ML17158B958
| ML17158B958 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Susquehanna  |
| Issue date: | 12/10/1996 |
| From: | Miller H NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION I) |
| To: | Lindsey M AFFILIATION NOT ASSIGNED |
| Shared Package | |
| ML17158B956 | List: |
| References | |
| IA-96-081, IA-96-81, NUDOCS 9702270165 | |
| Download: ML17158B958 (10) | |
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~h hCqi oQ Pe UNITEQ STATES NUCLEAR AF.GULATORYCOMMISSION IISGION I 476 ALlBIOAI.SROAD KING OF PRUSSIA. PENNSYI.VANIAIS406-I4IS December 10, 1996 IA 96-081 Mark Undsey HOME ADDRESS DELETED UNDER 2.790 r
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SUBJECT:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION
Dear lVlr. Undsey:
Thfs letter refers to lnvostfgations conducted by the Pennsylvania Power and Light were conducted in Ju(
and Au us Company (PP5L) at its Susquehanna Steam Electric Statlan (SSES)
Th e invest gations o nuc ear plant operators (NPOs in ll y an ugust, 1996, for the purpose of reviewing the performance
)'ht of numerous failures to detect a mlsallgnment of missed durln thre e
esel generator breaker on June 14, 1996.
Specifically the ml I'
sa ignmen was s ecfficatio s g three subsequent weekly electrical surveillancos requl d b t
h i
I e
re y ecnca diesel e
p 's, and dunng rautine operator rounds.
In addition durin t',
d, g nerator alarm tests (Panel OC577E) that ware required to be erf d
g rOU Ine,rOun s,
o e per orms,'in many a
pe orme, yet records wore created to indicate that they were performed.
sta This misaligned breaker was not identified unti( a fo(low non-licensed operat r
rf tion rounds on July 4, 1996, discovered the discrepancy.
ope a or po orming Tho NRC has reviewed the rosults of the PPRL investigations which wore documented ln the PPS,L report, dated July 25, 1996, (supplemented on August 16, 1996); and the PPSL report, dated August 13, 1996, (supplenlentod on August 20 and August 30, 1996),
Those reparts cite causes of tho abave problems to be human error, particularly inattentiveness to detail, es well as NPOs annotatfng plant logs to ind'c t th t I
i ae a anaarm conducted.
Th v
nductcd, yet the evidence suggests that certain of those te t e investigatian by PPSL Indicates your lnvalvemont in those events and subsequontly, PP8iL terminated yaur employment with the company.
IA'bile the NRc's en a ed '
review of this matter ls continuing we are concerned th t I
a you may avo h
unacce tab e g g in deliberate misconduct concerning this matter.
Such b h I
I c
e avior sceary tolerated.
The R
p le fn the nuclear fndustry, ls a violation of NRC requlreme t d
b n s, an cannot e
e N C and Its licensees must bo able to rely on nuclear fndustry workers to properly perfarm the duties assigned to assure compliance with requirements, as well as to mafntain compfete and accurate records of thesa actions.
The NRC notos that 'ti s regulations allow the ~ssuance of civil sanctions directly against unlicensed persons who, through their deliberate misconduot cause a lfcqnsee t b
of NRC requirements.
De(ibcrate misconduct, as set forth in 10 CFR 50.5 (enclosed),
includes an intentianal act or omission that tha parson knows fd licensee to be in v' tf f
iolatfon of any rule ar rocufation or othor HFIc rcqulremont, or ally 'torfn o swou cause a
candltfan, or limitatfan of Its (leo de orate submission to the nse.
The deliberate mlscanduct rute afsa addresses th I
d
'RC ar o licensee, of Information that the persan knaws to be e
incomplete ar inaccurate ln same respect material to the NRC. An Order may also bo 9702270%65 9702%3 PDR CQNNS NRCC CORRESPONDENCE PDR
Mr. Mark Lindsey 2
issued ta an individuat to prevent his or her engaging In licensed act(vitles at all NRC icensed fact((ties. A violation of this regulation, may also lead to criminal prosecution.
In consideration of'your potential involvement In this matter, the NRC ts considering enforcement action against you. Therefore, the NRC ts issuing this Demand for Information (DFI), pursuant to 10 CFR 2.204, requesting you to describe (1) your involvement in this matter, (2) why the NRC should have confidence that you wilt adhere to NRC requirements, and atso maintain accurate records in the future; and (3) why tha NRC should nat issue an Order barring you for some period of time from any further involvement in NRC licensed activities.
Please provide your answer to this letter to me within 30 days from the date of this letter, ln writing and under oath or aff(rmatton at 475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, 19406, wfth copies to Mr. James Liebsrman, Director, Office of Enforcement, U.S, Nuclear Regulatory Commtsslon, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockvjlte, Maryland 20852-2738, and Mr. Walter Pasciak, Region I. Your answer may provide reasons why the DFI should nat have been issued and, If the requested information ia not provided, the reasons why it is'not provided.
Vpan review of your answer, or if no answer is filed, the Commission may Institute a proceeding pursuant to 10 CFR 2,202 or take such other action as may be necessary to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.
Your response to the DFt wl(l be ccnsldered before a decisian ts made in this matter.
However, if no answer is filed, we will proceed on the basis of ave(table information.
In accordance with Section 2.790 of the NRC's "Rules of Practice," Part 2, Title 10, Code of Federa( Regulations, records or documents compiled for enforcement purposes are placed in the NRG Public Document Room (PDR). A copy of this letter, with your address removed, and your response, will be placed in the PDR after 45 days un(ess you provide sufficient basis to withdraw this letter. A copy of this letter a(so will be forwarded ta PP8cL at that time. Therefore, to the extent possible, your response should nat inctude any personal privacy, proprietary, or safeguards information so that, lf it ts placed in the PDR, redaction wil( nat be necessary, If personal privacy or proprietary Information is necessary to provide an acceptable response,,than please provide a bracketed copy of your response that identifies the information that should be protected and a redacted copy of your response that deletes such information.
If yau request withhatding af such materiat, you
~ specifically identify the portions of your response that yau seek ta have withheld and provtde in detail the bases for your claim of withholding (e.g., explain why the disclosure of the information will create an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy or provide the informat'ion required and affidavit as required by 10 CFR 2.790(b) to support avequest for withholding confidential commercial or financial Information). If safaguards information is necessary ta provide an acceptable
- response, please provide the level af protection described ln 10 CFR 73.21.
Mr. IVlark Lindsey 3
If you have any questions or comments on this DFI, please contact Mr. Pasciak at 810-337-5268.
Sincerely,
Enclosure:
IO CFR 50.5 Hubert J. Miller Regional Administrator co w/o encl and w/home address removed: [to be held for 46 days and verified through the Director, Office of Enforcement, prior to distribution)
R, Byram, Senior VIca President - Nuclear, PP5L Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
NCLOSUK PART gg
~ DOMP$TIC UCENSIHG OF PRODUCTION AND UTILIZATIONFACILITIES
$ 5LS Dsltbereto misconduct.
(e) Any licensee or any employee of a licensee; and any cantractor (including 4 supplier or consultant), subcontractor, or any employee of a contractor ar subcontractor, of any'icensee, who knowingly provides ta any licensee, contractor, or subcontractor.
companents, equipment, materials, or other gaods ar services, that relate to a licensee's activities subJect to thl~ par t; may nab (1) Engage ln deliberate misconduct that causes or. but for detection, would have caused.
a licensee to bc in violation ofany rule, rcgulatfan. or order. ar eny term, condition. or limitation of any license, issued by the g Commission, or g
(2) Deliberately submit to the NRC. a m Qcensee. or a licensee's contractor or
- u. subcontractor, information that the R person submit ting the information knows to be incomplete or inaccurate in some respect material to thc NRC.
(b) A person who vialatcs paragraph (a)(l) or (a)(2) of this section may be sublect to enforccmcnt action in accordance with the proccdwes ln10 CFR part 2, subpart B.
(c) For purposes ol paragraph (a)(1) af this section. dcBberate misconduct by a person means en intentional act or omission that the person knows; (s) Would cause a licensee to ba In violation of any rule, regulation, or order. or any term. condition, or Bmttatton, of any license issued by the Commfsston. or (2) Constitutes a violation of a requirement, procedure, instruction, contract, purchase order or pulley of a licensee, cantractar, ar subcontractor, 50-6a (neet no~ 4 c/l.Tl
, JUJy 3$, 1996 (reset)
NUCLEARPLANTOPERATOR'S ALARMTEST GRIEVANCE
%ARMNG; This report contains conGdentiai information, Ifyou are not involved in this case direct1y, you are not authorized to read this report.
. Summary ofEvent..............,...........................................................3
. Complaint Meeting,...........,..................,........,........
........................7
~ Atrial Step>
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. Human Factor Reasons The Alarm Test Was MissctL..,.........................,...,11
. Thc Com ny's Case...,......,.......
pa v
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. The'Union's Case....,......................,......,
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SUMl'HARYOF EVENT Plant Configuration And Background AtSSES, four emergency Diesel Generators arc required by the plant's Technical Specifications to be operable during power operation. The 'A', B', 'C and
'D'iesel generators supply thc crnergcncy power to a shared electrical distribution system servicing both units, Thc 'E'iesel generator is an installed spare which can be substituted for any one ofthe other four diesel generators to allow maintenance during power operations.
The 'E'iesel generator bus, OAS10, has two breakers and eight cubiclcs. Five of thc cubicles are used to align the generator's output to the loads ofany one ofthe four dtcscl generators or to a test bus. One cubicle is the supply breaker to the
'E'iesel generator's auxiliary equipment (OA510-05, cubicle 6).
Cubicle Breaker BusD PT 1
2 3
4 5
6
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8 06 Ol 03 07 02 05 04 Usc Test Bus D/G BusA D/0 Bus C Spare D/0 Bus B Aux. MCG D/G To substitute the P diesel generator for the D'iesel,generator the common transfer breaker is moved from the test bus cubicle (cubicle 1, breaker 06), where it is stored (racked out and control power energized) to the cubicle designated as thc supply for the 'D'iesel generator's emergency bus (cubicle 7, breaker 04).
Cubicle 6, breaker 05 on bus OA510 is always occupied by the supply breaker for the auxiliary equipment rcgardlcss ofthe common transfer breaker location (racked in, opcn, control power energized).
The dcsignat tons on the S'iesel generator bus OA510 are unique because they
do not match normal station convention. Pro'cedures for breaker manipulations at identify each removable breaker by number, whereas procedures for manipulating all other station 4 kv breakers reference cubicle numbers (OA510 is c only bus in the plant that cubicle and breaker numbers are not the same).
Substitution OfThe 'E'iesel Generator ln Place OfThe 'D'iesel Generator On June 14, the P Diesel Generator was substituted for the 'D'iesel Gener'ator which was to be taken out ofservice'for maintenance. ANPO was instructed to substitute the E'iesel generator for the 'D'iesel generator in accordance with OP-024-004, "Transfer and Test Mode Operations ofDiesel Generator E". During the alignment'at bus OA51 0 the NPO discovered what he thought was the common transfer breaker (OA510-OS cubicle 6 instead ofOAS 1046 cubicle 1) in a racked in position and open with it's control power energized.
When the 'E'iesel generator is not aligned for another diesel generator the common transfer breaker is in the test cubicle in a racked out position with it' control power de-energized. Afterdiscussion with the control room PCO and Unit Supervisor the NPO was given permission to d~nergize the control power and rack out the breaker allowing him to move it to the D diesel Gcncrator bus supply cubicle. The Unit Supervisor assumed breaker OA510-06 had been left in the incorrect configuration followinga recent test and initiated a Condition.
Report for the perceived failure to correctly restore the test lineup, Nobody field checked thc "as found" breaker condition reported by the NPO, On July 4, a NPO discovered the incorrect breaker alignment at OA510, that the NPO two weeks previous had mistaken thc 'E'iesel Generator auxiliary equipment supply breaker (OA510-05 cubicle 6} for the common transfer breaker (OA51046 cubicle 1) during alignment ofthe diesel generator on June 14.
During the 20 day period ifthe 'E'iesel gcneiator was needed for a loss ofoff site power event, thc diesel would have started but its auxiliary equipment would not have been energized. Ifuncorrected, this condition would prevent the diesel generator from performing it's intended safety function.
Weekly Electrical Alignment Surveillances Three weekly electrical alignment survciHanccs (SO-100-005) werc performed by three different NPOs between June 14 and July 4. The surveillance procedure requires verification that the E'iesel generator auxiliary equipment supply breaker OA51045 is racked in and open. Thc three NPOs signed thc surveillance step indicating thc desired condition was present.
NPO Plant Logs (Rounds}
Round sheets are a minimum standard that is expected. Thejj are designed to lead an operator to cveiy comer ofevciy Qoor ofhis building ofresponsibility. The NPOs actual rounds evolve thorn experience with the equipment and they are not