IR 05000295/1986021

Safety Insp Repts 50-295/86-21 & 50-304/86-19 on 860902-05. No Violations or Deviations Noted.Major Areas Inspected: Gaseous & Liquid Radioactive Programs,Including Effluent Releases & Records & Repts of Effluents

ML20210T168
Person / Time
Site:	Zion  File:ZionSolutions icon.png
Issue date:	09/30/1986
From:	Heuter L, Schumacher M NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION III)
To:
Shared Package
ML20210T151	List: IR 05000295/1986021 ML20210T146
References
50-295-86-21, 50-304-86-19, NUDOCS 8610080318
Download: ML20210T168 (6)

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U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMISSION

REGION III

Reports No. 50-295/86021(DRSS); 50-304/86019(DRSS)

i Docket Nos. 50-295; 50-304 Licenses No. DPR-39; DPR-48 Licensee: Commonwealth Edison Company Post Office Box 767 Chicago, Illinois 60690 Facility Name: Zion Nuclear Power Station, Units 1 and 2 Inspection At: Zion Site, Zion, IL Inspection Conducted: September 2-5, 1986 Inspector:

6(f.HA L. J. Hueter kN Date Approved By:

M. C. Schumacher, Chief Tkefft, Radiological Effluents and Date Chemistry.Section Inspection Summary Inspection on September 2-5, 1986 (Reports No. 50-295/86021(DRSS);

No. 50-304/86019(DRSS))

Areas Inspected: Routine, unannounced inspection of gaseous and liquid radioactive programs including: effluent releases; records and reports of effluents; effluent control instrumentation; reactor coolant chemistry; gaseous effluent filtration; and training and qualification effectivenes Results: No violations or deviations were identifie pghaSBad 8%83jg5 G

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DETAILS 1. Persons Contacted

• J. Ballard, Quality Control Supervisor

• L. Holden, Regulatory Assurance Engineer W. Kurth, Assistant Superintendent, Operations

• G. Plim1, Station Manager

• T. Rieck, Superintendent, Services

• W. Stone, Quality Assurance Supervisor W. Taylor, Engineering Assistant

• G. Tryzna, Rad / Chem Supervisor A. Wojtkowski, Radwaste Foreman

• P. Zwilling, Lead Chemist M. Holzman, NRC Senior Resident Inspector

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The inspector also contacted other licensee employee * Denotes those present at the exit meetin . Gaseous Radioactive Waste The inspector reviewed the licensee's gaseous radwaste management progra The effluent records and semiannual effluent reports were selectively reviewed for the last half of 1985 and the first half of 198 The licensee is scheduled to implement the RETS technical specifications and the Offsite Dose Calculation Manual (0DCM) in October 1986. Necessary procedural changes, changes in effluent monitor alarm setpoints and associated training are in progres Since the last radwaste inspection in September 1985, the licensee has had no significant fuel cladding problems and only minor primary to secondary leakage resulting in relatively low release rates for noble gases, iodines, and particulates in gaseous effluents. Noble gas releases were quantified at about 4,000 curies annually (both units combined) in both 1984 and 1985 and are continuing at about this level for the first half of 1986 (2500 curies).

Unit 1 was beginning a refueling outage during this inspection. For the past several years, the licensee has been eddy current testing all unplugged tubes in each steam generator each refueling outage. In the past, the number of tubes in Unit 1 removed from service by plugging is such that further reduction of tubes in service will soon limit reactor powe Therefore, the licensee is planning to perform tube sleeving instead of tube plugging when testing identifies tube thinning in areas near the tube sheet where sleeving can be accomplished.

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l Batch Type gaseous releases are made from waste gas decay tanks (WGDTs)

and containments via venting and purging. The containment releases are generally associated with personnel entries to containment when at power or with purging right after reactor shut-down Six WGDTs were released during the first half of 1986. No instances of a release exceeding technical specification design objectives were noted. The licensee continues to keep a close watch over waste gas inventory so that system leakage can be readily detecte The gas analyzer associated with the waste gas compressor will be required operable by the RETS technical specifications to be implemented in Octobe A couple of minor unplanned but monitored gas releases occurred associated with testing of this equipment. One was traced to a leaky valve which is scheduled for repair during the current outage and the other was traced to a faulty computer chip. The licensee plans to obtain new board to replace the faulty chi In the interim temporary electrical modifications (lifted leads) have been made to preclude recurrence of the problem causing the releas Earlier in 1986, a licensee employee, while on a tour of the tendon gallery around the base of one of the containments, noted an opening to the outdoors (around a pipe) that was large enough for personnel access and potentially accessible. A security violation resulted and a metal plate was welded

