IR 05000259/2015004
| ML16043A248 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Browns Ferry  |
| Issue date: | 02/12/2016 |
| From: | Alan Blamey Reactor Projects Region 2 Branch 6 |
| To: | James Shea Tennessee Valley Authority |
| References | |
| EA-16-14 IR 2015004 | |
| Download: ML16043A248 (39) | |
Text
February 12, 2016
SUBJECT:
BROWNS FERRY NUCLEAR PLANT - NRC INTEGRATED INSPECTION REPORT 05000259/2015004, 05000260/2015004, AND 05000296/2015004; AND APPARENT VIOLATIONS
Dear Mr. Shea:
On December 31, 2015, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) completed an inspection at your Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Units 1, 2, and 3. On January 21, 2016, the NRC inspectors discussed the results of this inspection with Mr. L. Hughes and other members of your staff. Inspectors documented the results of this inspection in the enclosed inspection report.
The enclosed inspection report discusses two findings for which the NRC has not yet reached a preliminary significance determination. As described in Section 4OA3.3 of the enclosed report, two findings related to the failure of the Unit 2 High Pressure Coolant Injection (HPCI) turbine steam admission valve 2-FCV-73-16 packing. The first finding was identified for Tennessee Valley Authoritys (TVA) failure to maintain the design of 2-FCV-73-16 packing assembly. The failure to correctly install the packing gland follower and the use of an incorrect packing type resulted in the development of a progressively degrading high pressure steam leak through the packing gland of 2-FCV-73-16. A second finding was identified for TVAs failure to characterize the steam leak in accordance with procedure NPG-SPP-06.8, Leak Reduction Program, which required it to have been characterized as the highest priority, a Category 1, Severity level 5 leak. This classification would have required an expedited repair of the steam leak.
On September 16, 2015, the packing catastrophically failed requiring isolation of the HPCI steam supply and rendering the system inoperable. This condition initially presented an immediate safety concern based on the size and effects of the resulting steam leak. Prompt operator action to isolate the leak resolved the immediate safety concern. The system has been subsequently returned to service and the circumstances that led to the valve packing degradation no longer exist.
The NRC will inform you in a separate correspondence when the preliminary significance has been determined. We intend to complete and issue our final safety significance determination within 90 days from the date of this letter. The NRCs significance determination process (SDP)
is designed to encourage an open dialogue between your staff and the NRC; however, the
J. dialogue should not affect the timeliness of our final determination. Because the NRC has not made a final determination in this matter, no notice of violation is being issued for these inspection findings at this time.
Additionally, two self-revealing findings of very low safety significance (Green) were identified during this inspection. Each of these findings was determined to involve a violation of NRC requirements. The NRC is treating these violations as non-cited violations (NCVs) consistent with Section 2.3.2.a of the Enforcement Policy.
If you contest the violation or significance of the NCVs, you should provide a response within 30 days of the date of this inspection report, with the basis for your denial, to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ATTN: Document Control Desk, Washington, D.C. 20555-0001; with copies to the Regional Administrator, Region II; the Director, Office of Enforcement, U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555-0001; and the NRC Resident Inspector at the Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant.
If you disagree with a cross-cutting aspect assignment in this report, you should provide a response within 30 days of the date of this inspection report, with the basis for your disagreement, to the Regional Administrator, Region II, and the NRC Resident Inspector at the Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant.
In accordance with Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations 2.390, Public Inspections, Exemptions, Requests for Withholding, of the NRC's "Rules of Practice," a copy of this letter, its enclosure, and your response (if any) will be available electronically for public inspection in the NRCs Public Document Room or from the Publicly Available Records (PARS) component of NRCs Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible from the NRC Website at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html (the Public Electronic Reading Room).
