IR 05000440/2005001

Mid-Cycle Performance Review and Inspection Plan - Perry Nuclear Power Plant (Report 05000440-05-001)

ML042450562
Person / Time
Site:	Perry
Issue date:	08/30/2004
From:	Caldwell J Region 3 Administrator
To:	Myers L FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Co
References
IR-05-001
Download: ML042450562 (7)

Text

ust 30, 2004

SUBJECT:

MID-CYCLE PERFORMANCE REVIEW AND INSPECTION PLAN PERRY NUCLEAR POWER PLANT (REPORT 50-440/05-01)

Dear Mr. Myers:

On August 11, 2004, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff completed its mid-cycle plant performance assessment of the Perry Nuclear Power Plant. The mid-cycle review involved the participation of all technical divisions in evaluating performance for the first half of the calendar year 2004 assessment cycle. The process included a review of performance indicators (PIs) for the most recent quarter and inspection results over the previous 12 months.

The purpose of this letter is to inform you of our assessment of your safety performance during this period and our plans for future inspections at your facility so that you will have an opportunity to prepare for these inspections and to inform us of any planned inspections that may conflict with your plant activities.

Plant performance for the most recent quarter was within the Degraded Cornerstone column of the NRC's Action Matrix. However, early in the third quarter of 2004, Perry transitioned to the Multiple/Repetitive Degraded Cornerstone column based on the Mitigating Systems Cornerstone being degraded with multiple White findings for five consecutive quarters. You were formally notified of this transition in our letter dated August 12, 2004.

The first White finding involved the failure of the high pressure core spray (HPCS) pump to start on October 23, 2002. A supplemental inspection, conducted in July 2003 in accordance with Inspection Procedure (IP) 95001, identified significant deficiencies with regard to your extent of condition evaluation which resulted in the finding remaining open. A follow-up IP 95001 supplemental inspection conducted in December 2003 determined that the finding was adequately addressed. As a result, the finding was removed from the action matrix on December 31, 2003. The second White finding involved the failure of the Division 1 emergency service water pump on September 1, 2003. The third White finding involved air binding of the residual heat removal 'A' and low pressure core spray waterleg pump on August 14, 2003.

As a result of the first two White findings, a supplemental inspection of all three findings was conducted in June 2004 in accordance with IP 95002. Based on the inspection results, the NRC concluded that the last two White findings should remain open due to (1) your failure to take corrective action to prevent recurrence of a significant condition adverse to quality as evidenced by the repetitive failure of the Division 1 emergency service water pump on May 21, 2004; and (2) the NRCs identification of three findings which confirmed the need for a thorough assessment of the common causes for the last two White findings.

In response to Perrys entry into the Multiple/Repetitive Degraded Cornerstone, a supplemental inspection will be conducted in accordance with IP 95003. The schedule for this inspection will be communicated via separate correspondence.

The staff also identified a substantive cross-cutting issue in the area of problem identification and resolution involving a number of findings. Examples include, but are not limited to, the repetitive failure of the Division 1 emergency service water pump, an inadequate extent of condition review following the failure of the HPCS pump to start, and missed opportunities to identify the low pressure core spray/residual heat removal system venting procedure deficiencies. Furthermore, the need to perform multiple revisions of root cause evaluations was considered to be indicative of significant organizational deficiencies. We will continue to assess your performance in this area as part of both the IP 95003 inspection and the baseline inspection program.

Additionally, on April 1, 2004, the staff issued a Severity Level III Notice of Violation in accordance with the NRCs Enforcement Policy. The violation concerned FirstEnergy managements failure to adequately oversee a contractors work hours program in 2001.

The enclosed inspection plan details the inspections scheduled through March 31, 2006. The inspection plan is provided to minimize the resource impact on your staff and to allow for scheduling conflicts and personnel availability to be resolved in advance of inspector arrival onsite. Routine resident inspections are not listed due to their ongoing and continuous nature.

The inspections in the last 12 months of the inspection plan are tentative and may be revised at the end-of-cycle review meeting.

In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 of the NRC's "Rules of Practice," a copy of this letter and its enclosure will be available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the Publicly Available Records (PARS) component of the NRC's document system (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html (the Public Electronic Reading Room). If circumstances arise which cause us to change the inspection plan, we will contact you to discuss the change as soon as possible. Please contact Mark Ring at (630) 829-9703 with any questions you may have regarding this letter or the inspection plan.

Sincerely,

/RA/

James L. Caldwell Regional Administrator Docket No. 50-440 License No. NPF-58 Enclosure: Perry Inspection/Activity Plan cc w/encl: G. Leidich, President - FENOC J. Hagan, Senior Vice President Engineering and Services, FENOC W. OMalley, Director, Maintenance Department V. Higaki, Manager, Regulatory Affairs J. Messina, Director, Nuclear Services Department T. Lentz, Director, Nuclear Engineering Department F. von Ahn, Plant Manager, Nuclear Power Plant Department M. OReilly, Attorney, FirstEnergy Public Utilities Commission of Ohio Ohio State Liaison Officer R. Owen, Ohio Department of Health