ML20058D281
| ML20058D281 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Yankee Rowe |
| Issue date: | 10/19/1990 |
| From: | Martin T NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION I) |
| To: | Kadak A YANKEE ATOMIC ELECTRIC CO. |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20058D283 | List: |
| References | |
| EA-90-151, NUDOCS 9011060038 | |
| Download: ML20058D281 (5) | |
See also: IR 05000029/1990014
Text
- - - . - - . . - . . - . . . . . . . . . . . .
..
- . .
,
..
,
October 19, 1990
Docket No.
50-29
_
License No. DPR-3
EA 90-151
-Yankee Atomic Electric Company
ATTN: Mr. Andrew C. Kadak
President and Chief Operating Officer
[
580 Main Street
Bolton, Massachusetts 01740-1398
-
Gentlem r..
-~
Subject
(NRC Inspection Report No. 50-29/90-14)
This-letter refers to the NRC safety inspection conducted on August 2-27, 1990
at the Yankee Nuclear Power Station, Rowe, Massachusetts, The inspection report
war sent to you on September 10, 1990.
The NRC inspection included-a review of
conditions identified by your staf f and reported to the NRC concerning deficien-
cies i_n the testing of.your emergency diesels generators (EDGs) to assure that
they would operate in accordance with required specifications.
Based on the
inspection two apparent violations of NRC requirements were identified. On
~ September 21, 1990, an enforcement conference was held with you and members of
your staff to discuss the apparent violations, their causes, and your corrective
-actions.
_
The- enclosed Notice of Violat'.r 1 describes a failure to adequately test the: EOGs.
In July and August 1990, following a major overhaul _ of the EDGs, including
replacement of the. fuel injectors, drive shaft and pistons, as well as resleeving
.of the_-degraded cylinders, two of the EDGs. were only tested at half of their
-required capacity (200kW) prior to returning them to service.
These tests were
'not suf ficient to demonstrate that the EDGs would perform satisf actorily when-
required. As a result of this testing deficiency, two of the EDGs were returned.
-
- to' service without your staff assuring that the EDGs were capable of handling-
their intended load of 400kW.
_
1This violation demonstrates the importance NRC places on proper testing of
equipment.following maintenance and/or modifications,.to ensure that the equip-
r
ment operates-as intended. The violation is classified at: Severity Level III
-
in accordance with the " General Statement of Policy and' Procedure for NRC
Enforcement Actions," 10 CFR Part 2, Appendix C, (1990) (Enforcement Policy).
-Although a civil penalty is normally issued for a Severity Level III violation,.
the escalation and mitigation factors set forth in the Enforcement Policy were
considered and, on balance, the base civil penalty of S50,000 has been mitigated
in:its' entirety because: (1) although you notified the NRC in August 1990 that
EDG-3 failed a surveillance test, no adjustment of the base civil penalty on the
- * ; om.
m
'"i
0FFICIAL RECORD COPY
CP PKG YANKEE R0WE - 0001.0.0
10/18/90
_
9011060038 901019
yi
ADOCK 05000029
- f 0\\
Q
PNV
h
. . .
. . . . . . - . . _ . .
'
-
.-
.
,
,
. '
.
Yankee Atomic Electric Company
2
identification factor is warranted because you did not identify that the post-
maintenance tests on EDG-1 and EDG-2 were deficient until informed by the NRC;
(2) your corrective actions subsequent to identification, including replacement
of the EDGs, were considered prompt and comprehensive, and, therefore, 50%
mitigation of the base civil penalty on this factor is warranted; and (3) your
past performance in operations, surveillance / maintenance and engineering has
been good, as evidenced by Category 1 ratings in these areas during the last
Systematic Assessment of Licensee performance (SALP), and therefore,100% miti-
gation'of the base civil penalty on this factor is warranted.
Since this
violation did not involve multiple examples, prior Notice, extended duration
or a programmatic maintenance reiated cause, no adjustment of the base civil
penalty on the n factors is warranted.
Also during the enforcement conference, your discovery that the EDGs would not
provide the required power under all required conditions was discussed at
length. While you were testing EDGs in accordance with your surveillance
requirements, apparently you had not initially tested their capacity under the .
design ambient conditions. Your staff indicated that although she EDGs would
not operate at 400kW under certain conditions, your analysis indicates that the
EDGs would havo handled the octual load that would have existed during a design
basis event. .Nonetheless, your failure to have EDGs that would adequately
perform under all required operating and environmental conditions and the
failure-to discover that problem through adequate analysis and testing prior to
their. installation into the plant and subsequent operation is viewed by the NRC
staff as a significant concern. This is especially significant since you had
recognized that the design loading capacity with the EDGs was marginal. The
NRC recognizes that. Yankee Atomic Electric Company.took prompt and comprehensive
corrective actions, once the surveillance test failures were identified in' -
August, 1990. These actions included (1) a decision by the Board of the
Directors on. August 13, 1990 to replace all three EDGs with new 600kW capability
. units, each possessing a nuclear rating of 450kW, and (2) a commitment to test
'the:EDGs at 450kW during-quarterly surveillances.
