IR 05000269/1996002
| ML15118A084 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Oconee  |
| Issue date: | 03/05/1996 |
| From: | Ebneter S NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION II) |
| To: | Hampton J DUKE POWER CO. |
| Shared Package | |
| ML15118A085 | List: |
| References | |
| EA-96-019, EA-96-19, NUDOCS 9603250184 | |
| Download: ML15118A084 (6) | |
Text
March 5, 1996
SUBJECT:
NOTICE OF VIOLATION AND PROPOSED IMPOSITION OF CIVIL PENALTY
$50,000 (NRC Inspection Report Nos. 50-269/96-02, 50-270/96-02 and 50-287/96-02)
Dear Mr. Hampton:
This refers to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) special inspection conducted on January 8-25, 1996 at the Oconee facility. The inspection included a review of the facts and circumstances related to a spent fuel assembly being inadvertently left withdrawn from the Unit 1 and 2 spent fuel pool rack during the period December 14, 1995 through January 8, 1996. The report documenting the inspection was sent to you by letter dated February 2, 1996. An open predecisional enforcement conference was conducted in the Region II office on February 21, 1996 to discuss the apparent violations, the root causes, and your corrective actions to preclude recurrence of the violations. This conference was open for public observation in accordance with the Commission's trial program for conducting conferences as discussed in the "General Statement of Policy and Procedure for NRC Enforcement Actions" (NRC Enforcement Policy), NUREG-1600. A list of conference attendees, NRC slides, and a copy of your presentation materials are enclosed.
Based on the information developed during the inspection and the information you provided during the conference, the NRC has determined that a violation of NRC requirements occurred. The violation is cited in the enclosed Notice of Violation and Proposed Imposition of Civil Penalty, and the circumstances surrounding it are described in detail in the subject inspection report. The violation involved the failure to provide adequate procedures to control fuel assembly movement in the spent fuel pool.
This failure is of safety significance in that it resulted in an irradiated fuel assembly being left attached to the fuel bridge mast and withdrawn from its storage location in the spent fuel pool for a period of over three weeks following fuel assembly inspection activities. Had an accident scenario involving the standby shutdown facility occurred, requiring water to be supplied from the spent fuel pool, the irradiated fuel assembly could have been uncovered. The root cause of the violation was your failure to develop appropriate corrective actions for previous violations in this area to ensure that procedures provided detailed instructions for all work evolutions involving fuel assembly movement, not just those involving in-core manipulations. At the conference, 9603250184 960305 PDR ADOCK 05000269 G
DPC-2 you stated that additional contributing factors included the failure of the operator involved to verify his actions were appropriate and complete, and the lack of clearly defined management expectations associated with this type of fuel handling process.
The NRC is concerned that the control of fuel assembly movement continues to be a problem at the Oconee site. On August 2, 1994, the NRC issued an enforcement action that included a Severity Level IV violation and associated
$15,000 civil penalty for the failure to implement procedural requirements related to the identification and independent verification of fuel assembly location during movement of fuel from the spent fuel pool to the Unit 1 reactor core. The action also included a second Severity Level IV violation for an inadequate procedure for the control of fuel assembly movement during the Unit 1 reactor core reload. This previous enforcement action reflected our concerns with regard to repetitive violations in this area and the failure to implement comprehensive corrective actions to ensure adequate management oversight of fuel handling activities. The current violation, which could have been prevented had broader actions been implemented to correct the underlying cause of previously identified violations, also represents a significant regulatory concern in that it is indicative of a lack of attention to detail and poor management guidance and oversight in the control and execution of fuel handling activities. Therefore, this violation has been categorized in accordance with the NRC Enforcement Policy, NUREG-1600, at Severity Level III.
