ML18100B196

Informs That Apparent Violations Being Considered for EA Re 940707 Loss of Plant Circulating Water Flow,Plant Trip & Safety Injections as Ref in Plant AIT Rept 94-80 & Insp Repts 94-11 & 94-13 & Forwards NOV

ML18100B196
Person / Time
Site:	Salem
Issue date:	07/06/1994
From:	Wiggins J NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION I)
To:	Miltenberger S Public Service Enterprise Group
Shared Package
ML18100B197	List: ML18100B196 ML18100B198
References
NUDOCS 9407130070
Download: ML18100B196 (4)

Text

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EA No.94-112 Docket Nos. 50-272 50-311 Mr. Steven E. Miltenberger

. !UL 6 !99L1 Vice President and Chief Nuclear Officer Public Service Electric and Gas Company P.O. Box 236 Hancocks Bridge, New Jersey 08038

SUBJECT:

APPARENT VIOLATIONS RELATIVE TO THE APRIL 7, 1994 EVENT The NRC inspection findings relative to the circumstances surrounding the April 7, 1994, partial loss of plant circulating water flow and subsequent plant trip and safety injections, were detailed in the Augmented Inspection Team (AIT) Report 94-80, provided to you by our letter, dated June 27, 1994. Further discussion of several of those findings is addressed in NRC Inspection Reports 94-11 and 94-13. These reports identify findings that we consider important to the safe operation of *the Salem units, and either contributed to or complicated recovery from this event, or were indicative of weak management controls of important plant activities.

The April 7th event is of concern to the NRC since it resulted in multiple challenges to the Salem operators and plant safety systems. The control room command function was transferred or relinquished for pivotal parts of the event, and appropriate actions to counter the reactor cooldown in progress and prevent the ensuing safety injection transients did not occur. Longstanding equipment deficiencies that also led to, and complicated the event, specifically, the atmospheric relief valve controls and steam line flow sensors, were tolerated and corrective actions were not aggressively pursued. Communications with the NRC during the early stages of the event were ineffective in characterizing the significance of the transient, including the scope of equipment failures, the causes of safety system initiations, the resultant condition of the plant, and the planned recovery efforts. Further, procedures for dealing with the abnormal plant conditions (namely, grass intrusion, rapid power reduction, and recovery from a water-filled pressurizer or "solid plant" condition) were inadequate, insufficiently detailed, or nonexistent. Finally, design and material controls were found to be inadequate, in that the pressurizer power-operated relief valve (PORV) internal component materials, although satisfactory for use, were not as specified by the design; and a solid state protection system (SSPS) logic card was subsequently determined to be of the wrong type.

.JUL 6 199ll Steven E. Miltenberger 2

This event and the concerns outlined above are more troubling given the relative high frequency of hardware initiated events at Salem over the past four years along with recurring problems with procedural adherence, depth of root cause assessment of problems, and degree of long-term effectiveness of corrective actions.

Apparent violations, as described in the enclosure, are being considered for escalated enforcement action in accordance with "General Statement of Policy and Procedure for NRC Enforcement Actions" (Enforcement Policy), 10 CPR Part 2, Appendix C. Accordingly, no Notice of Violation is being issued for these inspection findings at this time. Further, the number and characterization of the apparent violations may change as a result of further NRC review.

The apparent violations and the need for an enforcement conference were discussed with you in a telephone conversation on July 6, 1994, and the conference has been scheduled in the NRC Region I office for July 28, 1994. This conference will be open to public observation in accordance with the Commission's trial program as discussed in the enclosed Federal Register notice. Although not required, we encourage you to provide your comments on how you believe holding this conference open to public observation will affect your presentation and your communications with the NRC. The decision to hold an enforcement conference does not mean that violations have occurred, or that enforcement action will be taken. The purposes of this conference are: (1) to discuss the apparent violations, including cause and safety significance; (2) to provide you with an opportunity to point out errors in our inspection report, and identify corrective actions, taken or planned; and (3) to discuss any other information that will help us determine the appropriate action in accordance with the Enforcement Policy. The conference is also an opportunity for you to provide any information concerning your perspectives on the severity of the apparent violations, and 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.

ilJL 6 199Ll Steven E. Miltenberger 3

In accordance with 10 CPR 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. No response to this letter is required at this time, and your cooperation is appreciated.

Enclosures:

Sincerely, OrighB: ~.:g~1ed tiy:

James l Wiggh1s James T. Wiggins, Director Division of Reactor Safety

1.

Apparent Violations Considered for Escalated Enforcement Action (Salem AIT Report 94-80)

2.

Federal Register Notice (Vol. 57, No. 133, July 10, 1992); "Two-Year Trial Program for Conducting open Enforcement Conferences - Policy Statement" cc w/encl:

J. J. Hagan, Vice President-Operations/General Manager-Salem Operations S. LaBruna, Vice President - Engineering and Plant Betterment C. Schaefer, External Operations - Nuclear, Delmarva Power & Light Co.

R. Hovey, General Manager - Hope Creek Operations F. Thomson, Manager, Licensing and Regulation R. Swanson, General Manager - QA and Nuclear Safety Review J. Robb, Director, Joint Owner Affairs A. Tapert, Program Administrator R. Fryling, Jr., Esquire M. Wetterhahn, Esquire P. J. Curham, Manager, Joint Generation Department, Atlantic Electric Company Consumer Advocate, Office of Consumer Advocate William Conklin, Public Safety Consultant, Lower Alloways Creek Township K. Abraham, PAO (2)

Public Document Room (PDR)

Local Public Document Room (LPDR)

Nuclear Safety Information Center (NSIC)

NRC Resident Inspector State of New Jersey State of Delaware

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. !UL 6 l99Lt Steven E. Miltenberger 4

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Region I Docket Room (with concurrences)

Kay Gallagher, DRP D. Holody, RI J. Lieberman, OE DRS File (2) bee w/encl: (Via E-Mail)

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