You are-required to respond to this letter and the enclosed Notice, and should
follow the instructions specified in the enclosed Notice when preparing:your.
. response.- In your response, you'should document the specific actions taken and
any additional actions you plan to prevent recurrence.
In' addition, you should
_
. describe (1) the specific corrective actions taken or planned to improve your
preventive maintenance program, in particular, post maintenance-testing of
equipment, and (2) whether increases in ambient temperature can adversely affect
the performance of any other safety-related equipment at your facility. After
reviewing your. response to this Notice,-including your proposed corrective
actions and the results of future inspections, the NRC will determine whether
further NRC enforcement action is necessary to ensure compliance with NRC
regulatory requirements.
- In accordance with Section 2.790 of the NRC's " Rules of Practice," Part 2,
Title 10, Code of Federa1' Regulations, a copy of this ietter and its enclosure
will be placed in the NRC Public Document Room.
0FFICIAL RECORD COPY
CP PKG YANKEE R0WE - 0004.0.0
10/18/90
_ _ _ - - _ _
_
. ..
,
.-_-
_ _ - _ - _ _ _
,
. .
,
,
.
..
-Yankee Atomic Electric Company
3
The responses directed by this letter and the enclosed Notice are not subject
- to the clearance procedures of the Office of Management and Budget as required
by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980, Pub. L. No.96-511.
_.
Sincerely,
I
(r; ' al Ci!rl0 ET.
Thunas T. liiatun
[
Thomas T. Martin
L
Regional Administrator
Enclosure: Notice of Violation
cc w/ enc 1:
N. St. Laurent,. Plant Superintendent
G. Papanic, Jr. ,- Senior Project Engineer - Licensing
j
- R.-Hallisey, Dept. of Public Health, Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Public Document-Room (PDR)
Local Public Document Room (LPDR)
Nuclear Safety Information Center.(NSIC)
NRC Senior Resident Inspector
Commonwealth of Massachusetts, SLO Designee
State of Vermont, SLO Designee
l
,
'er
'
=
-
E-
0FFICIAL RECORD COPY
CP PKG YANKEE R0WE - 000E.0.0
10/18/90
.
..
. . . . _
4
e
.
._
.
Yankee Atomic Electric Company.
4
DISTRIBUTION:
LPDR
SECY
CA
J. Sniezek, DEDR
H. Thompson, DEDS
J. Lieberman, OE
,
T. Martin,-RI
D.:Holody, RI
J. Goldberg, OGC
T. Murley, NRR-
J. Partlow, NRR
Enforcement-Coordinator:
RI, RI1, RIII, RIV, RV
Resident Inspector
F. Ingram, GPA/PA
r
B. Hayes, 01
D. Williams, OIG
E. Jordan, AE00-
W. Troskoski, OE
OE:Chron
OE:ES
'0E:EA
,
H o lod
Rosge
Johns
@llel
%A
k
'
i
'
YlY
O
' ty:0E- A}P
"
.,
,
,
UEOP
RI:
i
JLuehman
TM rtin
JLieberman
JSnfezek
.
c) Eq\\c- p}K
10/ /90
10/I /90
10/ /90
10/(;/90
tt
-
,
,
a6
o"
. . .
...
.
OFFICIAL. RECORD COPY
CP PKG YANKEE R0WE - 0006.0.0
10/18/90
. ,
..
.-
.
,
. . . .
- .
. .
.
.. - . .
.
.
.
J
.
3
.
.
.
,
,
- .
.. :
'
Yankee-Atomic Electric Company l
4
s
DISTRIBUTION:-
'PDR=
.I
'
LPDR-
SECY
CA~
J. Sniezek,' DEDR
.
H. Thompson, DEDS
JE Lieberman, OE
..
O
JT. Martin,-RI-
'D. Holody, RI-
i
- J. Goldberg,- OGC
isi
T. Murley; NRR,
1
'
-J.
Partlow,SNRR-
-
Enforcement Coordinators
<
- RI, RII,4RIII,'RIV, RV'
.;
Resident:- Inspector
t
..
.F.;Ingram; GPA/PA
B. Hayes,'Ol'
>
r
' ' ,
LD.; Williams, 0IG-
E.: Jordan,=AE00'.
- --Wl-;Troskoski, OE .
";
'
OE:Chron
j
-
l0E:ESJ
-
j
OE:EA-
<
' ' '
t
>
,t
. ' . '
l
~
,
g.
-}
+
,
'
$
g
$
t
I
- i,
,\\
'
.'.N
,
x
i
oi
'
'
,
,
,
k
t
>
.*
- } ..'
!f,
t
.
.*
Ih
i
'
l=
i
..
i
1
t :.
L
--
-
.
.
. .
...
.
_
..
a