ML20080D457

Requests That NRC Be Prepared to Discuss QA Problems at Facilities at Subcommittee 811119 Hearing on QA

ML20080D457
Person / Time
Site:	South Texas, 05000000, Perkins
Issue date:	10/30/1981
From:	Udall M HOUSE OF REP., INTERIOR & INSULAR AFFAIRS
To:	Palladino N NRC COMMISSION (OCM)
Shared Package
ML20079E660	List: ML20080D442 ML20080D457
References
FOIA-83-289 NUDOCS 8402090132
Download: ML20080D457 (1)

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October 30, 1981 #J' g /- ^

The Honorable Nunzio Palladino , -

Chairman, Nuclear Regulatory Commission

.w ashington, D.C. 20555 '

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Dear' Mr. Chainnan:

I have recently received a report entitled "Desi n Revw of f. .'

Brown and Root Engineering Work for the South Texas- '

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Project." In addition to raising explicit questions as to '

the adequacy of the South Texas Project design,. the report i raises implicit questions as to how the deficiencies of the i

kind by the imC.

enumerated in the report could have escaped detection t In my letter of. August 20 on the Zimmer project, I referred

• to General Accounting Office remarks regarding the tardiness ~

of the NRC Of fice of Inspection and Enforcement,in b confronting allegations of harassment'.of quality control inspectors at South Texas. The Quarirex report suggests &

0 additional reason to doubt the efficacy of the Office of 'I Inspection and Enforcement in monitoring activi' ties at this' site. f i

, As you know, there'is a widespread belief among' members of -k

' Congress that quality assurance problems such as those suggested by Quadrex at South Texas- (as well as those' -] '

recently revealed at Diablo Canyon) simpl.y. 'do .not exist. It '

is'inportant, ther.Plo re , that the Commission come forth- '

g-with a statement pl senting: ( A) the reasons' that defects .of

• these kinds remainoa so long undetected; and (B) an -

explanation of what is being done.to'u'ncover any.such .

. ' situations' at other plants. -i -

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Please be prepared to discuss the South 'rexas matter and the 7

i information. requested in the foregoing paragraph at * -

j qtg the Subcommittee 's November.cr.1' hearing on quality, assurance. .

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' Q. Thank you for your assistance.- .-  :

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Sincerely,,

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HAMLINB3-289 PDR 'e .

e MORRIS K..UDALL '

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dl 1 l' Electnc Tower J iiii po g g Il IIIb I Houston. Texas 77001 Nove=ber 20, 1978 ST-EL-AE-307 Director, Regica IV Office of Inspection and Enforcement Nuclear Eegulatory Cc==ission Suite 1000 l{ {l Q { ga, 611 Pyan Plaza Drive Arlington, Texas 76102

Dear Sir:

Scuth Texas Project Units 1 & 2 Docket Nos. STN 50 L95, STN 50-k99 Interi: Report en the Feportable Deficiency Concerning Contain=ent Veids fer Unit 1 of the South Texas Prc3ect On October 20, 1978, pursuant to 10 CFR 50 55(e)(2), Housten Lighting & Pcver Cc=pany notified your effice of concrete voids be-hind the liner plate in the reacter building exterior vall. If left uncorrected, these voids could have ec=prc=ised the structural in-tegrity of the contain=ent in that the contain=ent as built could not

=eet its design 1 cad criteria.

Repair =ethods to restere the appro-priate level of safety to the contaf n=ect are being investigated.

These =ethods vill be tested and iihe results analyzed befor'e they are i=;1e=ented.

The repairs should be co=pleted by'May,1979 At that ti=e a

final report providing a description of the deficiency, an analysis of the safety i=plications and the corrective actions taken to pre-vent reoccurrence of the proble

vill be submitted to your office.

Very truly yours, 1

. a. . /_ - _. .-.

E. A. Turner Vice President Power Plant Construction oh

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--- RO Box 1700 J Ji i HoustonTcxas77001 Jur.a 5, 1979 SFN: V-05:0 ST-HL-AE-346 Director, Region IV Office of Inspection and Enforcement 611 Ryan Plaza Drive, Suite 1000 Arlington, Texas 76102

Dear Sir:

South Texas Project Units 1 & 2 Docket Nos. STN 50-498, STN 50-499 Final Report on the Reportable Deficiency Concernina Concrete Voids In the' Unit 1 Reactor Containment Buildina

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ihe attached report is submitted pursuant to the requirements of 10 CFR 50.55(e)(3). On October 20, 1978, Houston Lighting and Power notitied your office of concrete voids behind the liner plate in the reactor building exterior wall. This final report provides a description of the deficiency, summary of the safety analysis and corrective actions taken to repair the voids and to prevent their recurrence. Further questions should be directed to Mr. D. G. Barker, Manager, South Texas Project at (713) 676-8891.

