ML18100B277

LER 92-016-00:on 920422,discovered That TS Quarterly Flow Test Not Performed During safety-related HVAC Sys Surveillance of Chilled Water Pump.Caused by Personnel Error.Procedure Re Ref Valves revised.W/920520 Ltr

ML18100B277
Person / Time
Site:	Vermont Yankee
Issue date:	05/20/1992
From:	Reid D VERMONT YANKEE NUCLEAR POWER CORP.
To:	NRC OFFICE OF INFORMATION RESOURCES MANAGEMENT (IRM)
References
LER-92-016, LER-92-16, NUDOCS 9205290265
Download: ML18100B277 (4)

Text

VERMONT.YANKEE e

NUCLEAR POWER CORPORATION P.O. Box 157, Governor Hunt Road Vernon, Vermont 05354-0157 (802) 257-7711 May 20, 1992 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Document Control Desk Washington, D.C. 20555

REFERENCE:

Operating License DPR-28 Docket No. 50-271 Reportable Occurrence No. LER 92-16

Dear Sirs:

As defined by 10 CFR 50. 7 3, we are reporting the attached Reportable Occurrence as LER 92-16.

Very truly yours, VERMONT YANKEE NUCLEAR POWER CORPORATION Plant Manager cc: Regional Administrator

. USNRC Region I 475 Allendale Road King of Prussia, PA 19406 9205290265 920520 PDR ADOCK 05000271 S . PDR

NRC Form 366 u.s. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION APPROVED OMS NO. 31S0-0104 (6-89) EXPIRES 4/30/92 ESTIMATED BURDEN PER RESPONSE TO COMPLY WITH THIS INFORMATION COLLECTION REQUEST:

so.a HRS. FORWARD COMMENTS REGARDING BURDEN ESTIMATE TO THE RECORDS AND REPORTS MANAGEMENT LICENSEE EVENT REPORT (LER) BRANCH (P-S30), U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION, WASHINGTON, DC 20SSS, AND TO THE PAPERWORK REDUCTION PROJECT (3160-0104), OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET, WASHINGTON, DC 20603.

FACILITY NAME ( 1) DOCKET NO. ( 2) PAGE ( 3)

VERMONT YANKEE NUCLEAR POWER STATION 0 Is Io Io Io I2 I1 I1 0 1 OF 0 13 TITLE ( 4) Improper Inservice Flow Testing of the control Room Chilled Water Pump due to ASME Code misinterpretation and subsequent missed quarterly test due to incorrectly following the surveillance procedure.

EVENT DATE (s i LER NUMBER ( 6) REPORT DATE ( 7) OTHER FACILITIES INVOLVED ( 8.)

MONTH REV# MONTH DAY YEAR s DAY YEAR YEAR SEQ #

-F-ACILITY NAMES lO K T NIJ.

0 s 0 0 0 o I 4 2 I 2 91 2 9 I 2 - 0 I1 16 - 0 Io o I s 2 I 0 91 2 0 s 0 0 0 OPERATING THIS REPORT IS SUBMITTED PURSUANT TO REQ'MTS OF 10 CFR §: CHECK ONE OR MORE ( 11)

MODE ( 9) N POWER LEVEL c1oil1lolo -

20.402(b) 20.40S(a)(l)(i) -- 20.40S(c)

S0.36(c)(l)

S0.73(a) (2) (iv)

SQ.73(a)(2)(V) -- 73.7l(b) 73.7l(c) 20.40S(a) (1) (ii) 20.40S(a)(l)(iii) --x S0.36(c)(2)

SO. 7 3 (.a) ( 2) { i)

S0.73(a)(2)(vii)

S0.73(a) (2) (viii) (A)

- OTHER:

................ 20.40S(a)(l)(iv) S0.73(a)(2) (ii) 50. 7 3 (a) ( 2) (viii) ( B)

- 20.40S(a) (1) (V)

- S0.73(a) (2) (iii)

- S0.73{a) (2) (X)

LICENSEE CONTACT FOR THIS LER ( 12)

NAME TELEPHONE NO.

