ML17264A425
| ML17264A425 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Ginna  |
| Issue date: | 03/28/1996 |
| From: | Mecredy R ROCHESTER GAS & ELECTRIC CORP. |
| To: | Andrea Johnson NRC (Affiliation Not Assigned), NRC OFFICE OF INFORMATION RESOURCES MANAGEMENT (IRM) |
| References | |
| IEB-96-001, IEB-96-1, NUDOCS 9604020429 | |
| Download: ML17264A425 (6) | |
Text
CATEGORY 1 REGULATOR INFORMATION DISTRIBUTION S STEM (RIDS)
ACCESSION NBR:9604020429 DOC.DATE: 96/03/28 NOTARIZED: YES FACIL:50-244 Robert Emmet Ginna Nuclear Plant, Unit 1, Rochester G
AUTH.NAME AUTHOR AFFILIATION MECREDYiR.C Rochester Gas
& Electric Corp.
RECIP.NAME RECIPIENT AFFILIATION JOHNSON,A.R.
SUBJECT:
Submits partial response to NRC Bulletin 96-001, "Control Rod Insertion Problems."
DISTRIBUTION CODE:
IE11D COPIES RECEIVED:LTR ENCL SIZE:
TITLE: Bulletin Response (50 DKT)
NOTES:License Exp date in accordance with 10CFR2,2.109(9/19/72).
DOCKET 05000244 T
05000244 RECIPIENT ID CODE/NAME PD1-1 PD INTERNA. FILE ENTE R/DRPM/PECB NRR/DSSA/SCSB NRR/DSSA/SPLB/A NRR/PD3-2 RES/DSIR/EIB EXTERNAL: NOAC COPIES LTTR ENCL RECIPIENT ID CODE/NAME JOHNSON,A NRR/DE/EMEB NRR/DSSA NRR/DSSA/SPLB NRR/DSSA/SRXB NUDOCS-ABSTRACT RGN1 FILE 01 NRC PDR COPIES LTTR ENCL 0
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AND ROCHESTER GAS ANDELECTRlC CORPORATION
~ 89 EASTAVENUE, ROCHESTER, N. Y ld6d9 KOI AREA CODE716 546 2700 ROBERT C. MECREDY Vice Pres,aent Nvc(ear One<at one March 28, 1996 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Document Control Desk Attn:
Allen R. Johnson Project Directorate I-1 Washington, D.C.
20555
Subject:
Response
to NRC Bulletin 96-01, "Control Rod Insertion Problems",
March 8, 1996 R.
E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant Docket No. 50-244
Dear Mr. Johnson:
This letter is in partial response to the subject Bulletin, requiring responses to certain requested action under 10CFR50.54(f).
Specifically, we are providing our actions taken for Bulletin 96-01 Requested Actions (1) and (2), and our plan for implementing Requested Actions (3) and (4).
Re ested Action 1 Promptly inform operators of recent events (reactor trips and testing) in which control rods did not fully insert and subsequently provide necessary.
- training, including simulator drills, utilizing the required procedures for responding to an event in which the control rods do not fully insert upon reactor trip (e.g., boration of a pre-specified amount).
~Res ense RG&E informed operators of these recent events by posting this information in the Plan of the Day as of March 1,
- 1996, and maintaining it thereon since.
RG&E has also initiated training
- plans, such that simulator drills responding to this type of event are addressed in the next operator training cycle.
In addition, a
management expectation letter to the operators has been developed, clearly stating that the expected response for stuck rods is to follow applicable procedures E-0 and ES-0.1.
v~(~)$ 8 9b04020429 Vb0328 PDR ADOCK 05000244 8
Re uested Action 2 Promptly determine the continued operability of control rods based on current information.
As new information becomes available from plant rod drop tests and trips, licensees should consider this new information together with data already available from Wolf
- Creek, South Texas, North Anna, and other industry experience, and make a prompt determination of control rod operability.
Res onse 2
RG&E has reviewed the rod drop data performed at the begining of this cycle, bearing in mind the information available from Wolf Creek and South Texas.
We have also performed a post-trip review of our reactor trip of March 8, 1996.
Our digital rod position indication noted no rod insertion problems during this evolution.
