IR 05000293/1990009

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Insp Rept 50-293/90-09 on 900806-10.No Violations or Deviations Noted.Major Areas Inspected:Control of Design, Design Changes,Mods,Engineering & Technical Support Organization,Staffing,Communications,Qa & Training
ML20059J663
Person / Time
Site: Pilgrim
Issue date: 08/20/1990
From: Chiramal M, James Trapp
NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION I)
To:
Shared Package
ML20059J655 List:
References
50-293-90-09, 50-293-90-9, NUDOCS 9009200106
Download: ML20059J663 (8)


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U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY' COMMISSION

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REGION-I

Report No. 50-293/90-09-

Decket No.:50-293

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License No DPR-35-L Licensee:

Boston Edison Company

800 Boylston Street I

Boston, Messachusetts 02199 i

Facility,Name:. Pilgrim Nuclear Generating Station;

Inspection At:' Plymouth; Massachusetts"

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- Inspection Conducted: August' 6-10. 1990-I Inspector:

k 8,2p7; 90-twoo Jamesd. Trapp,Sr; Reactor fngineer-Special'

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TestC&rograms, EB, DRS~

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Approved by:

1e Matt Chiramal, Acting Chief, Special Test dhte

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Programs Section, Engineering Branch,JDRS Inspection Summary:. Inspection on August 6-10,~1990 (Inspection Report l

No. 50-293/90-09).

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Areas Inspected:

Routine unannounced inspection.of~the licensee's control.of

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design,- design changes, modifications, and temporary modificati_ons. _In addition,.

L the engineering and technical support organization, staffing,; communications,.

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quality assurance, training,'and management support werel reviewed; JWeak areas identified during.thet previous' SALP period were: also inspected.

-Results: No violations or deviations.were: identified. 1The design and I

modifications process was found to comply with regulatory and ' station i

administrative requirements.

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9009200106 900829 T PDR ADOCK 05000293; G

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DETAILS'

1.0 Persons Contacted

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1.1 Boston Edison Company (BECO)

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  • M. Akhtar, Mod. Mgmt. Div, Mgr.
  • R. Anderson, Plant Manager.

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  • J. Bellefeuille, Reactor Safety & Perf. Div.
  • P. Cafarella, Principal System Eng'.

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  • R. Fairbank, Eng. Dept. Mgr.
  • P_. Hamilton, Compliance Div. Mgr.

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  • K. Highfill, PNPS Director.
  • J. Kel_1y, Sr, Compliance-Eng.

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  • V.-Oheim, Deputy Eng. Mgr.
  • J.?Pawlak, Principal-Eng.
  • F. Schelberger, Principal Quality: Eng.
  • L.'Schmeling, Acting Plant'Mgr.-

R. Schifone, QA/QC Division Manager

  • N. Simpson, Pnincipal' Eng, Tech Group

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E. Wagner,. VP Nuclear Engineering i

1.2 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission I

C. Carpenter, Resident Inspector

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J. MacDonald, Sr. Resident: Inspector

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W. Olsen, Resident. Inspector r

  • Denotes present at the exit-meeting held August 10,'1990.

2.0 Plant Design Change (PDC) Review (IM 37700 &'37828)

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The objective _ of inspecting PDC. documentation is to ascertain _.that design

. changes and modifications to_ safety related systems _ receive-adequate

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engineering review and that design changes are implemented.in accordance with regulatory requirements andtplant administrative procedures.

Included-J in this review-is a_ verification that adequate _ training, drawing-revisions;

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design document update, and -testing are performed prior to declaring-

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modified systems operable.

'To. satisfy this objective, two PDC packages were selected'for review:

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j PDC 89-25, "Resize Core Spray Injection Orifice Plates,""

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i PDC 89-05, " Replacement of the HPCI Gland Seal: Condenser-Condensate

Pump P220,"

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PDC 89-25 was implemented to. increase-the margin between the Technical

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Specification required core spray pump flow rate and discharge, pressure,-

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and the system design.

To provide. additional margin,.thCpressurejdrop

across a discharge line flow-restricting orifice was decceased. This

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allowed a lower pump tiischarge pressure to satisfy the Technical Specification flow requirement.

The PDC provided calculations and-instructions for increasing the bore. size of the restricting orifice.

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_PD.C 89-05 was written to. replace the HPCI Gland Sial Condensate Pump I

~ hat wat worn beyond repair. The existing pump', a WESTCO type BR4?0,

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t was no' longer supplied by the manufacturer, therefore, the. licensee

chose to replace it with a WESTCO type SR4R9. pump.

