ML19224C661
| ML19224C661 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Palo Verde  |
| Issue date: | 06/07/1979 |
| From: | Engelken R NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION V) |
| To: | Van Brunt E ARIZONA PUBLIC SERVICE CO. (FORMERLY ARIZONA NUCLEAR |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 7907060027 | |
| Download: ML19224C661 (1) | |
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UNITED STATES
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,p SUIT E 202, WALNUT CR E E K PLAZA 1930 N. CAllF ORNI A HOUL E VARD q
WALNUT CR E E K, CALIF OlINI A 9159G June 7, 1979 Docket f;os. 50-528 50-529 50-530 Arizona Public Service Company P. O. Box 21666 Phoenix, Arizona 85036 Attention: !1r. E. E. Van Brunt, Jr.
Vice President, Construction Projects Gentlemen:
This Information t;otice is provided as an early notification of a possibly significant matter.
It is expected that recipients will review the informa-tion for possible applicab iity to their facilities.
% specific action or response is requested at this tirce.
If further I;RC evcluations so indicate, an IE Circular, Bulletin, or t;RR Generic Letter will be issued to recommend or re, vest specific licensee actions.
If you have questions regarding the matter, please contact the Director of the appropriate t;RC Regional Office.
Sincerely, t
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En'gelken T W
, Director
Enclosures:
1.
IE Information l'otice i;o. 79-15 2.
List of IE Information f;otices Issued in 1979 cc w/encls:
F. W. Hartley, APS ncy(,
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L'ilITED STATES NUCLEAR LEGULATGRY C0"MISSI0il 0FFICE OF INSPECTION AND Ei' FORCE'1ErlT WASHINGTON, D.C.
20555 June 7, 1979 IE Information Notice No. 79-15 DEFICIEllT PROCEDURES Summary On &ne 2,1979, at Arkansas Muclear One - Unit 1, while observing conditions in the control room, an ilRC inspector discovered an operational deficiency that could have resulted in the emergency feedwater system remaining isolated during subsequent power operation.
Description of Circumstances On June 2 while Ar,nsas Nuclear One - Unit 1 was preparing for startup, an NRC inspector in the control room found that during a surveillance test of the main feedwater check valves, the controls of the emergency feed-water system were positioned so that the system could not automatically respond if needed.
The t'RC inspector found that the test procedu:e being used by the licensed operators did not include, as it should have, instruc-tions either to bypass the eneraency feedwater system or to return it to normal. The plant operators, without approved procedures covering this aspect of the test, bypassed the controls that would haw started the feedwater system autcmatically.
Lacking a procedural requirement to re-turn the system to normal, there was no assurance that emercency feedwater would be provided automatically if needed.
Following the Three flile Isicnd accident, the NRC required that operators be trained to initiate pronptly the emergency feedwater system manually if it does not come on automatically. Thus, while no immediate safety hazard existed t the Arkansas Unit 1 plant because of the inproper action, the NRC staft is concerned about the potential safety hazard of leaving the emergency feedwater system in the bypassed condition, about the possibility that other procedures at the Arkansas plant may be deficient and about the fact that the operators deviated from procedures in performing the surveillance test.
Arkansas Power and Light Cc pany has returned the plant to cold shutdown.
The June 2, 1979, NRC Order confirned the requirement for a cold shutdown until the Commission staff is satisfied with the Jtility's method of con-trolling the development of operatino nrocedres, tha adecuacy of existino
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procedures, and until there is a from these procedures.
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