In accordance with the Enforcement Policy, a base civil penalty in the amount of $50,000 is considered for a Severity Level III violation. Because your facilit has been the subject of escalated enforcement actions within the last 2 years, the NRC considered whether credit was warranted for Identification and-Corrective Action in accordance with the civil penalty assessment process in Section VI.B.2 of the Enforcement Policy. In this case, the NRC has concluded that it would not be appropriate to give credit for Identification because the violation was identified as a result of an event and there were prior opportunities to identify and correct the deficiencies in procedural guidance for the movement of fuel assemblies. Your corrective actions for this violation included: (1) initiation of a Significant Event Investigation Team (SEIT) to review the incident; (2) suspension of all fuel handling activities until the evaluation and recommendations from the SEIT were formalized and corrective actions implemented; (3) revisions to site procedures to ensure proper control of all fuel movement; (4) restructuring of the management responsible for fuel handling activities; (5) personnel training; (6) formalization of pre-job briefings; and (7) initiation of a comprehensive technical audit of fuel handling and spent fuel pool related activities. In view of these actions, the NRC concluded that credit is warranted for Corrective Action.
1 A Severity Level III violation with a proposed civil penalty of $75,000 was issued on March 16, 1994 (EA 93-311). A Severity Level IV violation with a proposed civil penalty of $15,000 was issued on August 2, 1994 (EA 94-104).
Therefore, to emphasize the importance of maintaining control over fuel movement activities and implementing effective corrective actions, I have been authorized, after consultation with the Office of Enforcement, to issue the enclosed Notice of Violation and Proposed Imposition of Civil Penalty (Notice)
in the base amount of $50,000 for the Severity Level III violation.
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 and the results of future inspections, the NRC will determine whether further NRC enforcement action is necessary to ensure compliance with NRC regulatory requirements.
In accordance with 10 CFR 2.790 of the NRC's "Rules of Practice," a copy of this letter, its enclosures, and your response will be placed in the NRC Public Document Room (PDR).
To the extent possible, your response should not include any personal privacy, proprietary, or safeguards information so that it can be placed in the PDR without redaction.
Should you have any questions concerning this letter, please contact us.
Sincerely, Stewart D. Ebneter Regional Administrator Docket Nos. 50-269, 50-270, and 50-287 License Nos. DPR-38, DPR-47, and DPR-55 Enclosures: 1.
Notice of Violation and Proposed Imposition of Civil Penalty 2.
List of Conference Attendees 3.
NRC Slides 4.
Licensee Presentation Material cc w/encls:
SMr. J. E. Burchfield Compliance Duke Power Company P. 0. Box 1439 Seneca, SC 29679 Mr. Paul R. Newton Duke Power Company 422 South Church Street Charlotte, NC 28242-0001 (cc w/encls cont'd on Page 4)
DPC-4 cc w/encls (cont'd):
Mr. Robert P. Gruber Executive Director Public Staff -
NCUC P. 0. Box 29520 Raleigh, NC 27626-0520 Mr. Robert B. Borsum Babcock and Wilcox Company Nuclear Power Generation Division 1700 Rockville Pike, Suite 525 Rockville, MD 20852 Mr. J. Michael McGarry, III, Esq.
Winston and Strawn 1400 L Street, NW Washington, D. C. 20005 Office of Intergovernmental Relations 116 West Jones Street Raleigh, NC 27603 Mr. Max Batavia, Chief Bureau of Radiological Health South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control 2600 Bull Street Columbia, SC 29201 County Supervisor of Oconee County Walhalla, SC 29621 Manager, LIS NUS Corporation 2650 McCormick Drive Clearwater, FL 34619-1035 Mr. G. A. Copp Licensing - ECO50 Duke Power Company P. 0. Box 1006 Charlotte, NC 28201-1006 Ms. Karen E. Long Assistant Attorney General N. C. Department of Justice P. 0. Box 629 Raleigh, NC 27602
DPC-5 Distribution w/encls:
PUBLIC EJulian, SECY BKeeling, CA JTaylor, EDO JMilhoan, DEDR SEbneter, RH LChandler, OGC JGoldberg, OGC JLieberman, OE Enforcement Coordinators RI, RIII, RIV EHayden, OPA EJordan, AEOD PRabideau, OC DDandois, OC GCaputo, 01 LNorton, GIG OE:EA File (B.
Summers, OE) (2)
RRosano, OE LWiens, NRR CEvans, RH BUryc, RII RCrlenjak, RH (IFS Update Required)
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KClark, RH RTrojanowski, RII GHallstrom, RII NRC Resident Inspector U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 78128 Rochester Highway Seneca, SC 29672 SEND TO PUBLIC DOCUMENT ROOM?
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