Information Notice 1996-19, Failure of Tone Alert Radios to Activate When Receiving a Shortened Activation Signal

Failure of Tone Alert Radios to Activate When Receiving a Shortened Activation Signal

ML031060187
Person / Time
Site:	Beaver Valley, Millstone, Hatch, Monticello, Calvert Cliffs, Dresden, Davis Besse, Peach Bottom, Browns Ferry, Salem, Oconee, Mcguire, Nine Mile Point, Palisades, Palo Verde, Perry, Indian Point, Fermi, Kewaunee, Catawba, Harris, Wolf Creek, Saint Lucie, Point Beach, Oyster Creek, Watts Bar, Hope Creek, Grand Gulf, Cooper, Sequoyah, Byron, Pilgrim, Arkansas Nuclear, Three Mile Island, Braidwood, Susquehanna, Summer, Prairie Island, Columbia, Seabrook, Brunswick, Surry, Limerick, North Anna, Turkey Point, River Bend, Vermont Yankee, Crystal River, Haddam Neck, Ginna, Diablo Canyon, Callaway, Vogtle, Waterford, Duane Arnold, Farley, Robinson, Clinton, South Texas, San Onofre, Cook, Comanche Peak, Yankee Rowe, Maine Yankee, Quad Cities, Humboldt Bay, La Crosse, Big Rock Point, Rancho Seco, Zion, Midland, Bellefonte, Fort Calhoun, FitzPatrick, McGuire, LaSalle, Fort Saint Vrain, Shoreham, Satsop, Trojan, Atlantic Nuclear Power Plant
Issue date:	04/02/1996
From:	Crutchfield D Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
To:
References
IN-96-019, NUDOCS 9603270127
Download: ML031060187 (7)

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UNITED STATES

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 April 2, 1996 NRC INFORMATION NOTICE 96-19: FAILURE OF TONE ALERT RADIOS TO ACTIVATE WHEN

RECEIVING A SHORTENED ACTIVATION SIGNAL

Addressees

All holders of operating licenses or construction permits for nuclear power

reactors.

Purgose

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing this information

notice to alert addressees to the possibility that tone alert radios may not

reliably activate when receiving a shortened activation signal. It is

expected that recipients will review the information for applicability to

their facilities and consider actions, as appropriate, to avoid similar

problems. However, suggestions contained in this information notice are not

NRC requirements; therefore, no specific action or written response is

required.

Description of Circumstances

In a report made pursuant to Section 50.72(b)(1)(v) of Title 10 of the Code o

Federal Regulations (10 CFR 50.72(b)(1)(v)), Event Number 29907, dated

January 30, 1996, the licensee for the Callaway site reported a problem with

tone alert radios. During a test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS), a radio

station engineer observed that a tone alert radio receiver did not activate.

An investigation by the licensee found that the length of the broadcast

activation signal was insufficient to reliably activate the tone alert radio

receiver model in use at the radio station. The broadcast duration of the

activation signal had been reduced from 20 seconds to 8 seconds as permitted

by current Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations. The radio

station restored the duration of the activation signal broadcast to the

original 20-second length and observed that the tone alert radio receiver

activated as expected.

Discussion

Section 50.47(b)(5) of 10 CFR requires emergency response plans for nuclear

power reactors to include a means of providing early notification and clear

instruction to the populace within the plume exposure pathway emergency

planning zone (EPZ) in the event of an emergency. Many nuclear power reactor

sites have integrated tone alert radios into alert and notification systems

used to notify and provide instructions to members of the general public near

the site during emergency situations.

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-2 IN 96-19 April 2, 1996 These radios may serve as supplements to a siren system by filling in voids in

siren coverage, or they can be the principal means of notifying the EPZ

population. Tone alert radio receivers are used in conjunction with the EAS.

On December 28, 1994, the FCC issued a Report and Order (59 FR 67090)

concerning the Emergency Broadcast System (EBS). This Report and Order

replaced the EBS with what is now known as the EAS. This change allowed for

the creation of a new generation of alerting equipment embracing digital

technology. The change also modified some of the old EBS requirements. One

of the changes permits the use of a shorter duration tone activation signal to

activate tone alert radio receivers. This change may have decreased the

reliability of some tone alert radios currently in use to activate when

required.

