderator temperature coefficien The results were in approximate agreement with predicted values supplied by the fuel manufacturer (Exxon), and indicated that the coefficient was slightly negative and within the allowable Technical Specification limit The inspector has no further questions regarding this ite.
Core Power Distribution The inspector reviewed selected data generated by the incore compute This data is used by the licensee to determine if core power distribution following refueling is within Technical Specification limit Based on a one-month sample of core power distribution surveillance data, the review indicated that all thermal limits were within Technical Specification The inspector has no further questions regarding this item.
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- Quadrant Power Tilt Measurements The inspector determined that the licensee was basing the tilt measurements on the plant incore code that is run at least twice per wee Based on a review of several months worth of data for Cycle 3, no tilt in excess of Technical Specifications was identified during power operatio The licensee made certain commitments regarding tilt measurements during a meeting with the Nuclear Regulatory Corrnnission in June, 197 The inspector determined that these commitments were implemented for Cycle 2 and a substantial portion of these commitments were implemented into the licensee's tilt surveillance program for future cycle The inspector has no further questions regarding this ite.
Control Rod Worth The inspector reviewed the measurements performed to determine control rod wort Four groups of rods were measured using the boron dilution techniqu The licensee established an acceptance criteria of + 15% difference when compared with the Exxon control rod worth prediction Review of the results indicated that three of the four rod groups met the.+/-. 15% acceptance criterio Rod group 1, the inner rod group, showed a 19.7% difference lower than predicatio The licensee determined that sufficient shutdown margin existed taking into account the underprediction of group 1 rod The inspector has no further questions regarding this ite.
Shutdown Margin The licensee performed an N-1 shutdown margin measurement involving measurement of shutdown groups A and An acceptance criterion of.+/-. 10% was established based on the predicted difference of the N-1 sum of control rod worths when compared with the predicted sum provided by Exxo The licensee's measurements showed that the acceptance criterion was me The inspector has no further questions regarding this iteC.
Boron Worth The inspector reviewed the licensee's measurements performed to determine boron wort The measurements showed agreement with the Exxon prediction of boron worth.
The inspector has no further questions regarding this ite.
Reactivity Computer Checkouts The inspector reviewed the licensee's checkout of the reactivity compute The review involved the following:
a determination that constants which were specified in the Exxon startup package for Cycle 3 were input into the reactivity computer correctly; that the operation of the reactivity computer provided a predicted output when known constants were inpu The inspector was able to determine that the reactivity computer was functioning properly prior to Cycle 3 physics testin However, the documentation package was not controlled under the Reactor Engineering grou The inspector suggested at the management exit that the checkout of the reactivity computer be a complete Reactor Engineering test packag The licensee stated that this will be considere The inspector has no further questions regarding this ite.
Nonroutine Event Followup The inspector reviewed the licensee's corrective action regarding LER 78-08 and LER 78-20 which describe the possibility of exceeding thermal limits specified in Technical Specification The corrective,action taken in these two cases involved approved changes to the incore power distribution computer code and an approved Technical Specification chang In addition to the changes to the computer code and to Technical Specifications, the licensee plans to S\\,Titch from a 4-segment to a 5-segment fixed incore detector during refueling outage This change will result in a more accurate flux measurement at the top of the cor The inspector has no further questions regarding this ite.
Review of Plant Operations Following Refueling The inspectors reviewed the startup package completed by the Operations Department prior to Cycle 3 startu The packages were reviewed and showed instances of incomplete or chanv.ed checksheets which were not controlled according to administrative procedure The uncontrolled checksheets were also identified by a licensee audit dated December 19, 197 As a consequence of the licensee audit, the licensee stated that corrective
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actions are being taken in an effort to obtain complete checksheets as required by administrative procedure The corrective action involves retraining shift personne This item is considered an outstanding item and will be reviewed by the Project Inspector in a future inspectio.
1978 Palisades Containment Integrated Leak Rate Test Results (CILRT)
The inspector discussed with the licensee the final conclusion of the Palisades containment integrated leak rate test performed in March 197 Inspection Report 50-255/78-09 required the licensee to quantify the leakage for purge valve CV-1802 which was found to be leaking excessively during the CILR The licensee's response indicated that the leakage through CV-1802 prior to repairs exceeded the maximum allowable containment leak rate specified in Technical Specification Based on the licensee's qualification of the leakage rate through CV-1802, the 1978 Palisades CILRT failed to meet acceptance criteri Consequently, the 1978 CILRT is considered a failed test and the test schedule applicable to subsequent Type A tests will be approved by the NRC in accordance with Section II (a) of 10 CFR 50 Appendix Should the next periodic CILRT also fail to meet acceptance criteria, the licensee will be required by Appendix J to conduct Type A tests each refueling outage until two successive tests are successfu The inspector has no further questions regarding this ite.
Unresolved Items Unresolved items are matters about which more information is required in order to ascertain whether they are acceptable items, items of noncompliance, or deviation An unresolved item disclosed during the inspection is discussed in Paragraph 1.
Exit Interview The inspectors met with licensee representatives (denoted in Paragraph 1) at the conclusion of the inspection on January 10, 197 The inspectors summarized the purpose, scope, and findings of the inspection.
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