IR 05000400/1996099
| ML20202B277 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Harris  |
| Issue date: | 04/03/1996 |
| From: | NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION II) |
| To: | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20202B274 | List: |
| References | |
| 50-400-96-99, NUDOCS 9802110158 | |
| Download: ML20202B277 (6) | |
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SYSTEMATIC ASSESSNENT OF LICENSEE PERFORMANCE REPORT SHEARON HARRIS PLANT
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50-400/96-99-I.
Background
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'The'SALP Board convened on April 3, 1996, to assess the nuclear safety performance of'the Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Plant fo'r the SALP period April 3, 1994,-through March 16, 1996.
The Board was conducted in accordance with Management Directive 8.6. " Systematic Assessment of Licensee Performance." _ Board Members were Jon R. Johnson, Deputy Director.. Division of Reactor Projects, RII (Chairperson); Joins P.
Jaudon, Deputy Director, Division of Reactor Safety RII; and Eugene V.
Imbro, Director, Project Directorate II-1, Office of Nuclear Reactor-Regulation.
This assessment was reviewed and approved by the Regional i
Administrator.
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The performance category ratings and the assessment functional areas
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used below are defined and described in NRC Management Directive 8.6,
" Systematic Assessment of Licensee Performance (SALP)."
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PERFORMANCE ANALYS!$ - PLANT OPERATIONS This functional area assesses the control and execution of activities-directly related'to operating the plant..It includes activities such as-
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plant startup, power operation, plant shutdown, and responr"
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I transients.
It also includes-initial and requalification t
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programs for licensed operators.
Overall performance in'the plant operations area was excellent throughout this assessment period.- Management was involved in all-aspects of plant operations and has taken several initiatives this period to strengthen performance of the operations staff,.0perational decisions were conservative and focused on safety. 'This was-
"damonstrated by decisions to reduce powar to repair balance of plant equipment, and to shutdown the reactor to repair a leaking feedwater isolation valve.
Operator knowledge and performance during plant maneuvers continued to be superior throughout the period. This was demonstrated by handling plant-transients effectively, proper implementation of the Emergency Operating Procedures for reactor trip and safety injection, thoroughly conducting the post-trip review arid root cause analyses, and making emergency declaratiors. The licensed operator training program has resulted in excellent results on NRC administered exams.
Consistently excellent performance was observed in the implementation of system lineups and cletrances throughout the period.
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Control and-execution of refueling outagas were effective. Reactor
- coolant-system nid-loop evolutions as well as core alterations and fuel movement-in the spent fuel pool were well-handled.
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The operations staff was generally effective in monitoring plant'
equipment performance and operability-status.
Performance in the area of monitoring and tracking the status of plant equipment has resulted in
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the need to improve documentation of inoperability or out-of-servics
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status.
Initiatives have been taken to improve the perf9rmance of-operating shifts and address personnel errors which were a challenge during the previous SALP. _ Operating shift crews have been realigned to strengthen.the overall mix'of the operations staff and improved standards of communication have been implemented.
In addition, two maintenance technicians-are rotated with the shift crews to provide better operations support.
Station management demonstrated excellent safety focus and conservatism in oversight of plant operations.
The Plant Nuclear Safety Committee conducted thorough safety reviews especially of post-trip evaluations.
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Event review teams were effective and: root cause investigations were
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thorough.
Preparation and technical review and validation of surveillance
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procedures under the cognizance of operations was identified as a challenge during this period. This was especially significant in areas
l-of control and protection circuit testing procedures.
This indicated a
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need to evaluate the appropriateness of qualifications of the writers and reviewers to assure that technically adequate procedures =are available.
The composite self-assessments conducted of the performance of plant operations wera superior.
These included-items such as assessments of conomications by the on-shift operations supervisors,. and a regularly scheduled Plant Management Observation Program designed to assess performance and improve the effectiveness of managers in the field.
Furthermore, evaluations conducted by the Nuclear Assessment Section (NAS) were-very effective.especially in areas: such as accountability and responsibility in light of reorganizing fire protection and operations functions.
Key operational activities such as startups and 2hutdowns were routinely monitored by both operations managers and NAS observers with feedback provided to the operations staff.
The Plant operations area is rated Category 1.
III. PERF0MANCE ANALYSIS - NAINTENANCE This functional area addresses activities associated with preventive, predictive, diagnostic. and corrective maintenance of plant systems, components and structures.
It also encompasses surveillance testing and other testing associated with system maintenance and operability.
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The overall conduct of maintenance was superior. The availebility of safety systems and components remained very high, contributing to operatienal safety.
The previous SALP had identified making the new Work Coordination Center more effective as a challenge.
Throughout this assessment-period.
implementation of the Work Coordination Center has met this challenge
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and has been effective at scheduling and releasing plant equipment
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during the 12 week rolling system outages.
This center.is supervised by an Operations: Shift Superintendant, and weekly schedules are effectively arepared by the operations support staff.. A cefinite improvement has
@een noted in the area of work scheduling during this assessment period.
Outage management and control were effective. Althoug5 there were some post-outage transients, the outage was completed without significant problems.
The-Individual Plant Examination was considered in +.he scheduling of work so that' the equipment taken out of service ole not constitute an undue risk.
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-The scope of. backlogs was effectively managed. This was attributed to-the effectiveness of the 12 week rolling schedule and the "Fix it Now" l
or FIN team, which could deal with small, non-safety related problems expeditiously. There appeared to be a stronger sense of maintenance management supporting operations. This resu' ted in an improved level of
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service,-and an overall reduction in operational work around problems.
