ML17059B098
| ML17059B098 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Nine Mile Point  |
| Issue date: | 03/29/1996 |
| From: | Cooper R NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION I) |
| To: | Sylvia B NIAGARA MOHAWK POWER CORP. |
| Shared Package | |
| ML17059B099 | List: |
| References | |
| EA-96-079, EA-96-79, NUDOCS 9604080088 | |
| Download: ML17059B098 (8) | |
See also: IR 05000220/1996005
Text
i
March 29,
1996
EA-.96-079
Mr. B. Ralph Sylvia
Executive Vice President
Gene} ation Business
Group
Niagara
Mohawk Power Corporation
(NHPC)
Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station
P. 0.
Box 63
Lycoming,
NY 13093
SUBJECT:
NRC SPECIAL INSPECTION
REPORT
NO.
50-220/96-05;
50-410/96-05
Dear Hr. Sylvia:
This letter refers to the inspection
conducted
from February
17 through March
ll, 1996, at Nine Mile Point Unit 1, Scriba,
The purpose of the
inspection
was to determine whether activities authorized
by the license
were
conducted safely,
and in accordance
with NRC requirements.
At the conclusion
of the inspection,
the findings were discussed
with Hr. Richard Abbott, Vice
President
and General
Manager,
Nuclear,
and other members of your staff,
as
identified in the enclosed report.
Subsequent
conversations
were held with
members of your management
team to clarify the inspectors'nderstanding
of
NHPC's bases
for not initially reporting the condition described
in the Unit
1
Licensee
Event Report
(LER) 95-05, "Building Blowout Panels
Outside the Design
Basis
Because of Construction Error" when first identified in October
1993.
The inspection
was directed toward areas
important to public health
and
safety.
The areas
examined during this inspection
focused
on concerns
identified during the review of LER 95-05,
dated
November 30,
1995.
Within
these
areas,
the inspection consisted of selected
examinations of design
calculations,
relevant procedures,
representative
records,
installed
equipment,
and personnel
interviews.
Based
on the results of this inspection,
four apparent violations were
identified and are being considered for escalated
enforcement
action in
accordance
with the "General
Statement of Policy and Procedure for NRC
Enforcement Actions" (Enforcement Policy),
From initial
operations,
December
1969, to March 1995,
a safety vulnerability existed,
in
that the reactor
and turbine building blowout panels
would not have relieved
until
a pressure
in excess of the structural
design pressure for the
buildings.
NHPC resolution of the issue from October
1993,
when identified,
to March 1995,
was weak in establishing,
understanding,
and evaluating the
safety design. basis for the reactor
and turbine building internal
pressure
relieving systems.
The apparently
weak safety assessment,
coupled with design
control deficiencies
involving a calculation error
and inadequate
design
review of that calculation,
and
an apparent failure to follow the Deficiency
Event Reporting
(DER) procedure,
led to the untimely resolution of this safety
'F604080088
96032'7
ADOCK 05000220
8
IE01
0
l
B. Ralph Sylvia
3
it
In accordance
with 10 CFR 2.790 of the NRC's "Rules of Practice,"
a copy of
this letter and its enclosure will be placed in the
NRC Public Document
Room.
Sincerely,
ORIGINAL SIGNED BY:
R. Gallo for:
Richard
W. Cooper, II, Director
Division of Reactor Projects
Docket No.
License
No.
50-220,
50-410
Enclosure:
l.
2.
3.
NRC Special
Inspection
Report
Nos. 50-220/96-05
and
50-410/96-05
NRC Staff guestions
Pertainin'g to the Design
and Licensing
Bases for the Reactor Building Blowout Panels
(Enforcement Policy:
Section
V, "Predecisional
Enforcement
Conferences" )
cc w/enclosures:
R. Abbott, Vice President
and General
Manager
Nuclear
C. Terry, Vice President
Nuclear Engineering
M. McCormick, Vice President
Safety Assessment
and Support
N. Rademacher,
Unit
1 Plant Manager
D. Wolniak, Manager,
Licensing
J.
