ML20023D649
| ML20023D649 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Vermont Yankee File:NorthStar Vermont Yankee icon.png |
| Issue date: | 05/10/1983 |
| From: | Allan J NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION I) |
| To: | Murphy W VERMONT YANKEE NUCLEAR POWER CORP. |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20023D650 | List: |
| References | |
| REF-SSINS-6020 EA-83-034, EA-83-34, NUDOCS 8305250572 | |
| Download: ML20023D649 (3) | |
Text
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MAY 101983 Iflf COPT:
Docket No. 50-271 EA 83-34 ISINIII.-
M 2. 8 Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corporation US -
,. U ATTN: Mr. Warren P. Murphy Vice President.and Manager E!MPT __
i of Operations' RD 5 Box 169, Ferry Road Brattleboro, Vermont 05301-Gentlemen:
Reference:
Proposed Civil Penalty (EA 83-34) and NRC
-Inspection Report No. 50-271/83-04 This refers to'the special NRC inspection conducted on March 21-25, 1983 at the
. Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power ~ Station, Vernon, Vermont, of activities authorized by NRC License No. DPR-28. The report of this inspection was forwarded to you on_ March 30, 1983. The report discusses apparent violations of NRC require-ments. Specifically, there was a failure.to maintain secondary containment integrity for a period of. about two hours during the movement of irradiated fuel in the spent fuel pool in violation of a technical specification limiting condition for' operation (LCO).
Further, the failure to report this condition is-also a.violati.on. Apparently, both violations resulted from personnel not following procedures. These violations were discussed during an enforcement-conference held with you on April 1,1983.
The violation of the LCO, which is described in Section I of the attached Notice, oc' curred when certain electrical slide links were opened at a control
. room panel for the purpose of returning the reactor building ventilation system
~to a normal condition. Opening the slide links rendered the automatic start
~
capability of both trains of the standby gas treatment system (SBGT) inoperable and also negated the capability of automatically isolating the. reactor building (RB) ventilation system if a signal ~for such. isolation had occurred.. This violated, for the period during which the slide links were open, an LCO concern-ing maintenance of secondary containeant integrity.
During this period, secondary containment integrity was required by technical specifications because irradiated fuel was moved in.the spent fuel pool. When-this condition was' discovered by plant staff, it was not reported to the NRC Operations Center within one hour as required. We do note,:however, that our resident inspector was informed of the matter'approximately 24 hours2.777778e-4 days <br />0.00667 hours <br />3.968254e-5 weeks <br />9.132e-6 months <br /> after.you recognized the problem.
Although there was.no fuel-in the reactor. vessel, the circumstances which
. caused this condition, namely, an apparent disregard of administrative p.ro-
- cedural controls, are of.significant' concern to the NRC. Qualified and
. experienced personnel were apparently aware that the administrative controls for. review and approval required to be followed prior to opening the slide links
-CERTIFIED MAIL-RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED 0FFICIAL RECORD COPY.
..8305250572 830510
- PDR ADOCK 05000271
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Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corporation had been bypassed, yet they allowed the activity to be performed. Also, when the shift supervisor became aware that the slide links had been opened without administrative controls, he did not initiate immediate action to correct the situation. We understand that you have taken disciplinary action against these individuals.
Nonetheless, these events demonstrate the need for improved performance at Vermont Yankee to assure adherence to plant procedures and administrative requirements by all personnel, including senior plant supervisors, so that whenever equipment or systems are modified, the modifications are properly reviewed and approved prior to implementation.
Therefore, after consultation with the Director of the Office of Inspection and Enforcement, I have been authorized to issue the attached Notice of Violation and Proposed Imposition of Civil Penalty in the amount of Forty Thousand Dollars ($40,000) to emphasize this need. The violations in the notice have been classified at the severity level described in the General Policy and Procedure for NRC Enforcement actions (10 CFR Part 2, Appendix C), published in the Federal Register, 47 FR 9987 (March 9, 1982).
You are required to respond to the attached Notice and should follow the instructions specified therein when preparing your response.
In your response, you should indicate the specific corrective actions that you have taken, or plan to take to assure that procedures are followed.
Your reply to this letter and the results of future inspections will be considered in determining whether further enforcement action is appropriate.
In accordance with 10 CFR 2.790 of the NRC's " Rules of Practice," Part 2, Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, a copy of this letter and its enclosure will be placed in the NRC Public Document Room.
The responses directed by this letter and the attached Notice are not subject to the clearance procedures of the Office of Management and Budget, otherwise required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980, P.L.96-511.
Sincerely, ORIGINAL SIGNED BY:
JAMES M. ALLAN James M.-Allan Acting Regional Administrator
Enclosure:
Notice of Violation and Proposed Imposition of Civil Penalty 0FFICIAL RECORD COPY e
Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corporation cc w/ encl:
Mr. J. B. Sinclair, Licensing Engineer Mr. W. F. Conway, President and Chief Executive Officer Mr. J. P. Pelletier, Plant Manager l
Mr. L. H. Heider, Vice President l
Public Document Room (PDR)
Local Public Document Room (LPDR)
Nuclear Safety Information Center (NSIC)
NRC Resident Inspector State of New Hampshire i
Stato of Vermont l
bec w/ encl:
Region I Docket Room (with concurrences)
Senior Operations Officer (w/o encis)
Section Chief, DPRP PDR ACRS SECY
'CA R. C. Deyoung, IE J. G. Sniezek, IE J. Azelrad, IE V. Stello, DED/ROGR F. Ingram, PA J. Lieberman, ELD Enforcement Directors RI, RII, RIII, RIV, RV J. Cummings, OIA B. Hayes, 01 H. Denton, NRR M. Williams, NRR E. Flack, IE G. Klingler, IE J. Taylor, IE E. Jordan, IE C. Thayer, IE IE:ES File EA File EDO Rdg File p
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