Sincerely,
/RA/
Alan Blamey, Chief Reactor Projects Branch 6 Division of Reactor Projects
Docket Nos.: 50-259, 50-260, 50-296 License Nos.: DPR-33, DPR-52, DPR-68
Enclosure:
NRC IR 05000259/2015004, 05000260/2015004 and 05000296/2015004
REGION II==
Docket Nos.:
50-259, 50-260, 50-296
License Nos.:
Report No.:
05000259/2015004, 05000260/2015004, 05000296/2015004
Licensee:
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)
Facility:
Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Units 1, 2, and 3
Location:
Corner of Shaw and Nuclear Plant Road
Athens, AL 35611
Dates:
October 1, 2015, through December 31, 2015
Inspectors:
D. Dumbacher, Senior Resident Inspector T. Stephen, Resident Inspector A. Ruh, Resident Inspector S. Roberts, Project Engineer R. Baldwin, Senior Operations Engineer
Approved by:
Alan Blamey, Chief
Reactor Projects Branch 6
Division of Reactor Projects
Table of Contents
SUMMARY
REPORT DETAILS
REACTOR SAFETY
1R04 Equipment Alignment 1R05 Fire Protection 1R06 Flood Protection Measures
1R11 Licensed Operator Requalification and Performance 1R12 Maintenance Effectiveness
==1R13 Maintenance Risk Assessments and Emergent
Work Control 1R15 Operability Evaluations==
1R19 Post Maintenance Testing 1R20 Refueling and Outage Activities 1R22 Surveillance Testing
4OA1 Performance Indicator (PI) Verification
4OA2 Problem Identification and Resolution
4OA3 Event Follow-up
4OA5 Other Activities
4OA6 Meetings, including Exit
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
KEY POINTS OF CONTACT
Licensee
- S. Bono, Site Vice President
- L. Hughes, General Plant Manager
- P. Summers, Director of Safety and Licensing
- J. Paul, Nuclear Site Licensing Manager
- M. McAndrew, Manager of Operations
- D. Campbell, Superintendent of Operations
- L. Slizewski, Ops Shift Manager
- M. Kirschenheiter, Assistant Director for Site Engineering
- M. Oliver, Licensing Engineer
- E. Bates, Licensing Engineer
- M. Acker, Licensing Engineer
- R. Guthrie, System Engineer
- M. Lawson, Radiation Protection Manager
- J. Smith, System Engineer
- P. Campbell, System Engineer
- J. Kulisek, EP Manager
- K. Skinner, System Engineer
- L. Holland, System Engineer
- Q. Leonard, System Engineering Manager
- D. Rinne, Program Engineer
- D. Drummonds, Program Engineer
LIST OF ITEMS
OPENED, CLOSED AND DISCUSSED
Opened
- 05000259/260/296/2015004-01 URI
High Pressure Fire Protection System
Piping Failure Following Pump Start
(Section 1R04)
- 05000259/260/296/2015004-03 URI
Corrective Actions For 2012 Flooding Walkdowns (Section 4OA2)0500260/2015004-05 AV Failure to Properly Install the Unit 2 HPCI Turbine Steam Admission Valve Packing (Section 4OA3.3)
- 05000260/2015004-06 AV Failure to Identify Significant Steam Leak on the Unit 2 HPCI Turbine Steam Admission Valve. (Section 4OA3.3)
Opened and Closed
- 05000259/260/296/2015004-02 NCV
Failure to Properly Manage Risk During
Planned Maintenance Activities
(Section 1R13)
Failure of 2A RHR Pump to Start from the
Control Room due to a Loose Fastener
(Section 4OA3.2)
Closed
- 05000259/2015-003-00
LER
Loss of Cooling to the Unit 1 and Unit 2 Shutdown Board Rooms Due to Fouled Chiller Coils (Section 4OA3.1)
- 05000260/2015-001-00
LER
2A RHR Pump Start Failure (Section 4OA3.2)
- 05000260/2015-002-00
LER HPCI Turbine Steam Supply Valve Packing Failure (Section 4OA3.3)