ML20045B257
| ML20045B257 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | McGuire, Mcguire  |
| Issue date: | 06/04/1993 |
| From: | Mcmeekin T DUKE POWER CO. |
| To: | NRC OFFICE OF INFORMATION RESOURCES MANAGEMENT (IRM) |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 9306170061 | |
| Download: ML20045B257 (8) | |
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DukeIbuw Comany T C Katr1tn s
McGude Nudear Generation Department
. Uce hesident 12700 Hagers Ferry Raad(MG01A)
(704)875-4800 Hun:erscille, NC28078-8985 (704)STS-4809 fu i
DUtG" POWER June 4, 1993
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U.
S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Attention: Document Control Desk Washington, D. C.
20555
Subject:
McGuire Nuclear Station, Units 1 and Docket Nos. 50-369 and 50-370 Foreign Material Control Program Dear Sir; Recent events during the Unit 1 end-of-cycle 8 refueling outage have indicated to us possible weaknesses in our foreign material control program at McGuire as it relates to fuel reliability.
Over the past few weeks members of my staff have been discussing this situation with the NRC staff.
As a result of these discussions, it was agreed that i
a submittal would be provided to the.NRC that would briefly
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discuss; 1) Our current programs; 2) Short term actions taken to minimize programmatic concerns during the current Unit I refueling outage and the upcoming Unit 2 refueling outage; and 3) Long term actions that will be taken to strengthen our programs, i
At this time, a specific discussion of the long term actions and enhancements to be taken can not be.provided.
The scope of our efforts in addressing the possible concerns are not limited to our foreign material control program as it relates to fuel reliability, but includes our overall-housekeeping practices at the McGuire site in general.
Our belief is thet a comprehensive and systematic assessment of our entire housekeeping programs is warranted.
Therefore, discussions on programmatic changes that we would make to strengthen our overall housekeeping programs will be provided to you by no later than November 17, 1993.
Our goal for implementing the programmatic changes is to.
have them in place prior to the end-of-cycle 9 refueling outage for Unit 1, currently scheduled to begin May, 1994.
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j 9306170061 930604 i
PDR ADOCK 05000369 1*
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PDR 4 '2 3
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9 J
U.
S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission l
June 4, 1993 l
Page 2 i
f In the mean time, please find attached a brief discussion of l
our current housekeeping programs and short term actions we have taken to assure cleanliness of our plant systems prior l
to restarting Unit 1 following the current refueling outage and the upcoming Unit 2 refueling outage in July of this-year.
The actions we have taken, we believe, provide us with reasonable assurance that our plant systems will be i
free of debris until our long term programmatic changes have i
been implemented.
Should there be any questions regarding this issue, please contact Paul Guill at (704) 875-4002.
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'l Very truly yours, P
h 7
T.
C. McMeekin i
xc:
Mr.
S.
D.
Ebneter f
Regional Administrator, Region II U.
S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission 101 Marietta Street, NW, Suite 2900 1
Atlanta, Georgia 30323 l
Mr.
P.
K.
Van Doorn Senior NRC Resident Inspector, McGuire McGuire Nuclear Station Mr. Victor Norses, Project Manager Office of Nuclear' Reactor Regulation U.
S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission l
One White Flint North, Mail Stop 9H3 Washington, D.C.
20555 a
.U..S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission June 4, 1993 page 3 cc:
with attachment R.
O.
Sharpe P. F. Guill G. D. Gilbert P. H. Herran E. M. Geddie R.
B. White, Jr.
T. D. Curtis M. D. Raines M. T. Cash R. J. Deese T. L. Pedersen J. M. Washam-G. A. Copp (NS)
D. E. Oglesby (NS)
File: 801.01
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ATTACHMENT 1
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DUKE POWER COMPANY MCGUIRE NUCLEAR STATION
- t Housekeeping a nci Foreign i
Material-Control Pro grarns l
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CURRENT PROGRAMS The housekeeping program at McGuire is composed of two parts.
The first part is Station Directive (SD) 3.11.0, which is a control (administrative procedure) that starts prior to opening a QA condition system, continues through the job, and ends after closing the system.
The second part consists of QA hold points in Maintenance Procedures (MP) and in Instrument And Electrical Procedures (IAE).
These hold points are strategically placed to
-t insure in-process adherence to the cleanliness requirements for the system.
t SD 3.11.0 ensures the proper implementation of.the cleanliness i
requirements for a system.
The key elements of this
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administrative procedure originate with the planning group, who j
establishes the cleanliness level on the work order task.
The craft has the responsibility to establish the appropriate cleanliness requirements within their work areas based on the cleanliness level specified on the work order task.
The cleanliness requirements are explained in SD 3.11.0.
The cleanliness zones are established prior to opening the system by use of green housekeeping tape, and a sign designating zone level.
For example, if a Zone II housekeeping area has been established, SD 3.11 would require that; 1) the area be i
precleaned prior to opening the system; 2) protective covers over openings within the system or component; 3) material / personnel accountability; 4) no eating, drinking, or use of tobacco i
products; and 5) a monitor to log in and out materials / personnel.
The second part is the QA inspector verifying compliance with cleanliness requirements.
The inspector audits compliance with SD 3.11.0.
Inspections include a final cleanliness check prior t
to system closure. ~When large scope jobs are being planned, the QA technical support group is involved in the. planning process.
This allows incorporation of required inspections, including cleanliness requirements.
