IR 05000312/1982015
| ML20052H955 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Rancho Seco |
| Issue date: | 04/28/1982 |
| From: | Book H, Fish R, Wenslawski F NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION V) |
| To: | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20052H952 | List: |
| References | |
| 50-312-82-15, NUDOCS 8205240249 | |
| Download: ML20052H955 (5) | |
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U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
REGION V
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Report No.
50-312/82-15 Docket No.
50-312 License No.
DPR-54 Safeguards Group' >
F Licensce:
Sacramento Municipal Utility District P. O. Box 15830 Sacramento, California' 95813 t
Facility Name:
Rancho Seco
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Inspection at:
Clay Station, California
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Inspection conducted:
March 25 - April 20,1982 Inspector:
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' Y f,2 7kA Dalfe Sifned R. F. Fish, Emergency Preparedness Analyst Approved by: b h du_b krA Y/43'/b'L -
Date Signed F. A. Wen ki, Chief, RE or Radiation Protection
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,7/ L d H. E. Book, Chief, Radiological Safety Branch Da(e Signed
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Summary:
Inspection on March 25 - April 20,1982 (Report No. 50-312/82-15)
Areas Inspected:
An announced follow-up inspection to the Emergency Preparedness Appraisal including meteorological calibration records, meteorological maintenance activities, observation of a licensee calibration of meteorological instrumentation,
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alternate meteorological data for use in offsite dose calculation prpcedures. The-inspection involved six hours of onsite time by one NRC inspector. '
Results:
No items of noncompliance or deviations were identified.
8205240249 820429 PDR ADOCK 05000312 Form 219(2)
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DETAILS 1.
Persons Contacted E. Bradley, Emergency Planning Coordinator R. Low, Supervising I&C Engineer B. Chun, I&C Technician D. Whitney, Engineering and QC Supervisor 2.
Meteorological Instrumentation Calibration Records The records relating to the calibration of the new meteorological instruments installed on the site tower during October 1981 were examined on March 25.
Paragraph 4.2.1.4 of the Emergency Preparedness Appraisal Report, No. 50-312/81-22, contains a description of the meteorological instrumentation.
Weather Measure Corporation provided the licensee with a copy of the calibration sheets certifying the-recorded results of the calibration of the newly installed instruments.
The certification was dated October 28, 1981.
According to.the licensee, the SMUD QA organization had audited Weather Measure Corporation and confirmed that the calibration of the meteorological instrumentation was NBS traceable.
The licensee has established a monthly calibration check using the low and high calibration circuits provided with the meteorological instrumentation. The initial check, performed on October 22, 1981, involved using Special fest Procedure (STP) No. 625. The STP had been reviewed and approved in accordance with the appropriate administrative procedures. Two measurements were.not completed on October 22 because of a need for a circuit board replacement. This work was completed on November 3,1981 under Work Request No. 65339 and the final two measurements were made.
Subsequent monthly calibration checks were performed under Procedure I-016, Meteoro-logical Station Calibration Check. -
The records of the monthly calibration checks for. November and December 1981 were examined.
The records showed that for.Hovember,
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all of the instruments in the " A" channel met the performance specifications except for the ' low calibration of the temperature at 60 meters and the delta temperature.
For the "B" channel (a duplicate of the "A" channel), only the high calibration of the delta temperature was outside the specifications.
In December, the high calibration for the "A" channel wind speed at.10 meters was the only reading in that channel outside the specifications.
In the "B" channel, the only December reading outside the specifica-tions was the delta temperature and that was only for one of the two computer programs. These records identify the numbers of the work requests that were issued to correct the problems and bring all readings within the specifications.
It should be noted that Weather Measure personnel worked on the meteorological instruments in late December.
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The results of calibration checks for January and February 1982 were also examined. According to the January record, within specification readings on wind speed, wind direction, and the temperature at 10 and 60 meters were available for use during an emergency.
The licensee said that subsequent to the Weather Measure work on the meteorological instrumentation in late December,
a note was placed on the teletype used to print out the (10VA computer meteorological data stating "A" channel information.should not be used. The record of the February calibration check disclosed within specification readings on wind direction and delta temperature in the "B" channel and wind speed readings only slightly outside
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the specification limits. Thus, during the period January - February, only minimum reliable meteorological ' data from the licensee's instrumentation was available.
3.
