IR 05000272/2002010

IR 05000272-02-010, IR 05000311-02-010, Salem Generating Station - Preliminary White Finding

ML030910083
Person / Time
Site:	Salem
Issue date:	03/31/2003
From:	Lanning W Division of Reactor Safety I
To:	Keiser H Public Service Enterprise Group
References
-nr IR-02-010
Download: ML030910083 (12)

Text

rch 31, 2003

SUBJECT:

SALEM GENERATING STATION - PRELIMINARY WHITE FINDING (NRC Inspection Report 50-272/02-010 AND 50-311/02-010)

Dear Mr. Keiser:

On March 14, 2003, the NRC issued Inspection Report 50-272&311/02-010, documenting a special inspection of your actions regarding repetitive fuel oil leaks on the emergency diesel generators (EDGs) at Salem Generating Station and the failure of the turbocharger on the 1C EDG. The subject report discussed a finding for which the safety significance had not been determined. As described in Section 4OA3.1 of that report, corrective actions taken for previous emergency diesel generator turbocharger failures were ineffective, in that the 1C EDG turbocharger degraded to the point of failure on September 13, 2002, without detection.

This finding was assessed using the At-Power Reactor Safety Significance Determination Process (SDP) as a potentially safety significant finding that was preliminarily determined to be White, i.e., a finding with some increased importance to safety, which may require additional NRC inspection. The finding has low to moderate safety significance, because the likelihood of core damage due to a loss of AC power was significantly increased while the 1C EDG was not capable of mitigating a loss of offsite power event. A copy of our risk assessment is enclosed.

Because the turbocharger was replaced and the 1C EDG was tested and returned to service, there is no immediate safety concern. However, given that the cause of the failure of the turbocharger has not yet been determined, we are concerned that the possibility exists that the failure mechanism could apply to other EDGs at the site.

The finding also appears to be an apparent violation of NRC requirements and is being considered for escalated enforcement action in accordance with the "General Statement of Policy and Procedure for NRC Enforcement Actions" (Enforcement Policy), NUREG-1600. The current Enforcement Policy is included on the NRCs Website at http://www.nrc.gov/what-we-do/regulatory/enforcement.html.

We believe that we have sufficient information to make a final significance determination for this preliminary White finding. However, before the NRC makes a final decision on this matter, we are providing you an opportunity to either provide a written response or to request a Regulatory Conference where you would be able to provide your perspectives on the significance of the

Mr. Harold finding, the bases for your position, and whether you agree with the apparent violation. If you choose to request a Regulatory Conference, we encourage you to submit your evaluation and any differences with the NRC evaluation at least one week prior to the conference in an effort to make the conference more efficient and effective. If a Regulatory Conference is held, it will be open for public observation. The NRC will also issue a press release to announce the Regulatory Conference.

Please contact Mr. James Linville at 610-337-5129 within 10 business days of the date of this letter to notify the NRC of your intentions and if you have any questions regarding this issue. If we have not heard from you within 10 days, we will continue with our significance determination and enforcement decision, and you will be advised by separate correspondence of the results of our deliberations on this matter.

Since the NRC has not made a final determination in this matter, no Notice of Violation is being issued for this inspection finding at this time. In addition, please be advised that the characterization of the apparent violation described in the subject inspection report may change as a result of further NRC review.

In accordance with 10 CFR 2.790 of the NRCs "Rules of Practice," a copy of this letter and its enclosures will be available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the Publicly Available Records (PARS) component of NRCs document 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/

Wayne D. Lanning, Director Division of Reactor Safety Docket Nos.: 50-272; 50-311 License Nos.: DPR-70; DPR-75 Enclosure: Risk Significance Determination

Mr. Harold