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Very truly yours,

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./ L1 E. A. Turner  !

Vice President Power Plant Construction

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cc: Director, NRC Office of Inspection & Enforcement / Adl3 C. Thrash (Baker & Botts) r g[ l /

R. Gordon Gooch (Baker & Botts)

J. R. Newman (Lowenstein, Newman, Reis, Axelrad & Toll)

D. G. Barker f(05 A. J. Granger 3 R. A. Frazar T' b @g mig 12 6 3 y'C y

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q p & Power ComJany .jEBLE copy Electric Te..er July 16, 1979 i

.N'!!t: im . RQ Sox 1700 ST-HL-AE-362 4 h II ' .pdy O Houston. Texas 77001 5FN: V-0100 Director, Region IV Office of Inspection and Enforcement 611 Ryan Plaza Drive, Suite 1000 Arlington, Texas 76102

Dear Sir:

South Texas Project Units 1 & 2 Docket Nos. STN 50-498, STN 50-499

• Interim Report on the Reportable Deficiency Concerning Concrete Voids in the Eighth Lift of the Unit 1 Reactor Containment Building On June 18, 1979, pursuant to 10 CFR 50.55(e) (2), Houston Lighting & Power Company notified your office of concrete voids behind the liner plate in the eighth lift of the reactor building exterior wall. A thorough and detailed plan for investigating the entire eighth lift has been prepared. A more complete report should

- be available on or about August 15, 1979.

Lift 8 has been entirely mapped by sounding techniques to locate those areas with apparent lack of contact of concrete with the steel liner. Eleven holes have been drilled in suspect areas around the equipment hatch area and an additional 138 holes will be drilled in other areas of the liner. Three voids have been detected thus far.

Further questions on this incident should be directed to Mr.

D. G. Barker at (713) 676-8891.

Very truly yours,

- o q s ._. g E. A. Turner Vice President Power Plant Construction

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egion IV Cffice of Irscecticn & Enforcement 611 Pvan P'a a Drive, Suite 1000 Arlin'gten, Texas 76102

Dear Sir:

Soutn Texas Project Units 1 & 2 Docket Nos. SIN 50-495, STN 50-499 Second Interim Report on the Reportable Deficiency Concerning Concrete Voids in the Eigntn Lift of the Unit 1 Reactor Contair. ent Buildi gn On July 16, 1979, pursuant to 10CFR50.55(e), Houston Lighting &

PcWer Cercany provided ycur office with an interin report concernirg ccncrete voics behind tne liner plate in the Eighth Lift of the Reactor Building exterior wall. The letter indicated that a more com:lete recort would te submitted on or about August 15, 1979.

Tne attacned report provides a description of the deficiency, the invest'gaticn of the deficiency, and the current ccrrective action ceing taken. The tentative date for completion of the recair is

.'anuary 19, 1950, follo ed oy a final report one riontn later.

Additional discussion or-cuestions should be directed toward Mr.

L. R. Jacobi, (713) 676-7953.

Very truly yours,

,q w- -gm E. A. Turner Vice President Power Plant Construction

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11 HoustortTexas 77001 February 18, 1980  :

ST-H L- Ae-419 l SFN: V-0530 l Mr. Karl Seyfrit Director, Region IV Nuclear Regulatory Commission 611 Ryan Plaza Drive, Suite 1000 Arlington, Texas 76102

Dear Mr. Seyfrit:

' South Texas Project Units 1 & 2 Docket Nos. STN 50-498, STN 50-499 Final Report on the Reportable Deficiency

, Concerning Concrete Voids in the Eighth Lift Of the Unit 1 Reactor Containment Building On June 18, 1979, pursuant to 10 CFR 50.55 (e), Houston Lighting & Power Company notifica your office of concrete voids behind the liner plate in the eighth lift of the reactor building exterior wall. The Second Interim Report of August 15, 1979, indicated that the final report was to be completed on February 19, 1980. Attached is the final report on this deficiency, describing the cause and extent of the problem and the corrective action that has been taken. ,

Further questions should be directed to Mr. L. R. Jacobi, (713) 676-7953.

Very truly yours, -

e J

l C. W ' pre r.

