Information Notice 1996-33, Erroneous Data From Defective Thermocouple Results in a Fire

Erroneous Data From Defective Thermocouple Results in a Fire

ML031060060
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, 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, Crane
Issue date:	05/24/1996
Revision:	0
From:	Cool D A, TenEyck E Q NRC/NMSS/FCSS, NRC/NMSS/IMNS
To:
References
IN-96-033, NUDOCS 9605220019
Download: ML031060060 (8)

-IUNITED STATESNUC EAR REGULATORY COMMISSIONOFFICE OF NUC EAR MATERIAL SAFETY AND SAFEGUARDSWASHINGTON, D.C. 20555May 24, 1996NRC INFORMATION NOTICE 96-33: ERRONEOUS DATA FROM DEFECTIVE THERMOCOUPLE'RESULTS IN A FIRE

Addressees

All material and fuel cycle licensees that monitor temperature withthermocouples.

Purpose

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing this informationnotice to alert addressees to an incident where a defective thermocouplecaused an evaporator to run at an excessively high temperature, resulting in afire. It is expected that recipients will review the information for applica-bility to their facilities and consider actions, as appropriate, to avoidsimilar problems. However, suggestions in this information notice are not NRCrequirements; therefore, no specific action nor written response is required.

Description of Circumstances

On February 21, 1996, a licensee had a fire in the ventilation system of itsliquid waste process. The licensee's investigation determined that the firewas caused by a type-J thermocouple manufactured with reverse polarity. Thetype-J thermocouple was part of a Pulse Combustion Drier put into operation in1985 to evaporate waste water. The drier operates with natural gas thatignites inside the drier combustion chamber. Waste water is pumped into thehot gases being expelled from the combustion chamber within an evaporationcone. The temperature is controlled by regulating the amount of waste waterbeing fed into the system. This is based on temperature readings from athermocouple in the duct work.The licensee had replaced the thermocouple with a spare unit while trouble-shooting a lead wire problem on February 15, 1996. The spare thermocouple wasfound to have reverse polarity during a test run, and the licensee believed ithad corrected the problem by reversing the lead wire polarity at theinstrument. The system appeared to read correctly during a 10-minute testrun. However, approximately an hour into a full run the next day, thetemperature reading began to behave erratically. The temperature readingsdropped even though the actual temperature was increasing. By the time thelicensee identified the discrepancy, a fire had started in the dust collector-filter cartridges.The defective type-J thermocouple was purchased in 1985 (as a spare part),along with the Pulse Combustion Drier from Sonodyne Industries in Portland,Oregon. The thermocouple had been manufactured for Sonodyne Industries by~~20O1 Qdjoto lpi) t TE-E Aon 96-033 -9(052c/

IN 96-33May 24, 1996 Gulton Measurement and Control Systems Division (a division of GultonIndustries) in East Greenwich, Rhode Island. The licensee reported thatSonodyne Industries is out of business and Gulton Industries is no longermanufacturing thermocouples.DiscussionNRC is not aware of any other Sonodyne driers currently being used by NRClicensees. Licensees that operate waste water evaporators or other heat-generating systems using thermocouples may wish to consider reviewing thesource of the thermocouples and testing the polarity of thermocouples instock.This information notice requires no specific action nor written response. Ifyou have any questions about the information in this notice, please contactthe technical contact listed below or the appropriate regional office.ElizaI~%h Q. T6 ck, Di tctorDivis ton of Fuel Cycle Safetyand SafeguardsOffice of Nuclear Material Safetyand SafeguardsDonald A. Cool, DirectorDivision of Industrial andMedical Nuclear SafetyOffice of Nuclear Material Safetyand SafeguardsTechnical contact: Kevin M. Ramsey, NMSS(301) 415-7887Internet:kmrenrc.gov

Attachments:

1. List of Recently Issued NMSS Information Notices2. lst of Recently Issued NRC Information sP" &t' &-

AK-, Ki)Attachment 1IN 96-33May 24, 1996 LIST OF RECENTLY ISSUEDNHSS INFORMATION NOTICESInformation Date ofNotice No. Subject Issuance Issued to96-28Suggested Guidance Relat-1ng to Development andImplementation of Correc-tive Action05/01/96All material andlicenseesfuel cycle96-2196-2096-18Safety Concerns Relatedto the Design of the DoorInterlock Circuit onNucletron High-Dose Rateand Pulsed Dose RateRemote Afterloading Brachy-therapy DevicesDemonstration of Associ-ated Equipment Compliancewith 10 CFR 34.20Compliance With 10 CFRPart 20 for AirborneThoriumIncident ReportingRequirements forRadiography Licensees10 CFR 34.20; FinalEffective DateHandling UncontainedYellowcake Outside of aFacility Processing Circuit04/10/9604/04/9603/25/9601/10/9612/18/9512/6/95All NRC Medical Licenseesauthorized to use brachy-therapy sources in high-and pulsed-dose-rate remoteAll industrial radiographylicensees and radiographyequipment manufacturersAll material licenseesauthorized to possess anduse thorium in unsealed formAll Radiography Licenseesand Manufacturers ofRadiography EquipmentIndustrial RadiographyLicensees.All Uranium RecoveryLicensees.96-0495-5895-51Recent Incidents InvolvingPotential Loss of Controlof Licensed Material10/27/95All materiallicensees.and fuel cycle95-50Safety Defect in Gammamed121 Bronchial CatheterClamping Adapters10/30/95All High Dose RateAfterloader (HDR) Licensee I23.Attachment 2IN 96-33May 24, 1996 LIST OF RECENTLY ISSUEDNRC INFORMATION NOTICESInformation Date ofNotice No. Subject Issuance Issued to96-3296-3196-3096-2996-2896-2796-2696-2596-24Implementation of 10 CFR50.55a(g)(6)(ii)(A),Augmented Examinationof Reactor Vessel'Cross-Tied Safety Injec-tion AccumulatorsInaccuracy of DiagnosticEquipment for Motor-Operated Butterfly ValvesRequirements in 10 CFRPart 21 for Reporting andEvaluating Software ErrorsSuggested Guidance Relatingto Development and Imple-mentation of CorrectiveActionPotential Clogging of HighPressure Safety InjectionThrottle Valves DuringRecirculationRecent Problems with Over-head CranesTransversing In-Core ProbeOverwithdrawn at LaSalleCounty Station, Unit 1Preconditioning of Molded-Case Circuit BreakersBefore Surveillance Testing05/23/9605/22/9605/21/9605/20/9605/01/9605/01/9604/30/9604/30/9604/25/96All holders of OLs or CPsfor nuclear power reactorsAll holders of OLs or CPsfor pressurized waterreactorsAll holders of OLs or CPsfor nuclear power reactorsAll holders of OLs or CPsfor nuclear power reactorsAll material and fuel cyclelicenseesAll holders of OLs or CPsfor pressurized waterreactorsAll holders of OLs or CPsfor nuclear power reactorsAll holders of OLs or CPsfor nuclear power reactorsAll holders of OLs or CPsfor nuclear power reactorsOL -Operating LicenseCP -Construction Permit

-.11JIN 96-33May 24, 1996 Gulton Measurement and Control Systems Division (a division of GultonIndustries) in East Greenwich, Rhode Island. The licensee reported thatSonodyne Industries is out of business and Gulton Industries is no longermanufacturing thermocouples.DiscussionNRC is not aware of any other Sonodyne driers currently being used by NRClicensees. Licensees that operate waste water evaporators or other heat-generating systems using thermocouples may wish to consider reviewing thesource of the thermocouples and testing the polarity of thermocouples instock.This information notice requires no specific action nor written response. Ifyou have any questions about the information in this notice, please contactthe technical contact listed below or the appropriate regional office.Elizabeth Q. Ten Eyck, DirectorDivision of Fuel Cycle Safetyand SafeguardsOffice of Nuclear Material Safetyand SafeguardsDonald A. Cool, DirectorDivision of Industrial andMedical Nuclear SafetyOffice of Nuclear Material Safetyand SafeguardsTechnical contact:Kevin M. Ramsey, NMSS(301) 415-7887Internet:kmr~nrc.gov

