ML16343A287
| ML16343A287 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Fort Calhoun  |
| Issue date: | 02/15/1995 |
| From: | Callan L NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION IV) |
| To: | Tira Patterson OMAHA PUBLIC POWER DISTRICT |
| Shared Package | |
| ML16343A288 | List: |
| References | |
| EA-94-267, NUDOCS 9502220280 | |
| Download: ML16343A287 (8) | |
See also: IR 05000285/1994024
Text
UNITE D STATES
LEAR REGULATORY COMMlSSlO
REGION IV
611 RYAN PLAZA DRIVE, SUITE 400
ARLINGTON,TEXAS 76011 6064
ENCLOSURE
2
EA 94-267
February
15, -1995
Omaha Public Power District
ATTN:
T. L. Patterson,
Division Hanager
Nuclear Operations
Fort Calhoun Station
Adm.
P.O.
Box 399,
Hwy.
75 - North of Fort Calhoun
Fort Calhoun,
68023-0399
SUBJECT:
NOTICE OF VIOLATION AND ENFORCEHENT DISCRETION
(NRC Inspection
Report 50-285/94-24)
This refers to the special
inspection
conducted
by Hr.
R. Hullikin and the
inspectors
identified in the enclosed
report, of this office, on November
14.
through
December
27,
1994.
The inspection
included
a review of activities
authorized for your Fort Calhoun Station facility.
At the conclusion of the
inspection,
the findings were discussed
with you and those
members of your
staff identified in the enclosed
report.
This special
inspection
was conducted
to review the immediate safety concerns
and corrective actions
associated
with your staff's identification of a
significant design deficiency with the control
room air conditioning units.
On November
14,
1994,
Omaha Public Power District determined that both control
room air conditioning units would have
been rendered
inoperable during certain
design
basis
accident conditions.
Specifically,
increases
in component
cooling water
(CCW) temperature
following a main steam line break in the
containment building or
a large break loss of coolant accident
would result in
the control
room air conditioning units'ompressors
shutting
down
and the
possible
release
of the Freon to the control
room.
With the loss of control
room air conditioning, certain engineered
safeguards
features
(ESF) equipment
may have
been
rendered
as described
in the report.
This was
identified by your staff and documented
in
a letter dated
November
29 to the
Region
IV Regional Administrator and in Licensee
Event Report 94-10,
"Potential Acci'dent Scenario
Involving a Loss of Control, Room Air
Conditioners."
The special
inspection consisted
of selective
examinations of
procedures
and representative
records,
interviews with personnel,
and
observation of activities in progress
and provided
a determination
whether
activities authorized
by the license
were conducted
safely
and in accordance
with NRC requirements.
Based
on the results of this inspection,
certain licensed activities appeared
to be in violation of NRC requirements
as described
in the enclosed
Notice of
Violation (Notice)
and details to this report.
The first violation involved
a
failure to assure
that the control
room air conditioning unit design
modification correctly translated
the design basis specifications for assuring
syste01 operability during certain design
basis
accidents.
As
a result,
the
control
room air conditioning units that were purchased
and installed in 1988
Omaha Public Power District
were not capable of operating within the component cooling water maximum
temperatures
following a postulated
main steam line break inside the
containment or
a large break'loss
of coolant accident.
The second violation
involved
a failure to implement the established
procedures
for the
documentation
and evaluation of the design deficiency.
These violations are being cited in the aggregate
as
problem because
of the high potential for rendering the control
room air
conditioning units inoperable during certain design basis
accidents
and the
probability that this in turn would have rendered certain
ESF equipment
The subsequent
failure of plant personnel
to appropriately
document
and evaluate this design deficiency resulted
in the plant operating
at
100 percent
power for an additional
month outside its design basis.
Normally,
a civil penalty is considered
for
a Severity Level III problem.
However,
I have
been authorized after consultation with the Director, Office
of Enforcement,
not to propose
a civil penalty for this problem.