Meteorological Maintenance Activities The calibration records described in the previous paragraphs identify the work requests prepared to corrective deficiencies identified during the calibration process. The licensee said there were difficulties in getting Weather Measure to respond to requests.
for maintenance on the meteorological tower instrumentation.
These difficulties were related to the sale of the local organization that installed the instrumentation and differences in the meaning of the contract language requiring "24 hour2.777778e-4 days <br />0.00667 hours <br />3.968254e-5 weeks <br />9.132e-6 months <br /> response." Weather Measure did perform maintenance and repair work during the period March 15-18 with the tower instrumentation being declared calibrated by Weather Measure when they left the site.on the morning of March 18.
Lightening struck the site in the afternoon of flarch 18 and damaged the meteorological instrumentation to the extent that no data was available. Weather Measure repaired the instrumentation and reinstalled and calibrated it by the afternoon of March :19.
During the period March 15-22, the licensee made inplant modifications so that the tower instrumentation installed by Weather Measure would function as intended.
The licensee stated that they performed another calibration on March 22 and found all readings within the calibra-tion limits.
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I.icensee Calibration On March 25, the inspector observed the licensee perform their calibration check of the meteorology instrumentation.
Procedure I-016 (Revision 10).
Meteorological Station Calibration Check, with a
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temporary modification to reflect changes.made in the system, was -
used. The procedure modification was made in accordance with administrative procedures, and the complete reviews and approvals will take place in the ininediate future as permitted.
This calibra-~
tion check showed that all instrument readings were within the i
calibration limits at the conclusion of the check.
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5.
Alternate Meteorological Data Emergency Plan Implementing Procedures include provisions for coping with the loss of onsite meteorological tower data.
The procedure for offsite dose calculations used by Control Room personnel provides default values to be used in the absence of site tower data. The offsite dose calculation procedures used at the Technical Support Center (TSC) and the Emergency Operations Facility (EOF)
provide for contacting the National Weather Services, Sacramento, for meteorological data when site tower data is not available.
A contractor provided the licensee with an August 1, 1981 final report titled, " Meteorological Review for the Rancho Seco Emergency Preparedness Program." This report includes a comparison of the prevailing wind regimes at Rancho Seco to other locations, including National Weather Services sites, in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys.
According to the licensee, they would probably use other information available at the site to estimate meteorological conditions during the early stages of an emergency rather than contacting the National Weather Services for data.
Information on wind speed and direction is available from instrumentation on the top of the turbine gantry crane.
It should be noted that nearby buildings may effect the readings of the instrument on the top of the crane. Also, the licensee said they could observe the plumes from the cooling towers or the exhaust from the auxiliary boilers to estimate the wind direction. The licensee noted that offsite protective actions are somewhat independent of wind direction in that sheltering or evacuation within a five mile radius of the plant are applied to all directions (360 degrees).
6.
Miscellaneous During the period March 12 through April 20, 1982, there were several telephone conversations between the licensee and NRC Region V regarding the site meteorology and meteorological instrumen-tation. The Marcn 12 discussion included representatives from the NRC Division of Emergency Preparedness.
According to the licensee, the cable used to transmit the meteoro-logical data from the base of the tower to the Control Room area became partially wet due to the heavy rains. This caused some
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problems with data transmission. Because of this experience, a new cable will be installed with appropriate moisture protection.
Continued rains delayed the cable installation; however, installation is expected to be completed by May 1, 1982.
Due to the recent history of unreliability of site meteorological data from the tower instrumentation and the potential for loss of this instrumentation, as shown by the effects of the lightening
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storm on March 18, 1982, an alternate capability for obtaining
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metecrological data to ese in the offsite dose calculations should
be provided. This capability appears to already exist provided the dose calculation procedures used at the TSC and E0F include guidance on modifying the data from the National Weather Services so as to
make it applicable to the Rancho Seco site. The licensee also has the option of arranging for access to meteorological data provided by the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory ARAC (Atmospheric Release Advisory Capability).
The licensee said there was a data trans-mission link between the Rancho Seco meteorological instrumentation and the ARAC; however, the link is temporarily not operational.
7.
Exit Interview
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At the conclusion of the March 25,.1982 site visit, the Nuclear Plant Superintendent was informed that no items of noncompliance had been identified.
He was informed there were still two items to be resolved:
the final arrangements for installing the new cable to the base of the meteorological tower and providing meteorological data when data from the site tower instrumentation is not available.
These two items were discussed during the telephone calls described in paragraph 6 above.
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