The type SR4R9

pump had been specified as the correct model number in the HPCI skid:

supplier's vendor manual and drawings. However, the BR410 pump had been originally supplied with-the HPCI. skid,. The puap skid supplier informed the licensee that the model BR410 pump was selected for'it.'s-

hydraulic seal, design. The supplier believed the. hydraulic seals would provide improved operation if a vacuum werelto-exist in the -

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condensate pump suction line, Based on this information,_the licensee's-

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original. determination that _the ' system was-'being / returned to it's _

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intended design became-invalid, _ Additional. safety assessment for the

type SR4R9 pump, which utilizes mechanical seals, was required..-In-addition, the SR4R9 type pump was supplied as a commercial-grade part

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and required extensive' testing and analysis-to dedicate:it as a safety related component.

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-In general the engineering basis for the-two PDCs was sound._ Preoperational

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y tests conducted for these modifications were thorough and detailed.1

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Calculations used for design and to. support safety evaluations were; detailed l

and complete, i

J Licensee administrative procedures require that training, drawing updates,

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procedure revisions,'and preoperational testing be completed prior-to

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-declaring the modified system operable.

Modification packages, with the q

one exception noted below, were. complete and closed out_in accordance with stahon administrative procedures.

The licensee's current policy to update

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both category' A (frequently used drawings) and Category B'(less-frequently used drawings) prior to PDC closecut, was viewed as a positive initiative by the Nuclear Engineering Department (NED).

The following observations were made while reviewing the PDC: documentation.

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The updating of the vendor manual _ V-0257, for PDC. 89-05, was. not l

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l complete. The engineering staff stated that the update to'the vendor

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h manual was somehow lost and that the manual would be properly updated.

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I manuals would.soon be controlled by NED which is intended to eliminate:

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these types of problems in the future.

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BECO calculation No, M-387, referenced'in PDC 89-25, was used tolupdatei lJ

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.-the core spray quarterly p' ump. surveillance procedure-8,5.1.1.

However,-

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the elevation of the. discharge pressure indicator was'not considered 4

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was located'where the sensing line penetrated the discharge line.' In i

fact the pressure indicator was located approximate'ly 2 feet below this point.

The licensee performed additional calculations which-

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l determined that the calculated.value was approximately 1 psi

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non-conservative.

This was evaluated and found to be within the s

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conservatism'that existed within the calculation and, therefore,.did a

not require any corrective action.

This example indicated a need for

engineering-follow-up to assure engineering analysis was properly-incorporated in plant procedures.

.7 T mporary Modification Review

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Temporary modifications were reviewed to determine if the modifications were being properly controlled and safety evaluations were' complete and j

thorough.

Temporary Modifications packages reviewed were:

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83-016 Spent' Resin Storage Tank Level: Indication

,89-032 Lube 011 Purification Heaters-

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90-015 RBCCW Sampling' Points-

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The three temporary modifications were completed in accordance with' station procedures. -The relevant safety evaluations were thorough.. Temporary.

modifications were' being. tracked as part of-the Plan of-the Day. (P0D) ~

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document. The temporary modification log was being reviewed monthly in

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accordance with station procedures'.

The majority of Temporary Modifications were'less than 3 years old. Older temporary modificat. ions were removed or i

being superseded by making them permanent PDCs.One observation was'madeL t

in this area:

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Temporary Modification 90-15 was initia'ted in response' to identifying

an unauthorized. modification-on the Reactor Building Closed Cooling Water System (RBCCW)..Tne temporary modification was written on

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i June 6,1990 and reviewed by the Operations _ Review Committee (ORC)-on-

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June 13, 1990. The mod fication had not'been' authorized for installa '

tion'as of August 10, 990, the last day of;the inspection.' The' licensee i

stated that small discrepancies'in-the field < installation-caused the

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delay. The temporary modification was authorized and' installed

August 14, 1990.

This apparent lack of, timely corrective action;to' -

reestablish configuration ' control?of the RBCCW system was.found to be

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the exception. All other temporary modifications reviewed had been-

processed in a timely manner.

4.0 Root Cause Analysis Root cause analysis is performed primarily by;the 22 onsite BECO system-

. engineers. -Equipment failures' are reported on PNPS Failure and -Malfunction Reports (F&MR).

F&MRs are screened by system engineering for applicability"

"t of root cause analysis. ~ Root cause analysis reports typically' include-the following sections: event description, root cause, corrective action,

recommendations' for improvement, = and; safety signi ficance,- Two.F&MRs, 89-137/138 and '90-19", were reviewed to determine if. root cause analysis was being conducted in a thorough manner and to assure that adequate-

corrective actions were being implemented.

