ML20129B347
| ML20129B347 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Crane  |
| Issue date: | 09/13/1996 |
| From: | Eselgroth P NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION I) |
| To: | James Knubel GENERAL PUBLIC UTILITIES CORP. |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20129B351 | List: |
| References | |
| GL-89-10, NUDOCS 9609230011 | |
| Download: ML20129B347 (3) | |
See also: IR 05000289/1996005
Text
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Septamber 13,1996
Mr. James Knubel
Vice President and Director, TMI
GPU Nuclear Corporation
Three Mile Island Nuclear Station
Post Office Box 480
Middletown, PA 17057-0191
SUBJECT:
NRC INTEGRATED INSPECTION REPORT N0. 50-289/96-05 AND NOTICES
OF VIOLATION
Dear Mr. Knubel:
On August 3,1996, the NRC completed an inspection at your Three Mile Island 1 reactor
facility. The enclosed report presents the results of that inspection.
A continued trend related to senior reactor operators' evaluation of degraded Technical
Specification equipment operability determinations and documentation warrants additional
management attention. The most recent example was related to the undetected reduction
of auxiliary and fuel handling building ventilation flow below the Technical Specification
minimum value. The operator's excellent response to the fuse clip failure for the station
blackout diesel was an example of positive performance related to the application of good
self checking techniques.
Your Generic Letter (GL) 89-10 Motor-Operated Valve Program was originally scheduled for
completion in June 1994. The completion date was later revised to the end of the 11R
refuel outatie, October 1995, following several meetings with the NRC. Despite these
interactioni, the program has remained substantially incomplete 18 months later, with
several fundamental weaknesses, ineffective oversight, and an apparent lack of ownership.
The technical inconsistencies were reflected by not just informality and poor
documentation, but also weak design control and unfounded engineering assumptions. For
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example, valve factors - a critical design input parameter - were inadequately justified for
over half of the untested valve groups. Basic assumptions related to diagnostic uncertainty
and load-sensitive behavior were miscalculated or improperly estimated; and, for several
valve families with marginal capability, such as the pressurizer power operated relief valve
block valves and several secondary side isolation valves, the design-basis assumptions
were unclear and inconsistent with respect to the current TMl licensing basis. The NRC
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was unable to close the TMI MOV program, margins for certain valves remain relatively
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small, and design-basis capability has not been adequately verified by GPUN.
Based on the results of this inspection, certain of your activities appeared to be in violation
of NRC requirements, as specified in the enclosed Notice of Violation. The failure to
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9609230011 960913
ADOCK 05000289-
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Mr. James Knubel
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establish proper design control measure, when determining valve factors, is being cited as
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a violation of NRC requirements.
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You are required to respond to this letter and should follow the instructions specified in the
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enclosed Notice when preparing your response. In your response, you should document
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the specific actions taken and any additional actions you plan to prevent recurrence. Your
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response may reference or include previous docketed correspondence, if the
correspondence adequately addresses the required response. After reviewing your
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response to this Notice, including your proposed corrective actions and the results of
future inspections, the NRC will dctermine whether further NRC enforcement action is
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necessary to ensure compliance with NRC regulatory requirements.
In accordance with 10 CFR 2.790 of the NRC's " Rules of Practice," a copy of this letter
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and its enclosures will be placed in the NRC Public Document Room. To the extent
possible, your response should not include any personal privacy, proprietary, or safeguards
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information so that it can be placed in the PDR without redaction.
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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
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Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980, Public Law No. 96.511.
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We appreciate your cooperation.
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Sincerely,
ORIGINAL SIGNED BY.
Peter W. Eselgroth, Chief
Projects Branch No. 7
Division of Reactor Projects
Docket No.: 50-289
License No.: DPR-50
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Enclosures-
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1. Notices of Violation.
2. NRC Inspection Report No. 50-289/96-05
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3. NRC/GPU Nuclear Management Meeting Presentation Slides
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cc w/ encl:
E. L. Blake, Shaw, Pittman, Potts and Trowbridge (Legal Counsel for GPUN)
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
J. C. Fornicola, Director, Licensing and Regulatory Affairs
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M. J. Ross, Director, Operations and Maintenance
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TMI-Alert (TMIA)
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J. S. Wetmore, Manager, TMl Regulatory Affairs
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Mr. James Knubel
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Distribution w/ encl:
Region I Docket Room (with concurrences)
T. Kenny, DRS
P. Eselgroth, DRP
D. Haverkamp, DRP
NRC Resident inspector
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Nuclear Safety Information Center (NSIC)
PUBLIC
D. Screnci, PAO
Distribution w/enci (VIA E-MAIL):
W. Dean, OEDO
inspection Program Branch, NRR (IPAS)
M. Davis, NRR (MJD1) (For FSAR info only)
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DOCUMENT NAME: G:\\ BRANCH 7\\TMi\\TMl9605.lNS
To receive a copy of this document, indicate in the box: "C" = Copy without
attachment / enclosure
"E" = Copy with attachment / enclosure
"N" = No copy
OFFICE
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OFFICIAL RECORD COPY