Warden,
New York Consumer Protection
Branch
G. Wilson, Senior Attorney
M. Wetterhahn,
Winston and Strawn
Director,
Energy
& Water Division, Department of Public Service,
State of New York
C. Donaldson,
Esquire, Assistant Attorney General,
Department of Law
J. Spath,
President,
New York State
Energy Research
and Development Authority
0
0
B. Ralph Sylvia
problem.
Although this problem was eventually reported to the
NRC, the
LER
does not adequately
address
the safety significance of the potential for
challenges
to the buildings'nternal
pressure
relieving system for the time
period from December
1969 to March 1995.
Based
on these
concerns
the
NRC
identified apparent violations in the areas of design control,
safety evaluations,
reportability,
and procedural
compliance.
Accordingly, no
Notice of Violation is presently
being issued for these
inspection findings.
In addition,
be advised that the number
and characterization
of apparent
violations described
in the enclosed
inspection report
may change
as
a result
of further
NRC review.
While the
NRC staff has not identified any immediate
safety concerns with your calculations that support the
1995 modifications to
the fasteners
used to hold the blowout panels
in place;
we are performing
a
confirmatory independent
review of these calculations.
A predecisional
enforcement
conference
to discuss
these
apparent violations
has
been scheduled for April 12,
1996, in.the
NRC Region I office.
The
decision to hold a predecisional
enforcement
conference
does not mean that the
NRC has determined that
a violation has occurred or that enforcement
action
will be taken.
This conference
is being held to obtain information to enable
the
NRC to make
an enforcement decision,
such
as
a common understanding
of the
facts, root causes,
missed opportunities to identify the appar ent violations
sooner,
corrective actions,
significance of the issues,
and the need for
lasting
and effective corrective action.
In particular,
we expect you to
address
the items described
in the Executive
Summary of the report
and the
design
and licens'ing bases
questions identified by the
NRC staff in
Enclosure
2.
With respect to Enclosure
2, you should
be prepared
at the
conference
to address
when written answers to the questions will be submitted
to NRC.
In addition, this is an opportunity for you to point out any errors in our
inspection report
and for you to provide any information concerning your
perspectives
on (1) the severity of the apparent violations,
(2) the
application of the factors that the
NRC considers
when it determines
the
amount of a civil penalty that
may be assessed
in accordance
with Section
VI.B.2 of the Enforcement Policy,
and (3) any other application of the
Enforcement Policy to this case,
including the exercise of discretion in
accordance
with Section VII.
This conference will be open to public
observation
in accordance
with the Commission's
continuing trial program
as
discussed
in the enclosed
excerpt from the Enforcement Policy (Enclosure 3).
Although not required,
we encourage
you to provide your comments
on how you
believe holding this 'conference
open to public observation
affected your
presentation
and your communications with the
NRC.
You will be advised
by separate
correspondence
of the results of our
deliberations
on this matter.
No response
regarding these
apparent violations
is required at this time.
0
0
'
B. Ralph Sylvia
Distribution w/encl:
D. Screnci,
PAO
Region I Docket
Room (with concurrences)
Nuclea} Safety Information Center
(NSIC),
PUBLIC'RC
Resident
Inspector
- R. Conte,
H. Eichenholz,
C. O'Daniell,
M. Hodes,
J. Joustra,
ORA
J.
Lieberman,
OE (2 Copies)
Distribution w/encl:
(VIA E-MAIL)
M. Dean
OEDO
B. Norris Nine Mile Point
S.
Shankman,
D. Hood,
M. Campion,
ORA
Inspection
Program Branch,
NRR (IPAS)
D. Holody ORA
G. Tracy,
M. Davis,
J.
Gray,
F. Davis,
A. Nicosia,
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COPY