IR 05000395/2010403
| ML101450138 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Summer  |
| Issue date: | 05/21/2010 |
| From: | John Lubinski Division of Reactor Safety II |
| To: | Gatlin T South Carolina Electric & Gas Co |
| References | |
| EA-10-089 IR-10-403 | |
| Download: ML101450138 (4) | |
Text
May 21, 2010
SUBJECT:
VIRGIL C. SUMMER NUCLEAR STATION - NRC SUPPLEMENTAL INSPECTION REPORT 05000395/2010403
Dear Mr. Gatlin:
On April 30, 2010, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) completed a supplemental inspection pursuant to inspection procedure 95001 at your Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Station Unit 1. The enclosed inspection report documents the inspection results, which were discussed on April 30, 2010, with you and other members of your staff.
As required by the NRC Reactor Oversight Process Action Matrix, this supplemental inspection was performed because a finding of white safety significance was identified. This issue was documented in previously in NRC Inspection Report 05000395/2009404 dated October 26, 2009. The NRC was informed on January 8, 2010, of your readiness for this inspection.
The objectives of this supplemental inspection were to provide assurance that: (1) the root causes and the contributing causes for risk-significant issues were understood; (2) the extent of condition and extent of cause of the issues were identified; and (3) corrective actions were or will be sufficient to address and preclude repetition of the root and contributing causes.
The inspection consisted of examination of activities conducted under your license as they relate to safety, compliance with the Commissions rules and regulations and with the conditions of your license.
The inspector determined that the supplemental inspection revealed substantive inadequacies in the evaluation of the root causes and extent of the performance problems. The inspector determined that the scope of root cause evaluation was limited and did not address the performance issues adequately. In addition, two similar findings were identified during this inspection. SCE&G 2 The attached report documents a NRC-Identified finding which was preliminarily determined to be greater than very low security significance (i.e., greater than Green as determined by the Physical Protection Significance Determination Process).
The deficiency was promptly corrected or compensated for, and the plant was in compliance with applicable physical protection and security requirements within the scope of this inspection before the inspectors left the site. The finding had a cross-cutting aspect in the area of Human Performance in the work practices component regarding procedural compliance H.4(b). The finding is also an apparent violation (AV) of NRC requirements and is being considered for escalated enforcement action in accordance with the Enforcement Policy, which can be found on the NRCs Web Site at http://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/regulatory/enforcement/enforce-pol.html.
Before we make a final significance decision regarding the preliminary greater than Green findings, we are providing you an opportunity (1) to attend a Regulatory Conference where you can present to the NRC your perspective on the facts and assumptions the NRC used to arrive at the finding and assess its significance, or (2) submit your position on the finding to the NRC in writing. If you request a Regulatory Conference, it should be held within 30 days of the receipt of this letter and we encourage you to submit supporting documentation 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 closed to public observation because it involves security sensitive information. If you decide to submit only a written response, such submittal should be sent to the NRC within 30 days of the receipt of this letter. If you decline a Regulatory Conference and choose not to submit a written response, the NRC will proceed with its final determination.
Please contact Mr. Michael E. Ernstes of my staff at (404) 562-4540 within 10 business days of the date of your receipt of this letter to notify the NRC of your intentions. If we have not heard from you within 10 days, we will continue with our significance determination decision.
You will be advised by separate correspondence of the results of our deliberations on this matter. No response regarding the apparent violation is required at this time. 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 number and characterization of the apparent violation described in the enclosed inspection report may change as a result of further NRC review.
Additionally, a licensee identified violation which was determined to be of very low safety significance is listed in this report. The NRC is treating this violation as a non-cited violation (NCV) consistent with Section VI.A.1 of the NRC Enforcement Policy because of the very low safety significance of the violation and because it is entered into your corrective actions program. If you disagree with the characterization of this finding in this report, you should provide a response within 30 days of the date of this inspection report, with the basis for your disagreement, to the Regional Administrator, Region II, and the NRC Resident Inspector at the Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Station. The information you provide will be considered in accordance with Inspection Manual Chapter 0305. SCE&G 3 In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 of the NRC's "Rules of Practice," a copy of this letter will be available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the Publicly Available Records (PARS) component of NRC's document system, ADAMS.
ADAMS is accessible from the NRC Website at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html (the Public Electronic Reading Room). However, because of the security-related concerns contained in the enclosure, and in accordance with 10 CFR 2.390, a copy of this letters enclosure will not be available for public inspection.
In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390(b)(1)(ii), the NRC is waiving the affidavit requirements for your response, if any. This practice will ensure that your response will not be made available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room ADAMS. If Safeguards Information is necessary to provide an acceptable response, please provide the level of protection described in 10 CFR 73.22. Otherwise, mark your entire response as Security-Related Information-Withhold Under 10 CFR 2.390 and follow the instructions for withholding in 10 CFR 2.390(b)(1).
Sincerely,
/RA/
John W. Lubinski, Acting Director Division of Reactor Safety Docket No. 50-395 License No. NPF-12
Enclosure: Inspection Report 05000395/2010403 w/Attachment: Supplemental Information
( )
cc w/encl.: (See page 4) 4 cc w/encl:
Bruce L. Thompson Manager Nuclear Licensing (Mail Code 830)
South Carolina Electric & Gas Company Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Station P.O. Box 88 Jenkinsville, SC 29065
George A. Lippard, III General Manager Nuclear Plant Operations South Carolina Electric & Gas Company Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Station P.O. Box 88 Jenkinsville, SC 29065
R. J. White Nuclear Coordinator S.C. Public Service Authority Mail Code 802 Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Station P.O. Box 88 Jenkinsville, SC 29065
Kathryn M. Sutton, Esq.
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP 111 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20004
Susan E. Jenkins Director, Division of Waste Management Bureau of Land and Waste Management S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control 2600 Bull Street Columbia, SC 29201