Executive ice President GWO /sra Attachment '

cc: Members of the South Texas l Management Committee Oq r l

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UNITED STATES T,%$ NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION W ASH;NGToN. D. C. 20555 Q $ .W N . E APR 2 5 1980 MEMORANDUM FOR: Commissioner Bradford W. J. Dircks THRU:

Actir.g Executive Director for Operations FROM: Victor Stello, Jr., Director Office of Inspection and Enforcement

- SUEJECT: CONCRETE VOIDING AT THE SOUTH TEXAS PLANT This is in response to your memorandum on this subject dated April 18, 1980.

The scope of the briefing on April 15, 1980 was to inform the Commission of the results of the investigation into harassment and intimidation of contractor quality assurance personnel and the current effectiveness of the QA/QC program at the South Texas Plant. As we stated in the briefing, there are some matters related-to the history of this facility wr" r are still under review. The question of voids is one of those matters.

As indicated below we were aware of the voids i- Ur.its 1 and 2 containment structures and knew that their repair was cmcer way. Similar voiding in these same locations has been observed at citer facilities. With the exception of the voiding problem, no other concrete cuality problems were known to exist and concrete cuality at the South Texas Prcject at this point generally appears to be at least acceptable. During the repairs a section of liner plate was dar. aged as a result of water pressure between the liner plate and- the concrete.

Water was being used to determine the volume of voids. This area has not as yet been repaired.

We are and have been aware of the occurrence of extensive voiding in the Unit I and less extensive voiding in Unit 2 containment structures at the South Texas Plant. The licensee has reported on concrete voiding in 50.55(e) reports dated November 20, 1978, June 5, 1979, July 16, 1979, August 15, 1979 and February 18, 1980. Copies of those reports are enclosed. In addition, less extensive voiding has been reported in connection with other structures (see enclosed 50.55(e) report dated April 14, 1978). Region IV has reported on concrete voiding in the enclosed IE Reports 50-498/79-12 and 50-498/80-1.

The largest void in terms of volume identified in connection with Unit 1 p containment was located above the equipment hatch below a liner plate stiffener and did not extend through the wall. There were smaller voids that extended O' . .

Contact:

H. D. Thornburg, IE

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MEMORANDUM FOR: Commissioner Bradford CN M 42b M i

THRU: W. J. Dircks, Acting Executive Director j for Operations

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FROM: Victor Stello, Jr. , Director, Office of Inspection {

and Enforcement l

SUBJECT:

RESPONSE TO A REQUEST FOR IE ACTION ON TERMINATED QC (CIVIL)

INSPECTORS AT THE SOUTH TEXA5 PROJECT F

This is in response to your request of April 21, 1980, that IE interview civil l QC inspectors wno had terminated their employment as inspectors at the South l Texas Project site. In order to ensure a timely response to your request we l

interviewed individuals by telephone.

The licensee, Houston Lighting and Power (HL&P), provided a list of all personnel who had at one time worked in a Quality Control (Civil) capacity at the site but who had either taken another assignment at the site, or who had terminated their employment and left the site. The total number of individuals we identified in this category was sixty-nine (69). HL&P provided addresses for most of these individuals. Provided below is a breakdown of those former QC inspectors we were able to trace from that original list of sixty-nine.

5* Individuals had previously been interviewed by OIA and indicated they terminated for specific and varying reasons as identified in a forthcoming OIA Report of Investigation.

7* Individuals were interviewed previously by IE with only one claiming he was fired due to harassment from B&R management (unsubstantiated) 2 Individuals were not readily traceable (no address upon termination) and had not been previously interviewed.

3 Individuals now working at the site for Brown and Root, but not in QC.

1 Individual now working at Houston for Brown & Root.

• Individuals contacted by the NRC at some time after termination as a Brown and Root QC (Civil) inspector CONTACT: R. E. Shewmaker, IE 49-27551 00 14 tc% M nM._7 n

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V '"aMay 28, 1980 [

M r . V i c t o r S t e l To', J J r .% I " 01 NC

• Director ,.e,d Office of Inspection and E,nforcement United States Nuclear Reguh tory Commission

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Washington, D.C. 20555

Dear Mr. Stello:

On May 27, 1980, Citizens Concerned About Nuclear Power, Inc. and Citizens for Equitable Utilities sent a telegram to you with a copy to the Office of the Executive Legal l Director requesting the Nuclear Regulatory Commission convene a public hearing on its Order To Show Cause (Effective Imme- l diately) dated April 30, 1980 and directed at Houston Lighting and Power, licensee for the South Texas Nuclear Project (Docket Nos. 50-498 and 50-499). The Order provided that the " licensee or any other person whose interest may be affected by this Order may request a hearing within twenty-five days of this Order." As the 25th day was May 25, a Sunday, and as May 26 was a holiday, CCANP and CEU understand May 27, the date of the telegraphed request, to be the last day f or such a request and submitted this request accordingly.