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i SHORT. TERM ACTIONS TAKEN During fuel movement associated with the Unit 1 refueling outage, debris within fuel assemblies and the lower core plate was observed.
A subsequent inspection revealed many wire-like objects (copper wire) entwined within fuel assemblies and a large object (lost thermal sleeve) located below the lower core support plate that had a pipe-like appearance.
As a result of the investigation of the origin of these objects, additional foreign i
material was found.
The additional foreign materials were 304 stainless steel chips found within the nuclear spray heat exchanger and four thimble sized objects found on the lower core
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r plate.
t The fuel assemblies were removed and an effort was made to clean all of the assemblies that would be re-inserted.
This effort was not completely successful in removing all of the copper wire.- An-engineering evaluation which assessed the impact of operating with the copper wire present was performed and concluded that there was no adverse impact to the safe operation of the unit.
To assist in the cleanup and removal of the wire debris and thermal sleeve, the lower internals were removed.
This also-permitted the opportunity to perform a high velocity flush of the
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residual heat removal system.
This flush was conducted during the period when the reactor vessel internals were removed so that any remaining 304 stainless steel chips could be retrieved from i
the cold legs after the flush.
Following the flush, a detailed t
inspection of the reactor vessel, hot legs and the cold legs was performed.
This inspection did not reveal any additional debris and confirmed that all lose material had been removed or-is l
captured within the confines of stagnant piping and/or heat i'
exchanger.
While the lower internals were removed, the pipe-like object was successfully retrieved.
A detailed inspection of the area was i
performed and no signs of damage due to the object or to the_
remosal process were noted.
In addition, with the internals remosed, the lower vessel was vacuumed.
A detailed inspection of the lower vessel and the lower internals themselves was also 3
performed; which revealed no_ damage or any additional foreign material / debris present.
The four small_ thimble sized objects were removed at this time.
i A detailed review of the modifications and methods used to maintain systems during the current refueling outage was performed.
The results of-this review found that current work being done during this refueling outage would not result in the generation of debris that could get into systems that will be opened.
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Summarizing, the actions taken in response to the specific debris l
found during the refueling outage that ensures no foreign
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material remained in plant systems were; 1) removal of all observed debris except for a very small amount of copper wire; 2) detailed inspections of the reactor vessel, fuel assemblies, residual heat removal system, cold legs and the hot legs, which did not reveal any additional debris; 3) a high velocity flush of i
the residual heat removal system; and 4) vacuuming of the reactor vessel.
I The above actions address what was done regarding the specific debris that was found during the Unit 1 refueling outage.
The cleaning and inspections that were performed provide reasonable assurance that plant systems will be free of debris when Unit 1 is restarted.
Notwithstanding this effort, additional, more general actions l
were taken in order to heighten the awareness of all personnel involved in the implementation of housekeeping requirements and to further enhance the effectiveness of housekeeping programs during the current Unit 1 refueling outage and the upcoming Unit 2 refueling outage.
The following is a synopsis of the actions that have been taken to heighten everyone's awareness of the q
concerns associated with foreign material / housekeeping activities and its potential impact:
1)
Briefing of work groups, management and vendors regarding housekeeping issues.
The purpose of these briefings were; A) To heighten awareness regarding the need to improve housekeeping controls; B) To remind those affected of their responsibilities and accountabilities as defined by current housekeeping programs; C) To emphasize the need to focus on foreign material intrusion controls; D) To pay special attention to housekeeping, cleanliness, control of loose j
debris, tools and equipment near and over the spent fuel pool and reactor cavity; and E) To apply work habits that j
proactively prevent debris from entering open systems during
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maintenance and modification work activities, 2)
Foreign material concerns and good housekeeping practices were discussed during normally scheduled outage communication meetings.
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The need to focus on good housekeeping practices was discussed during shop meetings as part of the feedback to craft personnel regarding lessons learned.
4)
Written communication was provided to all McGuire site supervisors on the need to focus on. good housekeeping i
practices, stressing the need to pay particular attention to work practices that might introduce foreign materials into the system and the need for extra caution when working near the spent fuel pool or the reactor cavity 1
5)
Random, unannounced inspections of the spent fuel pool area a'nd the reactor cavity area were performed in order to observe foreign material exclusion and good housekeeping practices within these areas.
These inspections were performed twice a 12-hour shift until the fuel was loaded and the reactor head back in place.
6)
The implementation of the INPO " Good Industry Practice" of temporarily covering any system opening that.is left unattended regardless of cleanliness level specified.
This INPO " Good Industry Practice" will be incorporated within SD 3.11 prior to the upcoming Unit 2 refueling outage.
The upcoming Unit 2 refueling outage currently scheduled to begin July 1, 1993, will involve the removal of the reactor vessel internals as part of the 10 year interval inspection of the reactor vessel.
This will provide a similar opportunity to inspect and clean the Unit 2 reactor vessel, reactor coolant system, and systems directly connected to the reactor coolant system.
As such, during the upcoming Unit 2 refueling outage, the reactor vessel, reactor coolant system, and systems directly connected to the reactor coolant system will be inspected for debris or signs of damage due to debris and, as necessary, cleaned.
The additional, more general actions and efforts outlined above will also continue throughout the upcoming refueling outage.
In closing, based on the short term actions that have been taken, (the cleaning performed, the inspections conducted, and the overall heighten awareness regarding housekeeping issues),
provides reasonable assurance that the plant systems of Units 1 and 2.will be free of debris when restarted following their respective-refueling outages.
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