ML12074A069
| ML12074A069 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Palisades |
| Issue date: | 03/14/2012 |
| From: | NRC/RGN-III |
| To: | |
| References | |
| Download: ML12074A069 (29) | |
Text
Annual Assessment Meeting for the Palisades Nuclear 1
Nuclear Regulatory Commission - Region III South Haven Michigan March 21, 2012 Plant Reactor Oversight Process - 2011
Purpose of Todays Meeting
- A public forum for discussion of the licensees performance in 2011
- NRC will address the performance 2
issues identified in the annual assessment letter
- Licensee will be given the opportunity to respond and inform the NRC of new or existing programs to maintain or improve performance
Agenda
- Introduction
- Review of Reactor Oversight Process
- National Summary of Plant Performance Di i
f Pl P
f R
l 3
- Discussion of Plant Performance Results
- Licensee Response and Remarks
- NRC Closing Remarks
- Break
- NRC available to address public questions
Region III Organization Cynthia D. Pederson Acting Regional Administrator Jennifer L. Uhle Acting Deputy Regional Administrator Division of Reactor Projects Division of Reactor Safety Division of Nuclear Materials Safety 4
K. Steven West, Director Gary Shear, Deputy Director Steven A. Reynolds, Director Kenneth OBrien, Deputy Director Jack Giessner Branch 4 Chief Regional Specialists Palisades Resident Inspection Staff Tom Taylor, Senior Resident Inspector April Scarbeary, Resident Inspector Branch Staff Robert Lerch, Project Engineer Diana Betancourt, Reactor Engineer Swetha Shah, Reactor Engineer Anne T. Boland, Director Patrick Louden, Deputy Director Regional Specialists
Our Mission License and regulate nuclear materials to ensure adequate protection of public health and safety, promote the common defense and security, and protect the environment.
5
- Establishing rules and regulations
- Issuing licenses
- Providing oversight through inspection, enforcement, and evaluation of operational experience
- Conducting research to provide support for regulatory decisions
- Responding to events and emergencies
Some Nuclear Facts 104 nuclear power plants supply about 20 percent of the electricity in the U.S.
Nuclear materials are used in medicine for diagnosis 6
in medicine for diagnosis and cancer treatment.
Nuclear materials are widely used in industry, such as in density gauges, flow measurement devices, radiography devices, and irradiators.
The NRC Regulates
- Nuclear reactors - commercial power reactors, research and test reactors, new reactor designs
- Nuclear materials - nuclear reactor fuel, radioactive materials for medical, industrial, and academic use 7
- Nuclear waste - transportation, storage and disposal of nuclear material and waste, decommissioning of nuclear facilities
- Nuclear security - physical security of nuclear facilities and materials from sabotage or attacks
What We Dont Do
- Regulate nuclear weapons, military reactors, or space vehicle reactors 8
- Own or operate nuclear power plants
- Regulate some radioactive materials, such as X-rays and naturally occurring radon
Reactor Oversight Process Safety Cornerstones Baseline Inspection Results Performance Indicator Results Strategic Performance Areas Safety Cornerstones Baseline Inspection Results Performance Indicator Results Strategic Performance Areas 9
Significance Threshold Action Matrix Significance Threshold Regulatory Response Significance Threshold Action Matrix Significance Threshold Regulatory Response
Reactor Oversight Process Cornerstones Mission Strategic P
f 10 Performance Areas Cornerstones Cross-Cutting Areas Human Performance--Safety Conscious Work Environment--Problem Identification &
Resolution
Significance Threshold of Inspection Findings and Indicators Safety significance NRC Response Green (very low)
Routine NRC Inspections White (low to moderate) Increases NRC oversight 11 White (low to moderate) Increases NRC oversight Yellow (substantial)
Increases NRC oversight Red (high)
Increases NRC oversight
Action Matrix Concept Licensee
Response
I Regulatory
Response
II Degraded Cornerstone III Multiple/Rep Degraded Cornerstone IV Unacceptable Performance V
12 Increasing Safety Significance Increasing NRC Inspection Efforts Increasing NRC/Licensee Management Involvement Increasing Regulatory Actions
National Summary of Plant Performance Status as of 2/15/2012 I Licensee Response 88 II Regulatory Response 11 III Degraded Cornerstone Palisades now 3
