IR 05000272/2005001
| ML050610352 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Salem  |
| Issue date: | 03/02/2005 |
| From: | Collins S Region 1 Administrator |
| To: | Levis W Public Service Enterprise Group |
| Cobey, Eugene W. RI/DRP/PB3 610-337-5171 | |
| References | |
| IR-05-001 | |
| Download: ML050610352 (8) | |
Text
March 2, 2005
SUBJECT:
ANNUAL ASSESSMENT LETTER - SALEM NUCLEAR GENERATING STATION (REPORT 05000272/2005001 AND 05000311/2005001)
Dear Mr. Levis:
On February 7, 2005, the NRC staff completed its end-of-cycle plant performance assessment for the Salem Nuclear Generating Station. The end-of-cycle review for Salem involved the participation of the reactor technical divisions in evaluating performance indicators (PIs) for the most recent quarter and inspection results for the period from January 1 through December 31, 2004. 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. Overall, Salem Units 1 and 2 operated in a manner that preserved public health and safety and fully met all cornerstone objectives.
This performance review and enclosed inspection plan do not include physical protection information. A separate end-of-cycle performance review letter, designated and marked as Exempt from Public Disclosure in accordance with 10 CFR 2.390, will include the physical protection review and resultant inspection plan.
Plant performance at Salem Unit 1 for the most recent quarter, as well as for the first three quarters of the assessment cycle, was within the Regulatory Response Column of the NRC Action Matrix, based on an inspection finding in the Mitigating System Cornerstone being classified as having low to moderate safety significance (White) and all PIs indicating performance at a level requiring no additional NRC oversight (Green). The White inspection finding involved inadequate corrective actions which resulted in an emergency diesel generator turbocharger failure in September 2002. Completion of the initial and supplemental inspections into the issue were delayed to allow PSEG time to complete their root cause evaluation and implement corrective actions. As described in an NRC supplemental inspection report dated January 30, 2004 [ADAMS Ref. ML040330012], the staff kept this finding open beyond four quarters pending completion of PSEGs extent of condition evaluation and until additional NRC inspection confirmed that final corrective actions had been implemented. The staff completed a follow-up supplemental inspection, documented in an inspection report dated November 8, 2004 [ADAMS Ref. ML043150524], and concluded that PSEGs extent of condition review and corrective actions were adequate to close the White finding.
Mr. William Levis Salem Unit 2 performance for the most recent quarter, as well as for the first three quarters of the assessment cycle, was within the Licensee Response Column of the NRCs Action Matrix, based on all inspection findings being classified as having very low safety significance (Green)
and all PIs indicating performance at a level requiring no additional NRC oversight (Green).
However, one PI (Unplanned Scrams per 7000 Critical Hours) is still under evaluation by the NRC staff to resolve applicability of a manual reactor trip that occurred during physics testing on November 23, 2003. A separate assessment follow-up letter may be issued, as appropriate, following completion of the staffs review.
The NRCs last four assessment letters [dated March 3, 2003, August 27, 2003, March 3, 2004, and August 30, 2004; ADAMS Refs. ML030620772, ML032390424, ML040630856, and ML042440233] documented a substantive cross-cutting issue in the area of problem identification and resolution (PI&R). The staff determined that the cross-cutting issue continued through calendar year 2004 based on the continuation of inspection findings and documented shortcomings within the PI&R area. During this assessment period, there were 14 inspection findings that were attributable, at least in part, to weaknesses in problem identification, problem evaluation and effectiveness of corrective actions. A few examples included PSEG personnel not identifying a degraded condition with a service water intake structure trash rack which ultimately led to the unavailability of a service water pump train; an inadequate evaluation of a feedwater regulating valve controller malfunction which led to a repeat reactor trip; and ineffective corrective actions for an unreliable control system which resulted in repetitive failures of the gas turbine generator. Based on these findings, the staff continues the substantive cross-cutting issue in the area of PI&R.
In addition, as discussed in the mid-cycle assessment letter dated August 30, 2004 [ADAMS Ref. ML042440233], the staff documented a substantive cross-cutting issue in the area of safety conscious work environment (SCWE) based on the results of the NRCs review of the work environment. The NRC conducted several management meetings with PSEG throughout the year to further monitor and evaluate the state of the work environment at the station. While we recognize that PSEG has taken significant steps to evaluate the stations work environment and initiated actions to begin addressing deep-seated causes, it is too early to assess whether or not the work environment at the station is significantly improving. As a result, the staff determined that the SCWE cross-cutting issue will continue, and the NRC will continue to monitor your progress.
