ML18089A545
| ML18089A545 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Salem  |
| Issue date: | 03/06/1984 |
| From: | Dircks W NRC OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR OPERATIONS (EDO) |
| To: | Roth W SENATE |
| Shared Package | |
| ML18089A546 | List: |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 8403150336 | |
| Download: ML18089A545 (2) | |
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UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D. C. 20555
!'tiiAIR 0 6 1984 The Honorable William V. Roth, Jr.
United States Senate Washington, D. C.
20510
Dear Senator Roth:
We are pleased to respond to your recent letter of January 31, 1984 to Chairman Palladino regarding our assessment of licensee performance at the Salem Nuclear Generatihg Station.
You had specifically requested an explanation of the meaning and implication of our recent annual review for the Salem facility.
The most recent Systematic Assessment of Licensee Performance (SALP) covered the period from October 1, 1982, through September 30, 1983.
The area of plant operations, which includes support activities as well as power operation, was assigned a Category 3 rating by the NRC Region I staff. Under the SALP program, a Category 3 rating is not indicative of unsatisfactory performance, but it does indicate that additional licensee and NRC attention is warranted in the area assessed.
Actions being taken by the licensee and the NRC staff are dis-cussed belovJ..
As noted in the safety evaluation report of last year that provided the techni-cal basis to allow restart of the units, we believe that there are several factors that affect the low rating.
Personnel, organization and management attitudes are examples.
The regional staff, including the resident inspectors, is expending considerable resources to monitor several initiatives that are being carried out by the licensee. These inspections confirm that a continuing acceptable level of safety is being maintained.
The primary methods of assuring the level of safety include augmenting activities of the two resident inspec-tors with regional specialist inspectors, team inspections, NRC supervisory visits and periodic meetings by NRC managers with Salem management.
In this manner we monitor both daily plant operations and the status of.the licensee's efforts to improve performance in the long term.
In response to the reactor trip breaker failure of February 1983, Public Service Electric and Gas has developed an action plan for improving Salem operations. This plan is scheduled for implementation over a 2 year period.
As noted in our SALP assessment, successful implementation of this plan is expected to result in an improved situation; however, the SALP report only allows credit for those accomplishments achieved to date and does not rely on planned future actions provided for in the plan.' The Salem action plan includes over two dozen functional areas that are related to commitments made to the NRC.
These areas cover a wide range of activities, including training, document 8403150336 840306 PDR ADOCK 05000272 U
- control, management structure and handling of safety issues.
Based upon the existing schedules, a majority of the milestones for making decisions to sat-isfy NRC commitments are scheduled to occur in CY 1984.
Consequently, we are assigning a high priority this year to both increase our inspections and fre-quency of management meetings to make sure that improved guidance/policies are developed and that they are properly implemented.
Based upon the few results achieved to date, the trend appears to be positive and the staff believes that Public Service Electric and Gas should be improving its performance as addi-tional elements of the action plan are completed and put into place.
The operating practices are not resulting in an unsafe or unsatisfactory operation.
Notwithstanding, if performance is found to be unacceptable, immediate enforce-ment action will be taken to preclude unsafe operation.
Should you have any further questions or concerns please feel free to contact me.
Distribution:
WJDircks JRoe TRehm VStell o HDenton RDeYoung GCunningham TMurley RStarostecki EDO 14087 SECY 84-0149 PDR LPDR Docket Nos. 50-272 50-311 Region I Docket Room OCA HKi ster LNorrholm Jlinville RI PAO Transmitted via 5520/COM444 3/2/84 Sincerely, (Signedl William J. Dircks William J. Dircks Executive Director for Operations OFC
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