This
determination
was
based
on our finding that this problem
and your actions
in
addressing it satisfied
the provisions of 10 CFR Part 2, Appendix C, section
VII.B(4) for old design
issues.
Specifically,
(1) the basic violation existed
since
the air conditioning units were purchased
in 1988
and is appropriately
characterized
as
an old design
issue;
(2) the problem was discovered
by the
licensee
during
a voluntary,
formal review and
was promptly reported
once the
ramifications of the problem were recognized;
(3) the problem was not likely
to be identified through routine inspection,
surveillance,
or gA activities,
and
(4) once the problem was recognized,
the licensee
developed
appropriate
short-term compensatory
measures
and comprehensive
long-term corrective
action.
Although section VII.B(4) also provides that the
NRC may refrain from
issuing
a Notice of Violation for old design
issues
under certain
circumstances,
we are issuing
a Notice of Violation in this case
because
as
indicated in the
NOV, your staff did not respond appropriately to indications
of this problem in October
1994 that should
have resulted
in a prompt
and would have lead to earlier identification and
correction.
A management
meeting
has
been
scheduled
for March 2,
1995,
in the Region
IV
Public Heeting
Room at
1 p.m.
The purpose of this meeting is to discuss
your
staff's actions to improve the corrective action process
and the concerns
identified in its implementation following the identification of the control
room air conditioning design deficiency in October
1994.
This meeting is open
to public observation.
You are required to respond
to this letter
and should follow the instructions
specified in the enclosed
Notice of Violation (Notice)
when preparing your
response.
In your response,
you should
document
the specific actions
taken
and
any additional
actions
you plan to prevent recurrence.
After reviewing
your response
to this Notice, including your proposed
corrective actions
and
the results of future inspections,
the
NRC will determine
whether further
NRC
enforcement
action is necessary
to ensure
compliance with NRC regulatory
requirements.
Omaha Public Power District
In accordance
with 10 CFR 2.790 of the NRC's "Rules of Practice,"
a copy of
this letter, its enclosures,
and your response will be placed in the
NRC
Public Document
Room (PDR).
To the extent possible,
your response
should not
include any personal
privacy, proprietary, or safeguards
information so that
it can
be placed in the
PDR without redaction.
However, if you find it
necessary
to include
such information, you should clearly indicate the
specific information that you desire
not to be placed
in the
PDR,
and provide
the legal basis to support your request for withholding the inFormation from
the public.
The responses
directed
by this letter and the enclosed
Notice are not subject
to the clearance
procedures
of the Office of Management
and Budget
as required
by the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1980,
Pub.
L. No. 96.511.
Sincerely,
Docket:
50-285
License:
org signed
by
L. J. Callan
Regional Administrator
Enclosures:
1.
2.
NRC Inspection
Report
50-285/94-24
cc w/enclosures:
LeBoeuF,
Lamb,
Greene
& HacRae
ATTN:
Mr. Michael
F. HcBride
1875 Connecticut
Avenue,
N.W.
Suite
1200
D.C.
20009-5728
County Board
of Supervisors
ATTN:
Jack Jensen,
Chairman
Blair, Nebraska
68008
Combustion Engineering,
Inc.
ATTN:
Charles
B. Brinkman,
Manager
Washington Nuclear Operations
12300 Twinbrook Parkway,
Suite
330
Rockville, Maryland
20852
Omaha Public Power District
Department of Health
ATTN:
Harold Borchert, Director
Division of Radiological
Health
301 Centennial
Mall, South
P.O.
Box 95007
Lincoln, Nebraska
68509-5007
Department of Health
ATTN:
Dr. Nark B. Horton, M,S.P.H.
Director
P.O.
Box 950070
Lincoln, Nebraska
68509-5007
Fort Calhoun Station
ATTN:
James
M. Chase,
Manager
P.O.
Box 399
Fort Calhoun,
68023