ML20092H300

Official Communication of Georgians Against Nuclear Energy W/Adjudicatory Employee Jl Knox.* Requests NRC to Perform Analysis of Testing History of Diesels in Order to Provide Info for NRC & Jl Knox to Properly Advise Util.W/Svc List

ML20092H300
Person / Time
Site:	Vogtle
Issue date:	02/13/1992
From:	Carroll G GEORGIANS AGAINST NUCLEAR ENERGY
To:
References
CON-#192-12587 90-617-03-OLA, 90-617-3-OLA, OLA, NUDOCS 9202210086
Download: ML20092H300 (4)

Text

- _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ -- _ _ _ _ _ - - _ _ - - -

^

h,bibY E unuto v>HkC 2/13/91 I

'92 FEB 18 NOM 4 United States of Anerica l Nuclear Regulatory Comnission , n e !4 %C4I@Ul-

[;g

• p6 , M e Eh GR AN! H In the Matter of j Docket # $0-424-OLA

1. $0-425-OLA ALSBP #90-617-03-OLA Appeal to Nuclear Regulatory Commission l

^

OFFICI AL COMMUNICATION OF GEORGI ANS AGAINST ITUCLEAR ENERGY WITil ADJUDICATORY EMPLOYEt JOllN L. KNOX Georgiana Against Nuclear Energy endorses the Commission's engagement of ~

advisenent on the issues relating to the diesel generators at Nuclear -

Plant Vogtle.

We request the Commission to perform an analysis of the tosting history of the diesels at Plant Vogtle in order to provide information  :

necessary for the Commission and John L. Knox to properly-advise Georgia Power Company and assist them in solving their chronic problems with their TDI dional generators.

It is our wish to obtain the diesel test results for the ioperating history of Vogtle and analyze them on behalf of the parties, however our efdorts to obtain the documents have not borne fruit. It is our understanding that the NRC may acquire these docunents f rom Georgia Power on request.

Our in':erest in the test results are driven by Appendix I, Section 3, of NUREG 1410 which shows myriad chronic problems with other -

Calcon sensors besides the high jacket water temperature switch which failed and caused the site area emergency on March 20, 1990. The lube oil low pressure sensor which has also repeatedly suffered calibration drift is still employed in emergency starts and its calibration drift problems pose a. threat to the operability of the diesels.

Appendix J of Nureg 1410, p. J-27, contains a discussion of the problem of contamination of the diesels' pneumatic logic by t hread scalant. This contamination has its roots in the high-maintenance needs and human intervention requirements of the pneumatic logic system. We believe the diesel testing information will support our position that, 92022i00B6-920213 PDR ADOCK 05000424 1D 6p)

C PDR /

X .- - .-. . - - . -- . -- - -. -. . .._ ._.

o

,.. y 4

rather_ than repair-the pneumatic logic and risk subsequent random and sporadic f ailures that will arise f rom the narre human mistakes that l occurred on and prior to the site area energency of March 20, 1990, that the safety of people living in the vicinity of Plant Vogtle will be better preserved by replacing the pneumatic logic on the diesels with a less vulnerable electronic logic which is more automated and less  ;

. subject to human error.

In our early efforts to obtain the diesel testing history f rom .

Georgia Power, GANE received a communication from Georgia Power which referred to Diesel 2-A as having experienced 6 f ailures in 93- tests. ,

7his poor reliability record for Diesel 2-A reinforces our contention ,

that the problems that the diesels are having are chronic and that the ,

diesels.should be repaired so that their reliability will be in conformance with the requirement to power the nuclear plant's safety systems in a dangerous loss-of-station power incident. A study of the failures of the diesels-at Vogtle will ascertain whether the significantly reduced reliability of the diesels is due primarily to the pneumatic logic or whether the generator failures are caused by even more flaws in the diesels. l i

GANE requests that Georgia Power immediately establish the causes of the diesel f ailures and ef fect repairs to the f our emergency '

diesel generators at the nuclear plant.- -

GANE appreciates your continued attention to this matter and hopes that the-parties will agree to sepair the diesels before another serious loss +of-power accident occurs.

Respectfully submitted, A

g AW{W i

Glenn Carroll for i /

! LAeorgians Against Nuclear Energy Dated and signed in Decatur, Georgia rebruary 13, 1992  ;

s l

L

.e- t. .

I d Yi lip 05hhc Service Lista Commissioner Ivan Selin N fTB 18 MD*45 1

- Chairman U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission cg .

Washington, DC 20555 dog,4.y_L{j4p=<'

hhANco  ;

Commissioner Forrest J. Remick >

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission l Washington,-DC 20555 i

Connissioner James R. Curtiss' i

- U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Connission  !

- Washington, DC 20555 Commissioner Kenneth C. Rogers l U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission  ;

Washington, DCL20555 l John L. Knox i U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

.i Washington, DC 20555

- Administrative Judge Charles Bechhoctor Chairman i

Atomic Safety and Licensing Board U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission ,

3

' Washington,.DC 20555

. Administrative Judge Emmoth A. Luebke '

$500 Friendship Boulevard Apartment 1923N .

Chevy Chase, MD 20815 Administrative Judge' James H.' Carpenter Atomic Safety and Licensing Board ,

' U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

' Washington,.DC.20555 1 2ceretary of the Commission .

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission-Washington, DC 20555 i c/o: Emile Julian' Docketing and Services Branch Charles A.TBarth,LEsquiro Office st the General Counsel U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, DC 20555

(

t P

4

.' b - ,

..- m_.,_r,.. . - . . . ,, , , , . . g ,,. . . _ ,, , , . , ,.g .,. ,, ___,,,,,,,,w, .. , , . . , , . , _ . , , . 4 .s

., g . i Arthur H. Domby, Esquire Troutnan, Sanders, Lockerman & Ashmore

. Candler Building,_ Suite 1400 127 Peachtree Street NE Atlanta, GA 30303 Ernest L. Blake, Jr., P.C.

Shaw, Pittman, Potts and Trowbridge 2300 N Street NW washington, DC 20037 l'

\ -

I-

_