IR 05000272/1998099
| ML18106A868 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Salem  |
| Issue date: | 09/15/1998 |
| From: | NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION I) |
| To: | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML18106A867 | List: |
| References | |
| 50-272-98-99, 50-311-98-99, NUDOCS 9809210147 | |
| Download: ML18106A868 (6) | |
Text
Enclosure 1 SYSTEMATIC ASSESSMENT OF LICENSEE PERFORMANCE SALEM GENERATING STATION Report No. 50-272/98-99AND 50-311 /98-99 BACKGROUND The SALP Board convened on August 13, 1998, to assess the nuclear safety performance of the Salem Generating Station for the period from March 1, 1997, through August 1, 1998. The Board was conducted pursuant to NRC Management Directive (MD)
8.6, "Systematic Assessment of Licensee Performance (SALP)." (see NRC Administrative Letter 93-20). The Board members were; Charles W. Hehl, (Board Chairman) Director, Division of Reactor Projects, Region I (RI); James T. Wiggins, Director, Division of Reactor Safety, RI and Robert A. Capra, Director, Project Directorate 1-2, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. The Board developed this assessment for the approval of the Region I Administrato The performance ratings and the functional areas used below are described in NRC MD I PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS - OPERATIONS Performance in operations improved significantly over the period. A conservative approach was consistently taken to plant operations. Control room activities were strong as exhibited by effective command and control, well conducted shift turnovers and special operations briefings. Operators performed well during the return of the units to normal operation; restart of the units posed significant challenges owing to the numerous plant configuration changes and large scope of testing associated with plant modifications made during the outage. Although human performance has improved, some challenges arose as a result of occasional lapses in attention to detail and improper equipment status contro Problem identification and self assessment activities of both the line and oversight organization were strong. Operator initial and requalification training programs were soun A newly-assembled management team set high standards for performance at the site, including the institution of a more conservative decision-making philosophy and a stronger appreciation for maintaining equipment available. This more conservative approach to plant operations has been demonstrated by effective command and control, and well-conducted shift turnovers and special operations briefings. Examples of the conservative approach to operations were evident in the decisions to remove Unit 2 from service on three separate occasions, twice to replace leaking pressurizer safety valves and once to perform maintenance on service water strainers. Additionally, management provided the resources necessary to improve equipment performance resulting in fewer challenges to plant operators. Also, the control room areas were completely redesigned to improve on-shift communications, teamwork, and supervisory oversigh *9ao9li10147 * 980915 PDR ADOCK 05000272 G
Control room operators performed well during the restart and power operations of both units, and in response to few unexpected transients. Operator performance was nearly error-free during the restart of both units and the three short-duration Unit 2 shutdown Operators demonstrated appropriate oversight of shutdown cooling system reliability when the units were in cold shutdow While operations performance was normally strong, a number of personnel errors and equipment status control problems occurred. These problems were of relatively minor significance individually and collectively given the enormous scope of operational activity but they indicate continued management attention to human performance issues is important. In one instance, Unit 1 operators failed to provide sufficient monitoring of steam generator water level during hot shutdown operation, resulting in an automatic start of the auxiliary feed water pumps. Operators also exhibited occasional lapses in the proper
. tracking of technical specification action statement entries. Inadequate control of a steam generator level instrument vent valve resulted in containment integrity not being established during subsequent conduct of core alterations and cold.shutdown operatio Quality Assurance and other independent oversight activities made significant contributions to improved operations performance. The effectiveness of the problem identification and resolution process as implemented by station line organization improved and is normally strong. This was accomplished by lowering the threshold for identification of issues and increasing expectations regarding root cause analysis. Self-assessments conducted by various departments were good, and Quality Assurance audits and assessments were thorough and probing. The QA department established station "focus areas" which provided more clearly defined assessment feedback to line management regarding areas of observed performance weakness. The on-site Station Operations Review Committee and off-site Nuclear Review Board both provided an effective element of critical assessment and oversight of plant activities. Other re.view groups, including the Management Review Committee and the Testing Review Board, helped to enhance line management's understanding of emergent issues, and personnel and equipment performance concerns before and during the restart efforts of both Salem unit The operations area is rated a Category Il PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS - MAINTENANCE Maintenance performance improved throughout the assessment period. The material condition of the facility clearly improved as demonstrated by good equipment performance since restart of the unit In general, outage work was properly planned, scheduled, and implemented. Nonetheless, some problems were noted in transitioning from an outage.
