ML16315A394

Public Meeting Summary with Tennessee Valley Authority to Discuss Current Status of TVA Response Activities to NRC Letter Concerning Chilled Work Environment for Raising and Addressing Safety Concerns - Watts Bar Nuclear Plant

ML16315A394
Person / Time
Site:	Watts Bar
Issue date:	11/10/2016
From:	Alan Blamey Reactor Projects Region 2 Branch 6
To:	James Shea Tennessee Valley Authority
References
Download: ML16315A394 (28)

Text

UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION REGION II 245 PEACHTREE CENTER AVENUE NE, SUITE 1200 ATLANTA, GEORGIA 30303-1257 November 10, 2016 Mr. Joseph W. Shea Vice President, Nuclear Licensing Tennessee Valley Authority 1101 Market Street, LP 3D-C Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801

SUBJECT:

PUBLIC MEETING

SUMMARY

- CURRENT STATUS OF TVA RESPONSE ACTIVITIES TO NRC LETTER CONCERNING CHILLED WORK ENVIRONMENT FOR RAISING AND ADDRESSING SAFETY CONCERNS - WATTS BAR NUCLEAR PLANT, DOCKET NO. 50-390 AND 50-391

Dear Mr. Shea:

This refers to the meeting conducted at our request at the Comfort Inn in Athens, TN on November 3, 2016, at 6:00 p.m. The purpose of the meeting was for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to discuss the status of activities related to the chilled work environment at the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant (WBN) which was identified in the NRCs March 23, 2016, Chilled Work Environment Letter (CEL) (ADAMS Accession No. ML16083A479). Enclosed are a list of attendees and the presentation handouts.

The NRC issued the CEL to Watts Bar Nuclear Plant in an effort to ensure a clear understanding of the scope of concerns related to the chilled work environment in the Operations Department.

The NRC discussed the history and basis of the CEL, as well as NRC activities after issuance of the CEL. These activities included the increase in inspector emphasis on Safety Conscious Work Environment (SCWE), the additional NRC and TVA management engagement, completion of NRC inspections related to SCWE, and continued NRC actions to confirm safe operations. The NRC noted that while the chilled environment in the Operations Department has improved, indications of weaknesses in various attributes of a SCWE outside of the operations department were observed.

The TVA management discussed their corrective action plan and completed corrective actions.

They stated that the initial CEL action plan was adjusted based on the root cause evaluation and an independent review of the root cause completed in August of 2016. TVA managers discussed their accountability for the safety culture issues and the challenge to reestablish trust and respect with the staff, which they expect to take time. The TVA described discussed completed and ongoing actions which included: increased direct and comprehensive communications, more engagement of the workforce, recognizing and reducing stress from organization and personnel events, and emphasis on a commitment to safety over production behavior. The TVA management stated their intention to conduct an effectiveness review of the plan, check and adjust the plan as needed, and submit an update to the CEL response letter in December, 2016.

J. Shea 2 In closing, the NRC acknowledged that TVA actions have resulted in improvements in the Operations Department SCWE, however, sustaining these improvements and ensuring the SCWE in other departments is similarly addressed remains a focus of the NRC. The NRC noted that no serious safety violations or instances involving significant plant safety issues associated with the work environment were identified. The NRC will continue increased management and inspection focus on Watts Bar Nuclear Plant SCWE.

In accordance with Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 2.390 of the NRCs Agency Rules of Practice and Procedure, a copy of this letter will be made available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room (PDR) 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).

Should you have any questions concerning this meeting, please contact me at (404) 997-4415.

Sincerely,

/RA/

Alan Blamey, Chief Reactor Projects Branch 6 Division of Reactor Projects Docket No.: 50-390, 50-391 License No.: NPF-90, 96

Enclosures:

1. List of Attendees

2. NRC Meeting Slides

3. TVA Meeting Slides cc: distribution via ListServ

_ML16315A394_ SUNSI REVIEW COMPLETE FORM 665 ATTACHED OFFICE RII:DRP RII:DRP SIGNATURE */RA/ */RA/

NAME J. Seat A. Blamey DATE 11/ 10 /2016 11/ 10 /2016 E-MAIL COPY? YES NO YES NO YES NO YES NO YES NO YES NO YES NO Letter to Joseph W. Shea from Alan Blamey dated November 10, 2016

SUBJECT:

PUBLIC MEETING

SUMMARY

FOR WATTS BAR NUCLEAR PLANT, DOCKET NO. 50-390 and 50-391 Distribution:

A. Blamey R. Schaaf S. Price S. Maxey OE Mail RIDSNRRDIRS Docket File Public

NRC PARTIPANTS C. Haney, Regional Administrator, Region II L. Jarriel, Agency Allegations Advisor, NRC Headquarters A. Blamey, Chief, Reactor Projects Branch 6, DRP, RII J. Hamman, NRC Resident Inspector assigned to Watts Bar Nuclear Plant TVA PARTICIPANTS M. Balduzzi, Senior Vice President Operations, TVA P. Simmons, Site Vice President, Watts Bar S. Connors, Plant Manager, Watts Bar D. J. Allen, Shift Manager, Watts Bar 2

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