IR 05000354/1989003

Insp Rept 50-354/89-03 on 890206-10.No Violations Noted. Major Areas Inspected:Licensee Inservice Insp Activities to Ascertain That Inservice Insp Activities Conducted Per ASME Code & Regulatory Requirements

ML20236B623
Person / Time
Site:	Hope Creek
Issue date:	02/28/1989
From:	Mcbrearty R, Strosnider J NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION I)
To:
Shared Package
ML20236B610	List: IR 05000354/1989003 ML20236B606
References
50-354-89-03, 50-354-89-3, NUDOCS 8903210192
Download: ML20236B623 (7)

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U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

REGION I

Report No.

50-354/89-03 Docket No.

50-354 License No. NPF-57'

Priority Category C

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. Licensee:

Public Service Electric & Gas Company-Post Office Box 236 Hancocks Bridge, New Jersey 08038 Facility Name:

Hope Creek Generating Station Inspection At:

Hancocks, Bridge, New Jersey Inspection Conducted:

February 6-10, 1989 Inspectors:

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. M', / 9P9 R. A. McBrearty, Reactor pgineer date 2I2h Approved by:

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g./'R.~Strosnider, Chief,Materialsand date L/ Processes Section, EB, DRS Inspection Summary:

Inspection on February 6-10, 1989 (Inspection Report l

No. 50-354/89-03)

Areas Inspected: A routine, unannounced inspection was conducted of the licensee's inservice inspection activities to ascertain that the ISI activities were conducted in accordance with applicable ASME Code and regulatory requirements.

Particular emphasis was placed on the observation of work in progress, NDE personnel qualification / certification records including the SNT-TC-1A mandated Specific Examinations, implementing NDE procedures, QA involvement in ISI activities and licensee actions on previous inspection findings regarding ISI activities.

In addition, the licensee's response to Generic Letter 88-01 was inspected.

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Results: The inspector concluded based on the areas inspected, that the

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licensee's activities complied with applicable requirements. The licensee's l

response to GL 88-01 was timely and addressed the areas required by the Generic Letter.

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DETAILS 1.0 Persons Contacted Public Service Electric and Gas (PSE&G)

R. Beckwith, Station Licensing Engineer

. i R. Bing IV, Senior Staff Engineer

• R. Brandt, Inspection Services Engineer

'*S. Tunsten, Maintenance Manager

• A. Giardino,. Manager - Station Quality Assurance

• R. Griffith Sr., Principal Engineer - Quality Assurance

• D. Lospailuto, NDE/ISI Supervisor l

• E. Maloney, Quality Assurance Engineer

• J. Nichols, Technical Manager

• M. Prystupa, Chemical Engineer

• D. Rogozenski, Inservice Inspection Supervisor

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J. Rucki, Technical Engineer j

• C. Vondra, Operations Manager

l Southwest Research Institute (SwRI):

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'E. Teige', Inspection Engineer

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission i

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D. Allsopp, Resident Inspector

• Indicates those present at the exit meeting.

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Scope of Inspection i

Section XI, Rules for Inservice Inspection of Nuclear Power Plant Components, of the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code provides rules ~ for the examina-tion, testing, and inspection of components and systems in a nuclear power plant.Section XI mandates that the plant owner develop a program which

will demonstrate conformance to Code requirements, and that the licensee

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perform inservice inspections to comply with those requirements and program.

Augmented examinations for the detection of intergranular stress corrosion cracking (IGSCC) are required by NUREG-0313, Revision 2 and Generic Letter 88-01.

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The following areas were selected for inspection:

Implementing NDE procedures

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Observations of work in progress

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Personnel qualification / certification records

Response to Generic Letter 88-01

QA/QC involvement in ISI

Licensee actions on previous inspection findings

Status of Previously Identified Items (92701)

(Closed) Unresolved Item (50-354/88-13-01) Adequacy of The Qualification - Certification Program For Visual Inspections The inspector verified that the licensee's revised Training and Certification Program Manual - Appendix C entitled " Qualification and Certification Program For Non Destructive Examination (NDE) Personnel" meets the Intent of ANSI N45.2.6 and the ASME Code Section XI.

The program applies to licensee personnel who are responsible for implementing NDE procedures, subcontracted personnel implementing licensee NDE proce-dures, and subcontracted personnel using their own NDE procedures with licensee prior approval.

Based on the above, the item is closed.

Review of NDE Implementing Procedures (73052)

Inservice inspection vendor NDE procedures are assigned a unique number by the licensee and are incorporated into the licensee's ISI program.

The procedures are reviewed and approved by the licensee for use at the site.

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The inspector reviewed selected procedures to ascertain compliance with ASME Code and regulatory requirements and for technical adequacy. The following procedures were selected for inspection:

Procedure No. M9-ISV-22H/SI, Revision 0, " Dry Particle Magnetic

Particle Examination" (SWRI-NDT-300-1/35)

Procedure No. M9-ISV-25H/SI, Revision 0, " Manual Ultrasonic

Examination of Austenitic Pressure Piping Welds" (SWRI-NDT-600-31/23)

Procedure No. M9-ISV-31H, Revision 0, " Manual Ultrasonic Examination

of Corrosion Resistant Clad Piping Welds At Hope Creek" (SWRI-NDT-800-100/2)

Procedure No. M9-ISV-29H, Revision 0, " Manual Ultrasonic Examination

of Cylindrical and Conical Sections of BWR Feedwater Nozzles" (SWRI-NDT-800-94/2)

The inspector determined that the aforementioned procedures complied with applicable code and regula. tory requirements, and further, that the procedures were technically adequate for their intended use.

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4 Licensee Response to Generic Letter (GL) 88-01 (92703)

Intergranular stress corrosion cracking near weldments in BWR piping has been occurring for almost 20 years.

Early cases were in relatively small diameter piping.

In early 1982, cracking was identified in large-diameter piping in a recirculation system of an operating BWR plant in this country.

Since then, extensive inspection programs have been conducted in BWR piping systems which have resulted in the detection of significant numbers of cracked weldments in almost all operating BWRs.

Substantial efforts in research and development by the BWR Owners Group

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for IGSCC, related work by vendors and consulting firms, and confirmatory research sponsored by the NRC have permitted the development of revised staff positions regarding the IGSCC problems.

The technical bases for these positions are detailed in NUREG-0313, Revision 2, " Technical Report on Material Selection and Guidelines for BWR Coolant Pressure Boundary Piping".

NUREG-0313, Revision 2 describes the technical bases for the staff positions on materials, processes, and primary coolant chemistry to minimize and control IGSCC problems.

Inspection schedules and inspection sample sizes are based on the susceptibility of weldments to initiation and propagation of IGSCC.

Inspection schedules are comparable to those specified in Section XI of the ASME B&PV Code in cases where the piping material is IGSCC resistant.

This Generic Letter applies to all BWR piping made of austenitic stainless steel that is four inches or larger in nominal diameter and contains reactor coolant at a temperature above 200 F during power operation, regardless of Code classification. The letter also applies to reactor vessel attachments and appurtenances such as jet pump instrumentation penetration assemblies and head spray and vent components.

Licensees are requested to respond to the GL within 180 days of the receipt of the letter. The GL provides a list of specific items which should be included by licensees to constitute an acceptable response to the GL.

The licensee's response to the GL dated July 29, 1988, was reviewed by the inspector to ascertain that applicable systems were identified, welds were categorized and inspection schedules were established in accordance with Table 1 of NUREG-0313, Revision 2.

The licensee followed the NRC staff guidance contained in NUREG-0313, Revision 1 and,- as such, the reactor coolant system austenitic stainless steel piping was built to eliminate stuceptibility to IGSCC, and significant sensitization to stress corrosion cracking was precluded.

Details regarding pipe composition. weldment materials and processes, and post-welding techniques are discursed in attachments to the licensee's response to 88-0 _ - _ _ _ - _ _ - _ _ _

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During the construction of Hope Creek some nickel based alloys, which at i

the time were considered by the NRC staff to be resistant to IGSCC, were used in several piping systems which are identified by the licensee.

Based on the revised NRC staff positions. identified by revision 2 of the NUREG, these materials are no longer considered resistant to IGSCC. This has resulted in twenty (20) welds being identified as Category G per the.

NUREG.

Fourteen (14) of the welds are scheduled for examination during the ongoing mid cycle outage, and the remaining six (6) welds will be

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examined during the second refueling outage which is scheduled to commence in September 1989. The scheduling complies with the GL requirement that all Category G welds must be examined at the next refueling outage after

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issuance of the letter.

The inspector determined that the licensee's response to the GL was timely and addressed the five areas listed by the letter.

Further, the licensee's examination schedule complies with Generic Letter 88-01 requirements regarding Category G welds.

Observations of Work In Progress (73753)

l The inspector observed ultrasonic examinations and a portion of a magnetic particle examination in progress during this inspection.

The observations were made to ascertain that Code and regulatory requirements were met, and that the examinations were performed by qualified examiners. The follow-ing were included in the inspector's observations:

Ultrasonic Examination Weld No.1-BC-18GBB-066A-3,18" diameter class 2 RHR' system pipe to

valve weld Weld No. 1-BC-18GBB-066A-7, 18" diameter class 2 RHR system pipe to

elbow weld Magnetic Particle Examination 1-BC-18GBB-066A-18 PSI, Class 2 RHR system pipe support

The ultrasonic examinations, including system calibration and a portion of the magnetic particle examination were observed by the inspector to ascertain that the examinations were performed in accordance with applicable code and regulatory requirements by qualified examiners.

l Prior to performing the examinations the ISI technicians verified weld identification to assure that the correct weld was examined.

The magnetic particle examination was performed using an AC magnetic yoke

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and the magnetic particles were observed to provide adequate contrast with the examination surface to disclose relevant flaws and/or defects.

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Examination equipment was calibrated in accordance with the ISI vendor's program and was used within the specified calibration period.

Qualification / Certification records of the examiners were selected for inspection to ascertain that the technicians were properly certified in accordance with the licensee's program and SNT-TC-1A, the governing document.

The examiners were determined to be properly certified and visual acuity records for each technician confirmed that the physical examination requirements of SNT-TC-1A were met.

In addition to the above the inspector requested and was provided with copies of certifying Specific Examinations and associated reference material that is used by the licensee's ISI vendor to certify the qualification of Level II ultrasonic, magnetic particle and liquid penetrant examiners.

The inspector determined that the examination questions were appropriate for their intended use.

The examinations were determined to meet the

" closed book" requirement of SNT-TC-1A as defined by the document and by SNT-TC-1A interpretation number 77-05, l

Preservice inspection (PSI) data for the two ultrasonically examined i

welds were compared with the ISI results and there appeared to be a significant decrease in examination sensitivity.

This was evidenced by geometric indications which were reported by PSI data as 100% of DAC, and which were found to be less than 50% of DAC by the recent ISI examinations.

The inspector's observation of the latest ISI examinations confirmed that they were performed in accordance with Code and procedural requirements by properly qualified including one Level III examiner.

PSI records indicate that all applicable requirements were met.

Based on this observation the licensee indicated that subsequent ultra-sonic examinations during the current mid cycle outage will be monitored closely against the existing PSI data to ascertain whether the apparent decrease in sensitivity is an isolated case, or whether a trend appears to be developing.

The inspector noted that if the latter is true the cause should be investigated so that corrective action can be taken.

The inspector determined that the ISI examinations were properly done in accordance with applicable requirements and by qualified examiners.

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results were documented in accordance with the licensee's ISI program.

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l QA/QC Involvement in Inservice Inspection Activities (73051)

The latest audit of Southwest Research Institute (SWRI) by the licensee war selected for inspection to ascertain that SWRI was considered an approved vendor and that the audit was performed in accordance with the

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licensee's program.

In addition the Station QA Surveillance Schedule for

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the 1st quarter 1989 was inspected to ascertain.that surveillance.of ISI activities were scheduled to be performed during the mid cycle outage.

The audit of SWRI at San Antonio, Texas was performed during the period

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from April 20 through 24, 1987. The next audit is scheduled to be performed in 1990.

The SWRI audit was performed by a qualified licensee auditor and examined the vendor's implementation of its QA Manual as it related to ISI and NDE. Audit report no. NM-87-12 documented the audit results and the attached audit plan verified that the areas audited were appropriate to make the determination regarding the SWRI capability as a vendor of ISI services.

The licensee's Station QA Surveillance Schedule indicated that two ISI surveillance were scheduled to be performed during the outage.

The licensee stated that additional surveillance would be performed as the outage progresses and the inspector saw evidence of an unscheduled surveillance in progress.

Exit Meeting I

The inspector met with licensee representatives (denoted in paragraph 1)

-i at the conclusion of the inspection on February 10, 1989. The inspector i

summarized the scope and findings of the inspection.

I At no time during the inspection was written material provided by the inspector to the licensee. The licensee did not indicate that proprietary information was involved within the scope of this inspection.

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