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F&MRs 8,9-137 and 89-138 were performed n-response to the HPCI inlet steam valve failing' to open during the-quarterly pump surveillance, test.

Thel root causeiof the failure was attributed to the. absence of torque values

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for the.MOV torque switch. dial pointer tightening screws.- Loose dial screws

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had caused the torque switch to malfunction resultinglin an overthrust-

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condition.in the MOV, which' caused the motor to burn up. 'The root cause.

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analysis documentation for this event was thorough.. Input to' root cause

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and failure analysis was provided by NED,-QA, and, system engineers, i

Extensive corrective actions were taken, including checU ng and torquing the dial l switch pointer screws on-all MOVs 1.n the. station.

F&MR 90-192 was written in response to: leakage on the~RCIC steam line drain-

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piping.. The root cause-was attributed to.. pipe wall thinning as' a result of material erosion from high ' velocity.' steam and water droplets' downstream

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of the steam' traps and' bypass valve.

Discussions with the-cognizant syttem

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engineer indicated that the actual. root' cause was.a' leaking trap bypass

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valve and a degraded steam trap ~ system.' The systems engineer!s knowledges of the failure was det' ailed but had:not been11ncorporated into the root.

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<cause analysis-rep' ort.; The corrective action taken did not-include:a UT

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inspection.of the drain. piping for further evidence of wall thinning.

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fact, the. system engineer indicated that-a >second leak was< identified and

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o repaired following-testing of the first repair.

Long term-repairs to replace b'

the traps and. pipe material during: Refueling 0utage 8 (RF0 #8) is an i

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appropriate corrective-action for this problem.

The root cause analysis and1 corrective actions designated by-the-system,

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engineers provide.a. strong technical support for.the maintentnce orgenization.

-The extensive root cause analysis performed for equipment-failures' by the system engineers'is considered a positive ~ effort for---improving lplantL

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reliability and. safety.

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5.0 Review Of Weaknesses Identifieu During Previous'SALP.

l 5.1 Detailed Control Room Design Review'(DCRDR)l The DCRDR project can be divided into the installation'of interim

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enhancements and development =of the conceptual design' plan. The?

conceptual design-plan.is progressing:on schedule and will be, submitted

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to the NRC in November 1990.- The' interim enhancements;have not-

i progressed as well as anticipated.. Problems have been encountered'in-i panel, lighting and control panel color variations, causing the new-

-panel labeling to be ineffective. ' Delays have-also been encountered -

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in updating station procedures to conform with new equipment' labels.

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5.2 Design ~ Basis Reconstruction l-The design basis reconstruction program is.being actively developed l

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L by the licensee. One engineering staff member is workingion this L

project full time, with two additionalistaff devot.ing;approximately L

half their time to this project.

The licensee is currently reviewing-

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' design basis documents from other utilities.and industry guidance to

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develop guidelines on what information is to be included in the PNPS l

design basis document.

The licensee is planning.to use a computer-t based design and configuration control system to store the design

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basis information. The-licensee demonstrated;the design' basis,

configuration control sof tware package to the in'spector.. 'P&ID drawings i

are presently being entered into the system. - The system is unlike

traditional CAD * systems in that the database information stored can~

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'in_teract with graphic displays.

For example,=all information relat1ng-

to.the design'of.a valve may!be: accessed by-selecting the data-base i

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information of f of the P&ID graphic dif play.

The licensee has near_ly-completed the installation of all P& ids into this-system. Upon completion, this system will lead to a readily accessible and

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user-friendly design basis document.

The licensee stated their planning of design basis content - should: be, completed by' the 'end of this -year,-

- with a pilot system design basic reconstruction scheduled to begin,

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next year.

  • 6.0 Organization / Staffing / Management Su'pport

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The Nuclear Engineering Department (NED) -is comprised of the.' design, analysis, ano project managers sections.

The section, managers. report to;the NED=

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- manager. The-NED : manager' reports to the Director Nuclear Engineering -

Organization, who reports. to the senior VP, Nuclear.

Each engineering section is divided into a n' umber of'di'visionse each with'

a division manage'.

The NED is' staffed by approximately 87. engineers,.

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with nearly half holding Masters degrees in Science. The engineering.

organization staffing is -very stable with an average of!9 years of BECO:

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and 15 years of industry experience.

t The engineering staff has reduced the number of open Engineering Service Request (ESR) from 952 in September 1989,. to 435 in' June 1990 The goal'

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for 1990 is to further reduce the open ESRs to:300 by-the end of 1990.