AREA

- CODE DONALD A. REID, PLANT MANAGER alol2 2isi1i-l1i1i1i1 COMPLETE ONE LINE FOR EACH COMPONENT FAILURE DESCRIBED IN THIS REPORT ( 13)

CAUSE SYST COMPONENT MFR - REPORTABLE CAUSE SYST COMPONENT MFR REPORTABLE TO NP RDS .... TO NP RDS ...

NA I I I I I .... NA I I I I . ..

NA I I I I .... NA I I I . ..

SUPPLEMENTAL REPORT EXPECTED ( 14) EXPECTED MO DAY YR SUBMISSION n YES (If yes, complete EXPECTED SUBMISSION DATE) !xi NO DATE ( lS)

ABSTRACT (Limit to 1400 spaces, i.e., approx. fifteen single-space typewritten lines) (16)

On 4/22/92, with the reactor at 100% power, it was discovered that the Technical Specification 10/16/91 quarterly flow test was not performed during the safety related HVAC System surveillance of the Control Room Chilled ~ater Pump (SP-1), (EIIS=KM).

Further investigation has rev~aled that the required ASHE Code flow test for pump SP-1 has not been performed since the 1990 Refuel Outage (Octob~r,1990). -

The discovery of the missed surveillance by the Operations Department was prompted while evaluating the quarterly flow trend points for the establishment of an ASHE Code reference test value. The reference test value, however, should have been determined prior to the first inservice quarterly test following the 1990 Refuel Outage in accordance with the Vermont Yankee (VY) Inservice Test (IST) Program.

The root cause of this event is a misinterpretation of -the ASHE Code by the VY IST Coordinator to allow several quarterly flow readings to be taken for repeatability to determine a flow reference value. The root cause of the missed surveillance by the Operations Dept. is attributed to human error as a result of incorrectly interpreting the intent of the surveillance procedure without verifying the requirements of the IST Program.

The ASHE Code reference values for SP-1 have subsequently been established and a review of the IST data both prior to and following the event has indicated acceptable pump performance.

NRC Form 366A U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION APPROVED OMS NO. 3150-0104 (6-89) EXPIRES 4/30/92 ESTIMATED BURDEN PER RESPONSE TO COMPLY

• WITH THIS INFORMATION COLLECTION REQUEST:

50.0 HRS. FORWARD COMMENTS REGARDING BURDEN ESTIMATE TO THE RECORDS AND REPORTS MANAGEMENT LICENSEE EVENT REPORT (LER) BRANCH (P-530), U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY TEXT CONTINUATION COMMISSION, WASHINGTON, DC 20555, AND TO THE PAPERWORK REDUCTION PROJECT (3160-0104), OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET, WASHINGTON, DC 20603.

FACILITY NAME ( 1) DOCKET NO ( 2) LER NUMBER ( 6) PAGE ( 3)

YEAR SEQ ff REV ff VERMONT YANKEE NUCLEAR POWER STATION ol5lololol2l1l1 91 2 - ' 0 I1 16 - o lo ol2 OF ol3 TEXT (If more space is required, use additional NRC Form 366A) .(11)

DESCRIPTION OF EVENT On 4/22/92, with the reactor at 100% power, it was discovered that the safety related HVAC System quarterly surveillance of the-Control Room Chilled Vater Pump (SP-1), (EIIS=KM) was not performed by 10/16/91 as required by Technical Specification 4.6.E.2. -

Further investigation has revealed that the required ASHE Code flow test for pump SP-1 has not been performed since the 1990 Refuel Outage (October,1990).

The discovery of the missed surveillance by the Operations Department was prompted while evaluating the quarterly flow trend points for the establishment of an ASHE Code reference test value. The reference test value, however, should have been determined prior to the first inservice quarterly test following the 1990 Refuel Outage in accordance wfth the Vermont Yankee (VY) Inservice Test (IST) Program.

The root cause of this event is a misinterpretation of the ASHE Code by the VY IST Coordinator to allow several quarterly flow readings to be taken for repeatability to determine a flow reference value. The root cause of the missed surveillance by the Operations Dept. is attributed to human error as a result of incorrectly interpreting the intent of the surveillance procedure without verifying the requirements of the IST Program: Since no reference value was assigned for SP-1 pump flow and the portable ultrasonic flow measuring equipment was not working properly, the Operations Dept. interpreted the flow value to be a trend point not required to be recorded per the IST Program.