environment to an operating environment. Human performance problems involving equipment verification and adherence to procedures continued to occur. The maintenance backlog is high, largely due to aggressive discovery efforts during the outage, but site management has demonstra~ed an understanding of the individual and cumulative effects of the backlog and has effectively managed the prioritization of backlogged items. Efforts have been made to improve the work control process. The use of risk insights and limiting conditions for operation (LCO) maintenance plans demonstrated a better understanding of
the impact of maintenance on plant safety and reliability. But the backlog reduction has been impacted by slow progress in implementing the improved work control proces Management oversight of maintenance activities was generally effective, and promoted teamwork and a good safety focus. A new work week management process was implemented during the restart of the Salem units in an effort to improve work planning, efficiency, and safety. A major effort to improve the technical specification surveillance program was completed, resulting in the identification and resolution of a number of testing discrepancies. In most cases, maintenance department self-assessments and independent oversight activities were effective in identifying and resolving problems. Implementation of maintenance rule requirements was acceptabl The material condition of both facilities was enhanced during the dual unit extended outages, largely because of the significant number of modifications that were installed:
The effectiveness of these efforts was demonstrated by the improved equipment performance during subsequent power operation of the units. However, some equipment failures and degraded conditions challenged the maintenance organization. Examples included the Unit 2 pressurizer safety valve leakage, the 2A emergency diesel generator turbocharger failure, and service water system biological fouling. Technicians generally performed well in resolving emergent concern In contrast to th'e aforementioned improvements in the conduct of maintenance activities, some examples of inadequate work supervision and lapses in attention to detail led to equipment challenges. During a surveillance test, technicians* failed to restore an auxiliary feed water pump discharge pressure transmitter following an instrument calibration which resulted in an inoperable pump for eighteen days. A failed independent verification led to improper operation of the 2A emergency diesel with incorrect cylinder petcock and fuel rack positions following maintenance. Poorly developed and used maintenance procedures led to improper control and conduct of a single cell charging activity on a vital batter Corrective and preventive maintenance backlogs remained high throughout the period, but the site management team demonstrated an understanding of the individual and cumulative effects, and developed a reasonable approach to managing the prioritization and resolution of the backlogged items. The on-line work management and integrated scheduling processes provided appropriate controls for minimizing plant risk, but were not always effective during the execution of planned work. For example, the lack of coordination of scheduled outages for the Unit 2 emergency diesels resulted in unnecessary work delays and increased system unavailabilit The maintenance area is rated Category ' c
I PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS - ENGINEERING Effective engineering support contributed to improved equipment reliability and plant performance. Good management oversight and involvement has been a key factor in improving engineering processes. Activities such as the FSAR Review Project and the Technical Specifications Surveillance Improvement Project, improved station's adherence to its licensing and design bases. With few exceptions, the quality of the design. engineering has been good, including the completion of 10 CFR 50.59 safety evaluations. Although there was good engineering support to operations, in some noteworthy cases system performance monitoring has not yet been effective in identifying declining performance before it impacted plant operations. Progress in this area has been impeded by the focus on reducing the large engineering backlog, largely due to aggressive discovery efforts during the outage. Industry operating experience was effectively used. Licensing submittals were technically sound; however, the completion of some licensing issues was impacted by untimely of submission of required supporting informatio Engineering support of routine operations and maintenance activities was generally good with active engineering involvement in scheduled and emergent work, timely development of troubleshooting plans, and prompt operability and reportability determinations for degraded equipment. Industry experience information was effectively integrated into engineering plans and projects. However, partly due to their involvement with emergent plant issues, the monitoring role assigned to the system managers was not yet fully implemented. This was exemplified by the monitoring weaknesses in the service water reliability program which contributed to a delay in addressing a recent grass intrusion event. A significant number of equipment and program issues requiring resolution were identified. Although the backlog of engineering work remained large, engineering *activities were appropriately prioritized and effectively