The NRC plans to conduct Reactor Oversight Process baseline inspections at the Salem units.
Further, in order to provide an appropriate level of NRC oversight for the Salem Units, in view of the substantive cross-cutting issue in SCWE and the longstanding cross-cutting issue in PI&R, the NRCs Executive Director for Operations (EDO) approved a deviation from the NRCs Action Matrix on August 23, 2004 [ADAMS Ref. ML042290139]. This deviation authorized the staff to provide a greater level of oversight for the Salem station than would typically be called for by the Regulatory Response Column of the Action Matrix including: (1) conduct of periodic management meetings and site visits; (2) elevation of the level of NRC management involvement in meetings, site visits, and correspondence; (3) establishment of an internal NRC coordination team, involving regional and headquarters experts in reactor oversight, SCWE and related performance attributes, to coordinate NRC review efforts and assist in evaluation of licensee self-assessment efforts; (4) review of PSEGs detailed improvement plans to identify SCWE and related performance attributes for further NRC inspection; and (5) enhancement of
Mr. William Levis existing baseline inspections by adjusting inspection scope, as necessary, to verify the effectiveness of licensee improvement efforts in these areas. The enhanced regulatory oversight established by the deviation memorandum will be used to monitor your progress in addressing the PI&R and SCWE cross-cutting issues. The NRC plans to continue with this heightened oversight until PSEG has concluded that substantial, sustainable progress has been made; and the NRC has completed a review, the results of which confirm PSEGs assessment results.
The enclosed inspection plan details the inspections, less those related to physical protection, scheduled through September 30, 2006. In addition to the baseline inspection activities specified by the Reactor Oversight Process, the enclosed plan includes inspections of the reactor vessel head replacement activities scheduled for both Salem units; augmentation of existing inspections per the deviation memorandum; and additional inspections of the employee concerns program and SCWE improvement initiatives. 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 nine months of the inspection plan are tentative and may be revised at the mid-cycle review meeting.
In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 of the NRCs Rules of Practice, a copy of this letter and its enclosure will be made 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 Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html (the Public Electronic Reading Room).
If circumstances arise which cause us to change this inspection plan, we will contact you to discuss the change as soon as possible. Please contact Mr. Eugene Cobey at 610-337-5171 with any questions you may have regarding this letter or the inspection plan.
Sincerely,
/RA/
Samuel J. Collins Regional Administrator Docket Nos. 50-272 50-311 License Nos. DPR-70, DPR-75 Enclosure: Salem Units 1 and 2 Inspection/ Activity Plan
Mr. William Levis cc w/encl:
T. Joyce, Site Vice President - Salem M. Brothers, Vice President, Nuclear Assessment M. Gallagher, Vice President, Engineering and Technical Support W. F. Sperry, Director, Finance C. Perino, Director, Regulatory Assurance C. J. Fricker, Salem Plant Manager R. Kankus, Joint Owner Affairs J. J. Keenan, Esquire M. Wetterhahn, Esquire F. Pompper, Chief of Police and Emergency Management Coordinator J. Lipoti, Ph.D., State of New Jersey, Asst Director Radiation Protection & Release Prevention K. Tosch - Chief, Bureau of Nuclear Engineering, NJ Dept. of Environmental Protection H. Otto, Ph.D., DNREC Division of Water Resources, State of Delaware Consumer Advocate, Office of Consumer Advocate N. Cohen, Coordinator - Unplug Salem Campaign W. Costanzo, Technical Advisor - Jersey Shore Nuclear Watch E. Zobian, Coordinator - Jersey Shore Anti Nuclear Alliance Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO)
Mr. William Levis Distribution w/encl:
S. Collins, RA J. Wiggins, DRA A. Blough, DRP B. Holian, DRP W. Lanning, DRS J. Lubinski, DRS E. Cobey, DRP S. Barber, DRP D. Orr, DRP - NRC Resident Inspector K. Venuto, DRP - Resident OA S. Lee, RI OEDO R. Laufer, NRR D. Collins, PM, NRR R. Ennis, PM, NRR (backup)
DRS Branch Chiefs (5)
RidsNrrDipmIipb@nrc.gov Region I Docket Room (with concurrences)
DOCUMENT NAME: S:\\ROP5 End of Cycle Review\\Branch 3\\Salem 1 & 2 ROP5 Annual Assessment Letter FINAL.wpd SISP Review Complete: ___EWC______ (Reviewers Initials)
After declaring this document An Official Agency Record it will be released to the Public.