The ASME Code reference values for SP-1 have subsequently been established and a review-of the IST data both prior to and following the event has indicated acceptable pump performance.

At no time was the pump in a degraded condition for this event.

CAUSE OF EVENT The immediate cause of the missed surveillance by the Operations*Dept. is attributed to human error as a result of incorrectly interpreting the intent of the surveillance procedure without consulting the IST Program for verificatioh. Equipment operability problems with the portable ultrasonic flowrneter (used for flow mea,,suring where no permanent instrumentation is installed) during the 10/16/91 system surveillance caused the Operations personnel on shift to review the necessity of retrieving the floy data. Since there was no corresponding reference flow value available, the Operations Dept. decided to N/A the flow rate reading.

The root cause of this event is attributed to the failure of the IST Coordinator to clearly establish the flow parameter as an ASHE Section XI, Code-required *value. Instead of establishing a reference flow value from an initial inservice test, guidance was given to the Operations Dept. to treat the quarterly values as trend points for later use in determining a reference value. Had a reference value been established for testing comparison as initially required by the Code, the Operations Dept. would have had to obtain the flow data to complete the surveillance because an N/A would not have satisfied the IST requirement.

• - NRC Form 366A U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION APPROVED OMS NO. 3150-0104

., 6-89) EXPIRES 4/30/92 ESTIMATED BURDEN PER RESPONSE TO COMPLY WITH THIS INFORMATION COLLECTION REQUEST:

I

. 50.0 HRS. FORWARD COMMENTS REGARDING BURDEN ESTIMATE TO THE RECORDS AND REPORTS MANAGEMENT LICENSEE EVENT REPORT (LER) BRANCH (P-530); U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY TEXT CONTINUATION COMMISSION, WASHINGTON, DC 20555, AND TO THE PAPERWORK REDUCTION PROJECT (3160-0104), OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET, WASHINGTON, DC 20603.

FACILITY NAME ( 1) DOCKET NO ( 2) LER NUMBER ( 6) PAGE ( 3)

YEAR SEQ REV VERMONT YANKEE NUCLEAR POWER STATION ol5lololol2l1l1 91 2 - ol 1I 6 - o Io

" ol3 OF ol3 TEXT (If more space is required, use additional NRC Form 366A) (11)

ANALYSIS OF EVENT The Vermont Yankee Technical Specifications require safety related pump testing to comply with the ASME Section XI Code for Inservice Testing (IST). In response to Generic Letter 89-04 on 10/3/89, pump SP-1 was added to the existing twenty-two (22) pump IST Program. Due to lack of permanently installed flow indication, Relief Request P7 was written to commit the incorporation of flow testing no later than the 1990 Outage and to be- tested quarterly thereafter. Until that time, quarterly pressure and vibration readings were used for equipment operability analysis.

• Contrary to ASHE Section XI (IVP-3110) and the Relief Request, a reference flow value was not determined from the results of an inservice test run prior to the first quarterly test following the 1990 Refuel Outage. Since SP-1 had been in service prior to inclusion into the IST Program, guidance was given by the IST Coordinator to treat the quarterly flow readings as trend points to verify that the equipment was operating acceptably before establishing a reference flow value. Had a reference value been established for testing comparison as initially required by the Code, the Operations Dept. would have had to collect the flow data to complete the surveillance because an N/A would not have satisfied the IST requirement.

CORRECTIVE ACTIONS Immediate:

1. The plant procedure (AP 0206) which _documents reference values has been revised* to include the appropriate ASME Section XI reference values for pump SP-1 to ensure correct testing during the next surveillance.

Subsequent:

1. The IST Coordinator has reviewed all twenty-three (23) pumps in the VY IST Program for identification of ASME Code flow parameters. Based on that review, it is concluded that this event is an isolated occurrence and all reference values are appropriately indicated in the implementing procedure.

2. Additional emphasis will be placed on shift engineer training to consult the IST Program when performing pwnp surveillance testing.

3. The IST Program will be clarified in the Fall of 1992 in conjunction with the normal update required at the beginning of the next interval.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Previous similar events have been reported to the commission, in the last five years, as LER 87-04, LER 89-20, and LER 89-24.