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In addition to the reduction in backlogged ESRs, engineeringL hassaiso made

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l a si r ficant reduction in the number of priority.B drawings which require upda W g, Priority B drawings are drawings not frequently used by.the operators.

Frequently used priority A drawings 1are maintained updated.

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The number of priority B~ drawings requiring revisions.has been. reduced

from~approximately.6000 to 1200. The new policy to update priority B

drawings prior to declaring the modified. system operable, will prevent future problems with updating priority:B drawings.

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NED has made enhancements in support of station activities.

The Design Section Manager, from the Braintree office, attends the Plan of the Day

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(POD) meetings held at the. station.

The Braintree engineering office is l

L kept apprised of station activities and requirements'by daily assembling l

engineering managers at Braintree and having a data and~ communications L

link which displays the POD schedule on a large screen.

This'allowsMthe

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engineers in Braintree to participate'in the plant POD meetings.

This-effort has improved communications between the site and the engineering 1 i;

staff.

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.The engineering organization also supports site activitie's by staffing a -

'si'e engineering of fice with one full-time-engineer and four_ engineers on

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a' rotating basis.

On' August 7,,1990,'the NRC inspector attended a Design Review Board (DRB)'

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convened to review modifications PDCL90-29, " Lube 011ECentrifuge. Heaters,"

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and PDC 90-50, " Disconnect PASS Iodine: Cartridge." The DRB is made up of.

NED managers and prov' ides a multidisciplinary teviewLof PDCs prior _ to the release for station' review and. approval.

The DRB perform.ed a. detailed review of the_PDCs.

A' number of questions were raised by the committee-members on design. adequacy.

These~were addressed by the cognizant, engineer prior to DRB. approval.

The DRB' emphasis.was placed on. safety and. adequacy-of=the design.

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An example of.this'was the board's discussion of; PDC. 90-50 'on the ability'

'to purge the iodineJcart' ridge. tubing following the introduction of high:

activity into this-line.. This discussion resulted inithe cognizant' engineer

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being required to make changes to the proposed PDC. lTh'e interdisciplinary.:

review provided by the DRB was~ viewed _ as having a. significant positive impact in incorporating sound engineering judgement into PDCs.-

t The licensee stated that recent improvements have been~made'in the area'of'

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pipe stress analysis. The NED has installed softwareJand can perform pipe'

stress analysis inhouse, which was previously' performed by outside

contractors.

This? increased. technical: capability, of. NED was viewed-as a -

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positive engineering department initiative.

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Engineering is present'y completing a self. assessment. 'A review of theJ

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self assessment report Oy the NRC' inspector for the Design Section and the Analysis Section was conducted. 'The results of the assessments were':found-l to be candid. The self assessments identified perceived. strengths?and'

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weaknesses. -The process of conducting -self assessmentsLisia' positive

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initiative by the engineering organization to further improve.their k

performance.

7.0 QA Involvement in Engineering

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In response to a perceived-weakness'.in the Stan' ding Plant Design Changes.

(SPDC) process, engineering management requested'that QA perform an-audit

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in this area. The SPDC process is intended _to be used forfsingle discipline, minor design changes. Modifications Which: undergo the-SPDC process-' receive-less rigorous review and approval-than' standard PDCs.

A' review of QA Audit Report 90-13, " Design' Control," indicated several safety significant. findings-and recommendations for investigation and improvement.

This audit required'

an estimated 700 auditor man-hours, using.7 auditurs over 6 week period.

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In response to the audit' findings, NED initiated a: task force to di sp'o si ti on -

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the findings.

The audit report-by the Quality Assurance Department was thorough and indicated a serious commitment of resources and effort'in=

conducting high quality audits.

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9.0 -Staff Training-The' licensee's t' raining program was reviewed to evaluate'the adequacylof

- training given to the' engineering staff.c Discussion with NED management

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indicated that the engineering department has 4. " read' and sign". training

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- program for new employees but does not have a formal training program for

.the-engineering stafi The absence'of a continuing training program for

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the engineering.-staff is considered:to be a weakness.

10.0 Exit Meeting

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At.the conclusion.of the site' inspection, on August-10,:.1990, an. exit interview was ' conducted with ~ theLlicensee's seniorisite representatives (denoted in Section1)-to' discuss the resultsland conclusions of;this'

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inspection,-

. No written material was provided to the licensee by the inspector. Based on the NRC Region I re' view of this ' report and discussions held w*ithi..

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- licensee representatives during<thisLinspection, it was determined that:

this report does not contain information subject to 10 CFR 2.790 restrictions.

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