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over a major portion of the opening in the tendon gallery of both containments to preclude personnel access. The possibility of an unmonitored release path via the gallery was discussed with licensee representatives. It was pointed out that the galleries are not designed to be air tight and there are a number of small openings to the outside including screened vents. There'is also a direct connection via a large floor grating to'a valve house that, in turn, is open to the turbine building. Pursuant to this discussion, a licensee employee observed that air flow through the floor grating was from the tendon gallery to the -

turbine building. While it was not known from observation that this flow direction always holds, it is most likely, given the tendency of the warmed turbine building air to rise and exhaust via openings on the upper walls of the turbine building. There is no fan supplied makeup or exhaust for the gallerie Moreover, there are no known sources of activity in the galleries so that any releases owing to counter flow would be from the turbine building atmosphere. Turbine building releases are already quantified on the basis of sampling the turbine building air and a formula for air exchange to the atmosphere calculated on the basis of the month of the year and how many reactor units are operating. This exchange takes place primarily through a varying number of open windows on the walls of the turbine building and to a lesser extent through doorways and passage There are no fan supplied makeup or exhaust pathways per se. Exchange rates vary from a minimum of 150,000 cfm with both units shutdown in January to a maximum of 2,500,000 cfm with both units operating in July. Typically the only activity identified in turbine building sampling is trace quantities of tritiu Therefere, it maybe concluded that turbine building releases, if any, via this pathway are not significan No violations or deviations were identified.

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. e Liquids and Liquid Radioactive Wastes The inspector reviewed the licensee's liquid radwaste management progra .The effluent records and the semiannual effluent reports were selectively reviewed for the last half of 1985 and the first half of 198 Liquid releases are primarily from the two lake discharge tanks and involve primarily waste water from the primary system which has been processed through charcoal bed filters, and anion, cation and mixed bed resins before release. Nearly all secondary system water is processed by filters and resin beds and is reclaimed for reuse. The turbine building fire sump is a monitored release path which is processed for cleanup (nonradiological) before release. Some activity, primarily tritium is detected and quantified from the fire sum Activity in liquid releases from the plant showed a gradual rise for the first several years of plant operation then a gradual decline starting about five years ago with the exception of a large peak in 1984 (almost 14 curies). The large 1984 releases were due to cleanup of sodium hydroxide that was inadvertently dumped from the containment spray system and then flushed to the radwaste holdup tanks, as described in the last radwaste inspection report, Inspection Reports No. 50-295/85034; and No. 50-304/8503 In 1985 about 2 curies were released in liquid effluents and 0.70 curies were released during the first half of 1986, showing a further decreasing trend. No instances of a release exceeding technical specification design objectives for liquid releases were noted during the current review perio No violations or deviations were identifie . Calibrations and Operational Status of Gaseous and Liquid Process and Effluent Monitors The inspector reviewed calibration records for three liquid monitors (the two lake discharge tank monitors and turbine building fire sump monitor)

and thirteen gas monitors (including the exhaust of the service building (

and the final exhaust of each of the unit vent stacks plus inputs to the l

unit vent stacks such as steam jet air ejector off gas, pipe tunnels and l

miscellaneous areas of the auxiliary building). Calibration methods

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appeared appropriate and met technical specification frequency requirements.

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One of the two lake discharge monitors (0RT PR05) and the fire sump monitor were both replaced in late 1985 with newer type monitors featuring increased sensitivity and ease of removal of the liquid chambers for decontamination to minimize background levels. Although both monitors operated satisfactorily during preoperational testing and during initial use, spiking problems soon developed with the turbine building fire sump monitor. The licensee verified that the spikes were not attributable to activity in the fire sump wate During periods of monitor inoperability, the licensee has instituted manual grab samples analyzed once per shift to meet Technical Specification 3.11.4 requirements. Extensive efforts (up to two days work per week) have thus far not identified the cause of the spikes.