managed throughout the perio lmP,rovements were noted in the quality of design en,gineering products. Sound engineering principles were reflected in calculations and analyses that also were more detailed. A significant number of major and minor design changes were developed and implemented during the extended outages and those changes contributed to *improved equipment reliability. Major projects included the replacement of the Unit 1 steam generators, the design and installation of a digital feedwater control system for both units, and the refurbishment and replacement of the Hagan instrument and control modules. As a result of management intervention and the establishment of an independent review group, the accuracy and completeness of 10 CFR 50.59 safety evaluations improved such that they addressed the design and licensing bases more comprehensively. Temporary modifications were carefully evaluated and tracked, and th.e number of installed temporary modifications was low. Notwithstanding this generally very good performance, in some cases the modifications were not fully effective in resolving problems. For example, despite extensive changes to the control room ventilation system to correct deficiencies, the operators were still faced with the significant burden of placing the system in the maintenance mode under certain conditions pending further design and technical specification change The FSAR verification process and the Technical Specification surveillance improvement project were effective at identifying and resolving issues that affected plant conformance with the licensing and design bases. As a result of these and other programs, the volume of licensing actions submitted to NRC increased. License change requests were usually submitted in a timely manner and, in most cases, those license change submittals were complete and well-supported. However, completion of some licensing actions was impacted by untimely submission of required supporting informatio Engineering management made effective use of audits and surveillances by the Quality Assurance Organization to improve performance in this area. Departmental self-assessments were also applied well to identify areas for added management focu This engineering area was rated Category PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS - PLANT SUPPORT Performance in radiation protection was excellent as indicated by continued low worker exposures. The solid radwaste transportation, radioactive effluent, environmental monitoring, and meteorological monitoring programs were well implemented. Significant improvements were observed in emergency preparedness and security. The fire protection program was effectively implemente The performance of the radiation protection (RP) program was excellent. Worker exposures continued to be low. In particular, exposures during the Unit 1 steam generator replacement project were maintained as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA) through an aggressive project that resulted in well-plann~d and executed activities. Personnel exposures associated with routine activities were effectively maintained ALARA by administratively limiting personnel exposure for each entry into the radiologically controlled area. In addition, internal exposures have been minimal due to excellent work control
. practices. The licensee conducted thorough and comprehensive reviews and assessments, and implemented effective corrective measures for emergent radiological problems and condition The Salem solid radioactive waste transportation program was effectively implemente Radwaste sampling, processing, and classification activities were properly performed and shipment documentation conformed to regulatory requirements. * Contaminated equipment and radwaste storage were effectively controlled and the amount of contaminated equipment and material in storage was kept to a minimum. Radiological effluents were well monitored and controlled, and the programs for radiological environmental monitoring and meteorological* monitoring were effectively implemented during this perio The licensee made positive changes that have upgraded the emergency preparedness program. In 1997, the Emergency Preparedness Department was reorganize Performance enhancements were supported by senior management, which resulted in improved program oversight by cognizant managers and significantly improved emergency preparedness training. Excellent performance was demonstrated during a March 1998 emergency exercis "
The security program was significantly upgraded and strengthened. The security department performed very well during a recent security response exercise. Management support for the security program was evidenced by improvements in radio communications, arms, training facilities, and plant access controls. Work requests for security equipment and repairs were normally completed in a timely manner and compensatory measures were promptly established, as required. Equipment and system performance was appropriately tracked and trende The material condition of fire protection equipment was well maintained and the equipment was readily available for use. However, in one instance the configuration of the fire suppression system was not properly controlled resulting in the isolation of the fire water supply to the auxiliary buildings and containments. PSE&G has appropriately posted firewatches pending long term resolution of electrical raceway fire barrier design issue The plant support area was rated Category 1.