To receive a copy of this document, indicate in the box: "C" = Copy without attachment/enclosure
"E" = Copy with attachment/enclosure "N" = No copy OFFICE RI/DRP RI/DRP RI/DRP
NAME SBarber/SB ECobey/EWC ABlough/ARB DATE 02/25/05 02/25/05 02/25/05 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY
Salem Inspection / Activity Plan 03/01/2005 - 09/30/2006 Inspection Type Inspection Activity Planned Dates Start End No. of Staff on Site Title Unit Number Page 1 of 3 03/02/2005 12:25:39 Report 22
71007
- SALEM U2 RX HEAD REPLACEMENT Other Routine 01/31/2005 03/31/2005 Reactor Vessel Head Replacement Inspection IP 71007
7 71152B
- PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION AND RESOLUTION Baseline Inspections 02/28/2005 03/04/2005 Identification and Resolution of Problems IP 71152B 1, 2 Baseline Inspections 03/14/2005 03/18/2005 Identification and Resolution of Problems IP 71152B 1, 2
OA
- UNIT 2 RX HEAD REPLACE TRANSPORTATION Other Routine 03/14/2005 03/17/2005 Reactor Vessel Head Replacement Inspection IP 71007
1 7111108P
- INSERVICE INSPECTION - U2 Safety Issues 04/04/2005 04/08/2005 Pzr Pene Nozzles & Stm Space Piping Connections in U.S. PWRs [NRC Bulletin 2004-01]
Baseline Inspections 04/04/2005 04/08/2005 Inservice Inspection Activities - PWR IP 7111108P
1 71114
- EP PROGRAM INSP & PI VERIFICATION Baseline Inspections 04/03/2005 04/07/2005 Alert and Notification System Testing IP 7111402 1, 2 Baseline Inspections 04/03/2005 04/07/2005 Emergency Response Organization Augmentation Testing IP 7111403 1, 2 Baseline Inspections 04/03/2005 04/07/2005 Emergency Action Level and Emergency Plan Changes IP 7111404 1, 2 Baseline Inspections 04/03/2005 04/07/2005 Correction of Emergency Preparedness Weaknesses and Deficiencies IP 7111405 1, 2 Baseline Inspections 04/03/2005 04/07/2005 Performance Indicator Verification IP 71151 1, 2
7111108P
- INSERVICE INSPECTION - U2 Baseline Inspections 04/11/2005 04/15/2005 Inservice Inspection Activities - PWR IP 7111108P
1 71121
- OCC RAD SAFETY Other Routine 04/11/2005 04/15/2005 Reactor Vessel Head Replacement Inspection IP 71007
Baseline Inspections 04/11/2005 04/15/2005 Access Control to Radiologically Significant Areas IP 7112101 1, 2 Baseline Inspections 04/11/2005 04/15/2005 ALARA Planning and Controls IP 7112102 1, 2 Baseline Inspections 04/11/2005 04/15/2005 Radiation Monitoring Instrumentation and Protective Equipment IP 7112103 1, 2
OA
- U2 RVCH POST-INSTALL VERIF TESTING Other Routine 04/27/2005 05/04/2005 Reactor Vessel Head Replacement Inspection IP 71007
2 ECP
- EMPLOYEE CONCERNS PROGRAM Other Routine 05/16/2005 05/20/2005 Resolution Of Employee Concerns IP 40001 1, 2
7112203
- PUB RAD SAFETY - REMP Baseline Inspections 06/20/2005 06/24/2005 Radiological Environmental Monitoring Program IP 7112203 1, 2
- SCWE TEAM INSPECTION Baseline Inspections 06/20/2005 06/24/2005 Identification and Resolution of Problems IP 71152 1, 2
7111111B
- LO REQUAL INSPECTION Baseline Inspections 09/12/2005 09/16/2005 Licensed Operator Requalification Program IP 7111111B 1, 2 Baseline Inspections 09/12/2005 09/23/2005 Licensed Operator Requalification Program IP 7111111B 1, 2 This report does not include INPO and OUTAGE activities.
This report shows only on-site and announced inspection procedures.