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Efforts are continuing although with a possibly reduced priority due to the current refueling / maintenance outage which will include replacement of the turbine. The licensee's current goal is to have the problem identified and necessary repairs / modifications completed by January 1, 1987. Non operability of the turbine building fire sump monitor is considered an open item which will be reviewed during a future inspectio (0 pen Item 295/86021-01; 304/86019-01)

No violations or deviations were identifie . Reactor Coolant Chemistry The inspector reviewed the licensee's experience from September 1, 1985 through August 31, 1986 with the technical specification required parameters for dissolved oxygen, chloride, and fluoride for the primary coolant under various operational modes. A review of licensee data showed all the analyses for oxygen and fluoride concentrations to be within required limits. The same held true for chloride except on one occasion for Unit 1. On May 11 and 12, 1986 while Unit I was in Mode 5 (cold shutdown) the chloride concentration exceeded the steady state limit of 0.15 ppm (reached a maximum of 0.80 ppm) for more than a 24 hour2.777778e-4 days <br />0.00667 hours <br />3.968254e-5 weeks <br />9.132e-6 months <br /> period. Being in this condition for greater than 24 hour2.777778e-4 days <br />0.00667 hours <br />3.968254e-5 weeks <br />9.132e-6 months <br /> requires an engineering evaluation to determine the effects of the out-of limit condition on the structural integrity of the reactor coolant syste The required engineering evaluation (dated May 14, 1986) was performe In review of the above records, it was noted that samples were not taken and the foregoing parameters not measured for the Unit 2 primary system during a 24 day period, October 23 through November 15, 1986. Fuel had been removed from the reactor vessel to permit the ten year in-service-inspection (ISI) on the reactor internals. Technical specification surveillance requirements are not applicable under this condition. Surveillance was resumed prior to restoring fuel to the vessel and the coolant system cherristry was verified as still within specifications. The inspector's review of licensee actions including a 10 CFR 50.59 review prior to discontinuing the surveillance identified no problems.

l No violations or deviations were identifie . HEPA Filter and Charcoal Absorber Systems Records of inplace testing of HEPA filters and charcoal absorbers as well as analysis for methyl iodine removal efficiency from charcoal samples l were selectively reviewed for 1985 and 1986 to date. Tests appeared to be conducted in accordance with the technical specifications and yielded satisfactory results with one exception. The exception

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involved a licensee identified failure to promptly perform an efficiency test following replacement of the control room makeup HEPA filter on March 7, 1986. The test was performed on the day the oversight was

, identified (about 40 days after filter replacement) and the test showed j the efficiency met the criterio A Licensee Event Report (LER) was

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issued and the licensee was cited for a violation involving this matter in Inspection Reports No. 50-295/86011-03; and N /86010-02 by the resident-inspectors who are also following the licensee's corrective measure No violations or deviations were identified during this inspectio . Training and Qualification Staffing for the liquid and gaseous radwaste program appears adequate in number and has remained quit stable over the past year. In the Rad / Chem area, only one position has changed. The lead health physicist left for an advanced position at another plant in March 1986 and this position was filled by another health physicist with about four years experience at the plant. The licensee has had no turnover of Rad / Chem technicians but has added one new technician for a total of 36. The new technician attended the 16 week training course for new Rad / Chem Technicians provided by CECO at the Braidwood Training Center. Each year the technicians attend three weeks of retraining covering new equipment, new or revised procedures and policies, general safety subjects and selected subjects based on a consensus of need. The licensee is working toward INPO' accreditation of the technician program and have proceeded to the point where they are awaiting a visit by INP0 for an onsite evaluatio This visit is not expected before some time in 1987 due to the backlog of licensees seeking accreditation at this tim No violations or deviations were identifie . Open Items Open items are matters which have been discussed with the licensee, which will be reviewed further by the inspector, and which involve some action on the part of the NRC or licensee or both. An open item disclosed during the inspection is discussed in Section . Exit Meeting

• The inspector me. with licensee representatives (denoted in Section 1)

at the conclusion of the inspection on September 5, 1986. The inspector discussed the likely informational content of the inspection report with regard to documents or processes reviewed by the inspectors during the inspection. The licensee did not identify such documents / processes as proprietary. The inspector summarized the scope and findings of the inspectio , .- -

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