Before July 1, 1995, the broadcast duration of the signal that activates tone

alert radios was required to be between 20 and 25 seconds. After July 1,

1995, the broadcast duration of the signal that activates tone alert radios

was permitted to be between 8 and 25 seconds. The FCC encourages the use of

the longer (up to 25 seconds) tone during emergencies.

Tone alert radio receivers are, and have been, available from various

manufacturers for several years. Depending on the specifications provided by

the purchaser, the threshold for activation has been built into receivers.

The signal duration needed for some tone alert radio receiver models may be

longer than the currently approved 8-second minimum signal duration now

allowed by FCC regulations.

The FCC regulations permit individual radio stations to select the duration of

the activation signal they broadcast, provided it is within the limits of 8 to

25 seconds. To reliably activate a tone alert radio receiver the duration of

the activation signal broadcast by the radio station must be long enough to

meet the activation threshold built into tone alert radio receivers in service

in a particular reception area. If the duration of the activation signal

broadcast is not compatible with the threshold set in a receiver, the

reliability of the receiver response is questionable. Either the duration of

the activation signal broadcast or the threshold for activation built into

receivers may need to be modified to ensure compatibility.

i N' IN 96-19 April 2, 1996 This Information notice requires no specific action or written response. If

you have any questions about the information in this notice, please contact

one of the technical contacts listed below or the appropriate Office of

Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) project manager.

Den4 Cru e , Director

o.

Division of Reactor Project Management

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Technical contacts: D. M. Barss, NRR

(301) 415-2922 Internet:dmbl~nrc.gov

J. L. Birmingham, NRR

(301) 415-2829 Internet:lb4@nrc.gov

Attachment: List of Recently Issued NRC Information Notices

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Attachment

IN 96-19 April 2, 1996 LIST OF RECENTLY ISSUED

NRC INFORMATION NOTICES

Information Date of

Notice No. Subject Issuance Issued to

96-18 Compliance with 10 CFR 03/25/96 All material licensees

Part 20 for Airborne authorized to possess and

Thorium use thorium in unsealed

form

95-03 Loss of Reactor Coolant 03/25/96 All holders of OLs or CPs

Supp. 1 Inventory and Potential for PWR power plants

Loss of Emergency Mitiga- tion Functions While in a

Shutdown Condition

96-17 Reactor Operation Incon- 03/18/96 All holders of OLs or CPs

sistent with the Updated for nuclear power reactors

Final Safety Analysis

Report

96-16 BWR Operation with 03/14/96 All holders of OLs or CPs

Indicated Flow Less Than for boiling-water reactors

Natural Circulation

96-15 Unexpected Plant Perform- 03/08/96 All holders of OLs or CPs

ance During Performance for nuclear power reactors

of New Surveillance Tests

96-14 Degradation of Radwaste 03/01/96 All holders of OLs or CPs

Facility Equipment at for nuclear power reactors

Millstone Nuclear Power

Station, Unit 1

96-13 Potential Containment 02/26/96 All holders of OLs or CPs

Leak Paths Through for nuclear power reactors

Hydrogen Analyzers

96-12 Control Rod Insertion 02/15/96 All holders of OLs or CPs

Problems for nuclear power reactors

OL = Operating License

CP = Construction Permit

IN 96-xx

March xx, 1996 This information notice requires no specific action or written response. If

you have any questions about the information in this notice, please contact

one of the technical contacts listed below or the appropriate Office of

Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) project manager.

Dennis M. Crutchfield, Director

Division of Reactor Project Management

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Technical contacts: D. M. Barss, NRR

(301) 415-2922 Internet:dmbl~nrc.gov

J. L. Birmingham, NRR

(301) 415-2829 Internet:jlb4@nrc.gov

Attachment:

List of Recently Issued NRC Information Notices

• See previous concurrence

OFFICE

NAME

DATE

OFFICE

NAME

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IN 96-xx

March xx, 1996 This information notice requires no specific action or written response. If

you have any questions about the information in this notice, please contact

one of the technical contacts listed below or the appropriate Office of

Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) project manager.

Dennis M. Crutchfield, Director

Division of Reactor Project Management

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Technical contacts: D. M. Barss, NRR

(301) 415-2922 Internet:dmbl@nrc.gov

J. L. Birmingham, NRR

(301) 415-2829 Internet:jlb4@nrc.gov

Attachment:

List of Recently Issued NRC Information Notices

115 ?ee- e a Cti4et- A4J-t.

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