RG&E therefore has concluded that the control rods have been, and
- remain, operable.
Re ested Action 3
Measure and evaluate at each outage of sufficient duration during calendar year 1996 (end of cycle, maintenance, etc.),
the control rod drop times and rod recoil data for all control rods.
Xf appropriate plant conditions exist where the vessel head is
- removed, measure and evaluate drag forces for all rodded fuel assemblies.
a 4 Rods failing to meet the rod time in the technical specifications shall be deemed inoperable.
b.
Rods failing to bottom or exhibiting high drag forces shall require prompt corrective action in accordance with Appendix B to Part 50 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR Part 50).
Res onse 3
RG&E will be shutting Ginna Station down for its refueling outage commencing April 1, 1996.
We have worked with Westinghouse and the WOG utilities to deter'mine a testing program that will provide relevant
- data, without adversely affecting critical path operations.
As background, it should be noted that Ginna Station has 14 x
14 OFA fuel, has only one rodded fuel assembly with a burnup of over 40,000 MWD/MTU, and has experienced no control rod drive insertion problems over numerous years of experiencing plant trips and performance of control rod trip timing tests at the begining of each fuel cycle (25 to date).
Based on our technical assessment of the information provided relevant to this Bulletin, including discussion with our fuel
- vendor, RG&E proposes the following (a variation of the requested action in Bulletin 96-01):
Rather than performing a reactor trip at the end of this fuel cycle and then performing rod drop testing and gathering recoil
- data, RG&E will perform recorded drag force testing for all rodded fuel assemblies with burnups greater than 30,000 MWD/MTU, as well as a representative sample at lower burnups.
We consider that drag force testing will be able to more accurately determine any control rod or fuel assembly conditions which could potentially impact control rod operability.
This information would also be of value in complementing control rod drop timing tests performed March 19, 1996 at Prairie Island, and planned to be performed on March 30 1996 by Point Beach Unit 1 (both Prairie Island and Point Beach also have Westinghouse 14 x 14 OFA fuel).
The performance of control rod drop time testing at the end of this fuel cycle is estimated to result in at least a
6 hour6.944444e-5 days <br />0.00167 hours <br />9.920635e-6 weeks <br />2.283e-6 months <br /> critical path time delay.
- However, we believe that our commitment to drag test assemblies with a burnup of as little as 30,000 MWD/MTU, and a representative sample at lower burnups, when all previous experience indicates problems with fuel assembly locations only at significantly higher
- burnup, shows our willingness to cooperate in meaningful fact finding efforts, as long as we are not penalized with refueling outage critical path delays without concomitant safety benefits.
Re uested Act on 4
For each reactor trip during calendar year 1996, verify that all control rods have promptly fully inserted (bottomed) and obtain other available information to assess the operability and any performance trend of the rods.
In the event that all rods do not fully insert promptly, conduct tests to measure and evaluate rod drop times and rod recoil.
Res onse 4
RG&E commits to ensure that for each subsequent reactor trip during calendar
- 1996, the operators will verify that all control rods have promptly inserted.
Our plant process computer system has been modified such that rod position indication will be archived.
This will supplement operator indication of rod position indication during the event, and will be used in the post-trip review.
Because our Response.
3 differs from the explicit requested action in the Bulletin, we suggest that NRC staff review be provided immediately to discuss the merits of our alternative testing proposal.
We believe our proposal to be an excellent example of providing information most useful to the industry as a
whole, while not penalizing our plant with critical path actions of little or no safety benefit.
Unless informed to the contrary by close of buiness Friday March 29, we will proceed with this alternative.
Our plans are to initiate our outage on April 1,
- 1996, and leave hot shutdown that same day.
Very truly yours, Robert C. Mecredy Subscribed and sworn to before me on this 28th day of March, 1996 DEBORAH A.PIPERNI Notary Public m the State ol New York NRC5tt,422 'AH QNTARlO COUNTY Cominission Expires Nov. 23, 19.,1,7 xc:
Mr. Allen R. Johnson (Mail Stop 14B2)
Project Directorate I-1 Washington, D.C.
20555 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Region I 475 Allendale Road King of Prussia, PA 19406 US NRC Ginna Senior Resident Inspector