13 III Degraded Cornerstone Palisades now 3
IV Multiple/Repetitive Deg. Cornerstone 1
V Unacceptable 0
Total
- 103
- Fort Calhoun not included - shutdown and requires NRC permission to restart
National Summary
- Performance Indicator Results for 2011
- Green 6585
- White 9
- Yellow 0
Red 0
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- Red 0
- Total Inspection Findings in 2011
- Green 846
- White 13
- Yellow 2
- Red 0
Palisades Assessment Results January 1 - December 31, 2011
- In the fourth quarter of 2011 NRC 15 q
placed Palisades in Column III -
Degraded Cornerstone Column
Summary of Safety Significant Findings Plant continues to operate safely, but performance has degraded
- Operator leaves his post - Confirmatory Order
- An Auxiliary Feed Water pump failed to function -
16 An Auxiliary Feed Water pump failed to function (low to moderate safety significance)
- Service Water pump coupling failure -
(low to moderate safety significance)
- Complicated shutdown caused by fault during work on an electric panel -
(substantial safety significance)
Cornerstones Mission Strategic P
f Performance Areas Cornerstones SW pump failure DC bus failure AF pump failure
NRCs Response to Issues 2011
- Routine inspections ~ 2500 hours0.0289 days <br />0.694 hours <br />0.00413 weeks <br />9.5125e-4 months <br /> 18
- Additional inspections to address plant issues - over 1000 hours0.0116 days <br />0.278 hours <br />0.00165 weeks <br />3.805e-4 months <br />
Palisades Inspection Activities January 1 - December 31, 2011
- Routine Inspections
- Special Inspection Team - Service 19 p
p water coupling failure
- Special Inspection Team - Complicated shutdown caused by electrical fault
Assessment Summary
- Palisades continues to operate safely
- NRC placed Palisades in Column III of the Action Matrix (Degraded Cornerstone) in 4th quarter 2011
- Substantive Cross-cutting Issues (SCCIs) -
20
- Substantive Cross-cutting Issues (SCCIs) -
three in human performance area
- Conservative Assumptions
- Adequate Procedures
- Effective Oversight
- If the NRC determines the plant is not operating safely, we will shut down the plant
NRCs Response to Issues 2012 NRC will do routine/baseline activity NRC will do follow-up inspections on all three greater than green findings and confirmatory order NRC will independently evaluate the issues 21 NRC will independently evaluate the issues
- Adequate actions to prevent the issue from occurring again
- Determine if the condition that existed could exist in other equipment
- Determine the root/underlying causes and evaluate if those causes could lead to other events
- Determine if problems with safety culture caused or significantly contributed to the events
Licensee Response and Remarks Entergy Nuclear Operations 22 Entergy Nuclear Operations Palisades Nuclear Plant Remarks
Closing Remarks Cynthia Pederson y
Acting Regional Administrator, RIII 23
Questions/Comments 24
Open to the Public
- The NRC places a high priority on keeping the public and stakeholders informed of its activities.
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- At www.nrc.gov, you can:
- Find public meeting dates and transcripts;
- Read NRC testimony, speeches, press releases, and policy decisions; and
- Access the agencys Electronic Reading Room to find NRC publications and documents.
Contacting the NRC
- Report an emergency
- (301) 816-5100 (call collect)
- Report a safety concern 26
- (800) 695-7403
- Allegation@nrc.gov
- General information or questions
- www.nrc.gov
- Select What We Do for Public Affairs
NRC Representatives
- Viktoria Mitlyng, Office of Public Affairs, RIII
- (630) 829-9662
- John Jack Giessner, Branch Chief, Division of Reactor Projects 27 j
- (630) 829-9619
- Tom Taylor, Senior Resident Inspector
- (269) 764-8971
- April Scarbeary, Resident Inspector
- (269) 764-8972
Reference Sources
- Reactor Oversight Process
- http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/
ASSESS/index.html
- Public Electronic Reading Room 28 Public Electronic Reading Room
- http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm.html
- NRC Information Digest
- http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/sr1350/
- Public Document Room 800-397-4209 (Toll Free)
NRC Social Media Channels
- Blog:
http://public-blog.nrc-gateway.gov/
- Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nrcgov/
- Twitter:
- YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/NRCgov
- RSS: