ML17229A561
| ML17229A561 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Saint Lucie  |
| Issue date: | 12/11/1997 |
| From: | Jerrica Johnson NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION II) |
| To: | Plunkett T FLORIDA POWER & LIGHT CO. |
| Shared Package | |
| ML17229A562 | List: |
| References | |
| 50-335-97-15, 50-389-97-15, EA-97-501, NUDOCS 9712300250 | |
| Download: ML17229A561 (8) | |
See also: IR 05000335/1997015
Text
December
11,
1997
EA 97-501
Florida Power
(t Light Company
ATTN: Hr. T. F. Plunkett
President
- Nuclear Division
P. 0.
Box 14000
Juno Beach,
33408-0420
SUBJECT:
(NRC SPECIAL INSPECTION REPORT
NOS. 50-335/97-15,
50-389/97-15)
Dear
Hr. Plunkett:
This refers to the special
inspection conducted
on October
8
- October 30,
1997, at your St. Lucie facility.
The purpose of the inspection
was to review
deficiencies identified in the surveillance
and operation of the Unit 2
containment cooler fans.
Specifically, Florida Power
8 Light Company
(FP&L)
identified,
on October 8,
1997, that in slow speed, i.e., the configuration
during emergency operation,
the 2-HVS-1D containment cooler fan would. rotate
in the reverse direction causing the fan to be unable to fulfillits safety
function.
FPEL later concluded that monthly surveillance tests of the Unit 2
fans
had not been conducted with the fan in slow speed.
The results of the
inspection were sent to you by letter dated
November 6, 1997.
An open,
predecisional
enforcement
conference
was conducted in the Region II office on
December
3,
1997, with member s of your staff, to discuss the violations, the
root causes,
and your corrective actions to preclude recurrence.
A list of
conference
attendees
and copies of the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission's
(NRC)
and FP8L's presentation
materials
are enclosed.
Based
on the information developed during the inspection
and the information
that was provided during the conference,
the
NRC has determined that
violations of NRC requirements
occurred.
The violations are cited in the
enclosed
Notice of Violation (Notice),
and the circumstances
surrounding them
are described in detail in the subject inspection report.
The violations
included:
(1) the failure to maintain two trains of containment cooling
as required by Technical Specification (TS) 3.6.2.1;
(2) the failure
to follow the procedure for a post maintenance test
(PHT) of'ontainment
cooler
fan 2-HVS-1D; and,
(3) the failure to assure that appropriate testing
was identified and performed to'emonstrate
that the Unit 2 containment
cooler
fans would perform satisfactorily while operating in the emergency
configuration, i.e., the slow speed.
The root causes of the violations were
(1) poor communication while performing
a
PHT of the containment cooler fan
resulting in operation of the fan twice in fast speed rather
than once in both
slow and fast speeds
as required by the
PHT procedure,
and (2)
a lack of
oversight or attention to detail
when the surveillance procedure
was
originally written.
97i2300250 97i2ii
ADOCK 05000335
8
IIIIIIII///(/////////////((//////////(/
7
The
NRC commends the questioning attitude of the Assistant Nuclear Plant
Supervisor
(ANPS) who identified that the containment cooler fans were not
being periodically tested in the configuration that they would operate in
following a safety injection actuation signal.
You should continue to
encourage similar sensitivity to potential
long-term testing deficiencies.
The
NRC recognizes that the potential safety consequence
of the fan
inoperability was low due to the diversity of the containment cooling system.
However, operation of the plant in a condition outside the design basis of the
plant and in violation of the TSs for approximately five months is
a
significant regulatory concern.
The
NRC is particularly concerned that the
monthly surveillance test designed to determine oper'ability of the fans
had
failed, since plant licensing, to incorporate
a critical test requirement.
In
addition, if not for the inquisitiveness of the ANPS, the equipment could have
remained inoperable for
a longer'eriod of time.
The normal
methods of
detecting
and preventing errors from disabling safety-related
equipment
failed.
Specifically, both
PHT and surveillance testing, failed to identify
that the fan was inoperable.
Therefore,
the violations have been categorized
in the aggregate
in accordance
with the "General
Statement of'olicy and
Procedures
for NRC Enforcement Actions" (Enforcement Policy),
as
a
Severity Level III problem.
In accordance
with the Enforcement Policy,
a base civil penalty in the amount
of'55,000 is considered for a Severity Level III problem.
Because
your
facility has
been the subject of escalated
enforcement
actions within the last
two years,'he
NRC considered
whether credit was warranted for Identification
and Corrective Action in accordance
with the civil penalty assessment
process
described in Section VI.B.2 of the Enforcement Policy.
NRC determiried that
credit was warranted for Identification because
your staff identified the
violations.
With regard to the factor of Corrective Action, you formed
a team
to review the event,
determine the root causes,
and develop corrective
actions.
Your long term corrective actions included:
(1) modifying the
surveillance
procedure to test the fans in slow speed;
(2) reviewing other
surveillance tests
against
Updated Final Safety Analysis Report
(UFSAR)
accident
modes of operation;
(3) reviewing the tracking of annunciators
during
safeguards
testing;
(4) training Haintenance
and Operations
personnel
to
reinforce three part communication;
(5) adding clarification for testing
motors with multiple windings to the
PHT procedure;
(6) adding guidance in the
50.59 screening
pr'ocedure to ensure that the reviewer'onsiders
the intent of
the TSs as well as
UFSAR requirements
when revising procedures;
and,
(7) conducting
a vendor
assessment
of the significance of the inoperable fan
cooler.
Based
on the above,
the
NRC determined that credit was warranted f'r
the factor of Corrective Action.
'
Notice of Violation (NOV) and Proposed
Imposition of Civil Penalty in the amount of
$ 100,000
was issued
on January
10.
1997 for violations of the plant security access
control
program, the emergency
preparedness
program,
and requirements for nuclear instrumentation
and -457).
A Severity Level III violation was issued
on September
19,
1996.
associated
with the failure to comply with 10 CFR 50.59
(EA 96-326).
An NOV and Proposed
Imposition of Civil Penalty in the amount of $50,000
was issued
on March 28,
1996, for multiple
violations associated
with a dilution event
(EA 96-040).
An NOV and Proposed
Imposition of Civil
Penalty in the amount of $50,000
was issued
on November 13.
1995, related to inoperable
power
operated relief valves
(EA 95-180).
Therefore,
to encourage
prompt identification and comprehensive
correction of
violations, I have been authorized,
after consultation with the Director,
Office of Enforcement,
not to propose
a civil penalty in this case.
However,
significant violations in the future could result in a civil penalty.
You are required to respond to this letter
and should follow the instructions
specified in the enclosed
Notice when preparing your response.
The
NRC will
use your response,
in part, to determine whether further enforcement
action is
necessary
to ensure
compliance with regulatory requirements.
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).
Sincerely,
Original Signed by
J.
R.
Johnson
Docket Nos.
50-335,
50-389
License
Nos
~
Luis A. Reyes
Regional Administrator
Enclosures:
1.
2.
NRC Presentation
Haterials
3.
FP&L Presentation
Haterials
4 ~
List of Attendees
cc w/encls:
J.
A. Stall
Site Vice President
St. Lucie Nuclear Plant
6351 South
Ocean Drive
Jensen
Beach,
FL
34957
H.
N. Paduano,
Hanager
Licensing and Special
Programs
Florida Power and Light Company
P. 0.
Box 14000
Juno Beach,
FL
33408-0420
J. Scarola
Plant General
Hanager
St. Lucie Nuclear Plant
6351 South Ocean Drive
Jensen
Beach,
FL
34957
cc w/encls cont'd:
See
page 4
FP8L
cc w/encls cont'd:
E. J.
Weinkam
Licensing Manager
St. Lucie Nuclear
Plant
6351 South
Ocean Drive
Jensen
Beach,
FL
34957
H. S. Ross,
Attorney
Florida Power
8 Light
P. 0.
Box 14000
Juno Beach,
FL
33408-0420
John T. Butler,
Esq.
Steel,
Hector and Davis
4000 Southeast
Financial
Center
Hiami,
FL
33131-2398
Director
Office of Radiation Control
Department of Health and
Rehabilitative Services
1317 Winewood Boulevard
Tallahassee,
FL
32399-0700
Director
Division of Emergency
Preparedness
Department of Community Affairs
2740 Centerview Drive
Tallahassee,
FL
32399-2100
County Administrator
St. Lucie County
2300 Virginia Avenue
Ft. Pierce,
FL
34982
FP8L
Distribution w/encl
1:
PUBLIC
LJCallan,
HThompson,
DEDR
AThadani,
DEDE
LTrocine,
OEDO
LChandler,
JGoldberg,
RZimmerman,
EJulian,
SECY
BKeeling,
CA
Enforcement Coordinators
RI, RIII, RIV
JLieberman,
OE:EA File (BSummers)
(2
TReis,
EHayden,
GCaputo,
TMartin, AEOD
HBell, OIG
FHebdon,
LWiens,
CEvans,
RII
ABoland, RII
JJohnson,
RII
JJaudon,
RII
Klandis, RII (IFS Action
HWhitener, RII
JMoorman, RII
KClark, RII
RTrojanowski, RII
LWatson, RII
BCrowley, RII
GHopper, RII
letterhead)
Required)
NRC Resident
Inspector
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Comm.
7585 South Highway A1A
Jensen
Beach,
FL
34957-2010
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