Attachments:

1. List of Recently Issued NMSS Information Notices2. List of Recently Issued NRC Information NoticesDOCUMENT NAME: 96-33.IN*SEE PREVIOUS CONCURRENCE -OIMOB* C NMSS* I IMOB* lCSS I FCSS4 I IMNS INAME KRamsey/kr/ll EKraus CHaney PTing ETentyckDATE 4/15/96 4/15/96 4/18/96 4/18/96 5/15/96 5/16/96 jOFFICIAL RECORD COPY l)IN 96-April , 1996 Gulton Measurement and Control Systems Division (a division of GultonIndustries) in East Greenwich, Rhode Island. The licensee reported thatSonodyne Industries is out of business and Gulton Industries is no longermanufacturing thermocouples.Discussion:NRC is not aware of any other Sonodyne driers currently being used by NRClicensees. Licensees that operate waste water evaporators or other heat-generating systems using thermocouples may wish to consider reviewing thesource of the thermocouples and testing the polarity of thermocouples instock.This information notice requires no specific action nor written response. Ifyou have any questions about the information in this notice, please contactthe technical contact listed below or the appropriate regional office.Elizabeth Q. Ten Eyck, DirectorDivision of Fuel Cycle Safetyand SafeguardsOffice of Nuclear Material Safetyand SafeguardsDonald A. Cool, DirectorDivision of Industrial andMedical Nuclear SafetyOffice of Nuclear Materialand SafeguardsSafetyContact(s):

Attachments:

Kevin M. Ramsey, NMSS(301) 415-78871. Lis2. Lis,t of Recently Issued NMSS Information Noticest of Recently Issued NRC Information NoticesG:INTHERMO.KMRDOCUMENT NAME:*SEE PREVIOUS CONCURRENCEOFC I 0B* I _ NMSS* I IMOB* IjI FCSS I IM ANAME KRamsey/kr/ll EKraus CHaney PTinETen kDATE 4/15/96 -4/15/96 m4/18/96 4//j'96OFFICIAL RECORD COPY FN 96-April , 1996 Gulton Measurement and Control Systems Division (a division of G tonIndustries) in East Greenwich, Rhode Island. The licensee rep ted thatSonodyne Industries is out of business and Gulton Industries s no longermanufacturing thermocouples.Discussion:NRC is not aware of any other Sonodyne driers curren y being used by NRClicensees. Licensees that operate waste water evap rators or other heat-generating systems using thermocouples may wish t consider reviewing thesource of the thermocouples and testing the pol ity of thermocouples instock.This information notice requires no specifi action nor written response. Ifyou have any questions about the informat n in this notice, please contactthe technical contact listed below or th appropriate regional office.Donald A. Cool, Director.Division of Industrial andMedical Nuclear SafetyOffice of Nuclear Material Safetyand SafeguardsContact(s): Kevin M. msey, NMSS(301) 41 7887

Attachments:

1. List of Recenty Issued NMSS Information Notices2. List of Rec tly Issued NRC Information NoticesDOCUMENT NAME: G: THERMO.KMR*SEE PREVI S CONCURRENCElOFC l- IM W l l NMSS* I l1I40B I FCSS l l IMNS INAME KR seylkrll1 EKraus Haney PTing DCoolDATE 4/15/96 4/15/96 4//K/96 4/ /96 4/ /96 jOFFICIAL RECORD COPY IN 96-April , 1996