Another innovation was the permanent assignment to each of the operating
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shifts of two maintenance technicians.
There werp several problems noted throughout the assessmert period with maintenance and surveillance procedures. These problems included both adherence and technical adequacy issues.
Identification of the root causes was superior, and appropriate corrective actions were identified.
. Striking the appropriate balance among procedural detail, skill of the t
craft,;and frequency of performance was a challenge to maintaining and improving maintenance effectiveness. Additionally, the appropriate use of vendor. technical manual guidance and engineering expertise in developing work instructions for complex and unusual-tasks was part of this challenge.
Monitoring steam generators for tube degradation was found to be effective. The use of predictive maintenance techniques-such as lubricating oil analysis, vibration analysis, and thermography kept pace with industry trenas toward the use of these techniques.
The licensee made good progress in preparing to implement the new maintenance rule, by concentrating first on Emergency Diesel Generators.
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Positive management involvement was noted in innovative training.
concepts-such as the error-reduction training, team training, and in-foreign m4terial exclusion training. The training addressed.-in part,
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the problems noted above with procedures. -The training was effective
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and was well accepted by the personnel being trained.
The Maintenance area :s rated Category 1.
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PERFORNANCE ANALYSIS - ENSIN ERING This functional area assesses activities associated with the design of plant modifications and engineering support for operations, maintenancat, surveillance, and licensing activities.
The overall performance in the Engineering area remained superior.
The engineering staff continued to have strong management involvement with strengths in the areas of self-assessment, design analyses, and
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techaical support. This was demonstrated by a number of mil-performed-design analyses and plant modifications.
In the area of technical support ta plant maintenance, sporations, and refueling; outages, the engineering organization typicaily performed well.- Management responded promptly to generic issues and industry information. By the time the assessment period ended, the licensee had identified and/ce performed -
nine previously unrecog'nized surveillances during their review of Generic Letter 96-01, esting of Safety-Related Logic Circuits.
The plant's operations were supported successfully throughout the assessment period. Of particular note was the self-assessment of. plant -
surveillance requirements that identified problems in response time testing.
In addition, the licensee has undertaken a number of initiatives such as the implementation of the site's top-ten list to
' resolve plant-emerging safety issues as well.as the rapid-rerponse team's timely engineering evaluations and technical support for maintaining safe plant operation.
The above engineering efforts and initiatives have fostered strm g teamwork and improved cosamnications with plant operations and
- naintenance-organizations; and thus have resulted in a reduction in operator work-arounds, engineering backlogs, and drawing changes.
However, in-light of the weaknesses discussed in other functional areas, technical review of procedures related to equipment maintenance as well
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as surveillance and post modification testing is an area where improvements could be achieved.
Throughout the assessment period, licensing submittals have been consistently of high quality, supported by well-performed analyses, and reflected sound engineering practice.
The Engineering area is rated Category 1.
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PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS - PLANT SUPPORT This functional area addresses radiological controls, liquid and gaseous affluents, emergency preparedness, plant chemistry.
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security, fire protecticn, and housekeeping.
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In the radiological control area, implementation of the ALARA (As Low As Reasonably Ach evabls) program was very successful in that total
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absorbed' dose for the site was well below the established site dose goal.- This is attributed in part to effective managemen' of the outage t
(discussed in the maintenance functional area. The licensee was also aggressive in source term reduction work throu)gh the evaluation of -
- methods to reduce or minimize cobalt within the primary system.
The total size of the contaminated area within the radiologically-controlled area (RCA) has. been effectively managed to approximately 1 percent of the RCA square footage.
Radicactive waste presented a significant challenge in that such waste
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was not being accepted at the southern disposal site for points of origin within North Carolina. The licensee has been effective at L
reducing the volume cif vaste generated and then compacting the reduced volume for temporary retention onsite.
A relatively stable health physics staff contributed to the staff being well qualified. Training initiatives included advanced radiation worker cross training for_ operations personnel so that in some routine evolutions-fewer personnel would need to enter high radiation areas.
-Issues noted with adherence to radiological control procedures suggested that additional improvements in.the effectiveness of radiation worker training may be warranted. An improving trend in the numbers of PCEs was noted overall despite the fact that goals were not met in the recent outage.
The radiological effluent control program was very effectiver with liquid
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and gaseous releases maintained well below Technical Specification limits. An effective chemistry program resulted'in maintaining chemistry parameten well within prescribed limits and in a reduction of the source term during outages.
Performance of the steam generators was exceptional.
The site has not experienced significant tube degradation problems, in part, as a result of effective chemistry controls.
Upgrades to the emergency response facilities completed during this assessment period and frequent drills represented a strength in response to the challenge of the previous period.
The station was slow in declaring a Notice'of Unusual Event in response to a rail car derailment onsite.
Another actual emergency declaration opportunity involved the inoperability of both emergency diesel generators.
In this latter instance, a prompt declaration was made.
The initiative of.using an
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emergency preparedness individual in operator simulator training was noted as a good response to the challenges of emergency classification.
Security program activities continued to be performed in a superior
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manner. Management provided superior training facilities, and the
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security force was effectively trained. There were no significant problems noted with the implementation of physical security
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rcquirements, and there was timely implementation of the vehicle barrier
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rule.
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Housekeeping had been identified as a challenge during the last assessment.
Housekeeping was improved and was considered excellent by the end of this assessment period. This indicated that management expectations in this area have been translated into tangible results.
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The fire protection area was acceptable with a fully functional fire brigade of trained operators staffed for every shift.
The Plant Support area is rated Category 1.
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