As supportive evidence for this request, CCANP and CEU offer the following:

1. The violations found in the Nuclear Regulatory Commis-sion investigation of November, 1979 through February, 1980 are not isolated events but rather part of a consistent and disturbing pattern. The notification letter from the NRC to Houston Lighting and Power stated: "The deficiencies in the Brown and Root program were so extensive that they should have been readily detected."

2. A major area of violation was the Quality Assurance /

Quality Control program. This program is supposed to assure the plant is properly built. A failure in this program could produce a plant which is a potential threat to the health and safety of both those working within the plant and the general public. The Order to Show Cause (Effective Immediately) states:

"The allegations of harrassment, intimidation, and lack of support of QC inspectors were substantiated during the investigation and demonstrate shortcomings in the management or poor management attitude and practices at the STP. Further, the results of the investigation establish that the QA/QC program al the South Texas Project is deficient and does not meet the standards required to assure that STP will b_e constructed o requirements. (Order, page 9; emphasis added)_t_o NRC

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MEMORANDUM FOR: K. V. Seyfrit, Director, RIV FROM: H. D. Thornourg, Director Division of Reactor Construction Inspection

SUBJECT:

MEETING WITH HOUSTON POWER AND LIGHT MANAGEMENT -

MAY 30,1980 This is to inform you of the results of a meeting with representatives of Houston Power and Light in V. Stello's office on May 30, 1980 starting at 8:00 a.m. The meeting was requested by the licensee on May 22, 1980.

The following persons attended the meeting:

D. Jordan, President, Houston Power and Light G. Oprea, Vice-President, Houston Power and Light J. Newman, Attorney, representing Houston Power and Light

• V. Stello, Director, Office of Inspection and Enforcement J. Murray, Director, OELD J. Lieberman, Deputy Director, CELD H. Thornburg, Director, RCI J. Taylor, Deputy Director, RCI

• R. Shewmaker, Senior Engineer, RCI The Houston Power and Light representatives indicated that they had requested the meeting to express their intent to respond positively and effectively to the recent enforcement action taken in the South Texas Case (Order to Show Cause and Civil Penalty). They summarized some of the actions they had already taken and planned to take. They also sought clarification on some aspects of the Order.

The NRC took the position that Houston Power and Light should take whatever action it considers appropriate to convince the Director, IE and, later,the Hearing Board that construction at the facility was adequate. It was also emphasized that attention should be directed to more than paper review and modification in providing their response.

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.1 roldD.phornburg, m Directora Division of Reactor Constructibh Inspection

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CNE SHELL PLAZA HOUSTON, TEXAS 77oo2

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g, _., j , T ELECO M M U N ICATIO N (7131 229-1523 HOUSTON TELEPnONE (202) 457-5500 (202)411-553: wASHihGTON. D C H-2480-760 June 10, 1980

• Houston Lighting &

Power Company (STP/ Application for Operating License)

Mr. Bill Bedman Legal Department Brown & Root, Inc.

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c Post Office Box Three ' gC'O Houston, Texas 77001 M

Dear Mr. Bedman:

This letter is to confirm our understandings: (i) that the Brown & Root brochure titled " Implementation of the Brown & Root Quality Assurance Program at the South Texas Project Jobsite" and the associated videotape, both of which were the subject of seminars conducted by Brown & Root on or about January 4, 1980, for personnel working at the South Texas Project site in Matagorda County, Texas, have been recalled and withdrawn from circulation; but (ii) that a copy will be retained by you as counsel for Brown & Root and will be available as evidence both in the activities relating to the Order to Show Cause issued to Houston Light-ing & Power Cortrany by the Director of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Office of Inspection and Enforcement on April 30, 1980, and in conjunction with the pending application for operating licenses from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for South Texas Project Units 1 and 2.

Mr. James Lieberman, counsel for the Director of the Commission's Office of Inspection and Enforcement, and Mr. Lanny Sinkin, a representative of Citizens Concerned About Nuclear Power, an intervenor in the proceeding on the application for operating license, have requested that both brochure and videotape not be destroyed.

Very truly yours, E. -

E. Cowan Ib FEC:63 0

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