Salem Inspection / Activity Plan 03/01/2005 - 09/30/2006 Inspection Type Inspection Activity Planned Dates Start End No. of Staff on Site Title Unit Number Page 2 of 3 03/02/2005 12:25:39 Report 22
71007
- SALEM U1 RX HEAD REPLACEMENT Other Routine 09/12/2005 11/30/2005 Reactor Vessel Head Replacement Inspection IP 71007
2 7111108P
- INSERVICE INSPECTION - U1 Baseline Inspections 10/17/2005 10/21/2005 Inservice Inspection Activities - PWR IP 7111108P
1 71121
- OCC RAD SAFETY Other Routine 10/17/2005 10/21/2005 Reactor Vessel Head Replacement Inspection IP 71007
Baseline Inspections 10/17/2005 10/21/2005 Access Control to Radiologically Significant Areas IP 7112101 1, 2 Baseline Inspections 10/17/2005 10/21/2005 ALARA Planning and Controls IP 7112102 1, 2 Baseline Inspections 10/17/2005 10/21/2005 Radiation Monitoring Instrumentation and Protective Equipment IP 7112103 1, 2 Baseline Inspections 10/17/2005 10/21/2005 Performance Indicator Verification IP 71151 1, 2
1/9EXAM
- OPERATOR LICENSING INITIAL EXAMS Not Applicable 12/12/2005 12/16/2005 SALEM, UNIT 1&2 INITIAL EXAM (7/11-15/05)
U01543
Not Applicable 01/09/2006 01/13/2006 SALEM, UNIT 1&2 INITIAL EXAM (7/11-15/05)
U01543
1 7112202
- PUB RAD SAFETY - RADWASTE Baseline Inspections 12/05/2005 12/16/2005 Radioactive Material Processing and Transportation IP 7112202 1, 2 Baseline Inspections 12/05/2005 12/16/2005 Performance Indicator Verification IP 71151 1, 2
7111112B
- MAINTENANCE RULE Baseline Inspections 01/09/2006 01/13/2006 Maintenance Effectiveness IP 7111112B 1, 2
71121
- OCC RAD SAFETY Baseline Inspections 01/09/2006 01/13/2006 Access Control to Radiologically Significant Areas IP 7112101 1, 2 Baseline Inspections 01/09/2006 01/13/2006 ALARA Planning and Controls IP 7112102 1, 2 Baseline Inspections 01/09/2006 01/13/2006 Radiation Monitoring Instrumentation and Protective Equipment IP 7112103 1, 2
TRI FIRE
- TRIENNIAL FIRE PROTECTION INSPECTION Baseline Inspections 01/23/2006 01/27/2006 Fire Protection IP 7111105T 1, 2 Baseline Inspections 02/06/2006 02/10/2006 Fire Protection IP 7111105T 1, 2
7112201
- PUB RAD SAFETY - RETS Baseline Inspections 02/06/2006 02/10/2006 Radioactive Gaseous and Liquid Effluent Treatment and Monitoring Systems IP 7112201 1, 2
SSDI
- SSDI Baseline Inspections 03/06/2006 03/10/2006 Safety System Design and Performance Capability IP 7111121 1, 2 Baseline Inspections 03/20/2006 03/24/2006 Safety System Design and Performance Capability IP 7111121 1, 2
7111401
- EXERCISE & EP PI VERIFICATION Baseline Inspections 03/20/2006 03/24/2006 Exercise Evaluation IP 7111401 1, 2 Baseline Inspections 03/20/2006 03/24/2006 Performance Indicator Verification IP 71151 1, 2
71121
- OCC RAD SAFETY Baseline Inspections 05/08/2006 05/12/2006 Access Control to Radiologically Significant Areas IP 7112101 1, 2 This report does not include INPO and OUTAGE activities.
This report shows only on-site and announced inspection procedures.
Salem Inspection / Activity Plan 03/01/2005 - 09/30/2006 Inspection Type Inspection Activity Planned Dates Start End No. of Staff on Site Title Unit Number Page 3 of 3 03/02/2005 12:25:39 Report 22
71121
- OCC RAD SAFETY Baseline Inspections 05/08/2006 05/12/2006 ALARA Planning and Controls IP 7112102 1, 2 Baseline Inspections 05/08/2006 05/12/2006 Radiation Monitoring Instrumentation and Protective Equipment IP 7112103 1, 2
8/28+EXM
- OPERATOR LICENSING INITIAL EXAMS Not Applicable 07/31/2006 08/04/2006 SALEM INITIAL EXAM (1/06)
U01590
Not Applicable 08/28/2006 09/01/2006 SALEM INITIAL EXAM (1/06)
U01590
2 7111107B
- HEAT SINK Baseline Inspections 08/14/2006 08/18/2006 Heat Sink Performance IP 7111107B 1, 2 This report does not include INPO and OUTAGE activities.
This report shows only on-site and announced inspection procedures.