ML20129H472
| ML20129H472 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Pilgrim |
| Issue date: | 10/30/1996 |
| From: | Cooper R NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION I) |
| To: | Boulette E BOSTON EDISON CO. |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20129H475 | List: |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 9611050255 | |
| Download: ML20129H472 (4) | |
See also: IR 05000293/1996006
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October 30,1996
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E. Thomas Boulette, PhD
Senior Vice President - Nuclear
Boston Edison Company
Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station
600 Rocky Hill Road
Plymouth, Massachusetts 02360-5599
SUBJECT:
PILGRIM INSPECTION REPORT 50-293/96-06
Dear Mr. Boulette:
On September 23,1996, the NRC completed an inspection at the Pilgrim Nuclear Power
Station in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The enclosed report presents the results of that
inspection.
During the eight weeks of this inspection period, the conduct of activities at the Pilgrim
facility was characterized by safe reactor operation through conservative decision making.
We observed conservative decision making when your staff performed an unplanned
shutdown when an operator on rounds astutely identified a leak on the "B" reactor building
closed cooling water heat exchanger on September 17. Although technical specifications
allowed the "B" loop of containment cooling to be inoperable for 72 hours8.333333e-4 days <br />0.02 hours <br />1.190476e-4 weeks <br />2.7396e-5 months <br />, your staff
elected to commence a plant shutdown immediately after determining that the repair could
not be performed on line. Your staff also planned and executed reactor core power
suppression testing to locate an extremely small reactor fuel pin leak. After successfully
- identifying the suspect fuel cell, the protective action of fully inserting three control rods
suppressed local power to mitigate the effects of the leak. Lastly, the operations and plant
managers' direction to lower reactor power to 70%, after the loss of one 345 KV offsite
line during Hurricane Edouard, to mitigate the effects of the resultant transient if the other
345 KV offsite power line was lost, demonstrated a good focus on nuclear safety.
Based on the results of this inspection, one violation, with several examples, of NRC
requirements was identified. The issue involved conditions adverse to quality that were
not promptly identified and corrected. One aspect of the violation dealt with the failure of
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the corrective action process and your organization to identify a broad procedure usage
and adequacy issue at Pilgrim which was a condition adverse to quality since at least April
1995. During this inspection period, a licensed operator left a safety related valve out of
position due to not following the procedure. Another aspect of the violation involved the
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accuracy of the Rockwell Hardness Tester in 1995. Members of your staff relied on verbal
advice over the telephone from a vendor rather than notifying the BECo measurement and
test equipment personnel or initiating a problem report to resolve a calibration problem. As
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of the end of this inspection, the ramifications of a related issue with the accuracy of a
BECo calibration block used to calibrate the hardness tester had not yet been evaluated.
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9611050255 961030
ADOCK 05000293
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E. Thomas Boulette, PhD
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in the area of procedure adherence and adequacy, we received your June 17,1996
response to our concerns that were raised in NRC Inspection Report 50-293/96-80. We
considered this overall response adequate, but weak in certain instances, in that it did not
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communicate a clear, integrated plan to correct the identified problems. Also, no specific
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date for completion of all corrective actions was cited.
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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 respunse, you should document
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. In particular, you may rely on
the corrective actions and improvements already described in your July 17,1996 letter,
but you should also address the weaknesses of that response and include a summary the
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results of your common cause analysis on the procedure adequacy and adherence
problems. After reviewing your response to this Notice, including your proposed corrective
actions and the results of future inspections, the NRC will determine whether further
enforcement action is necessary to ensure compliance with NRC regulatory requirements.
We believe it would be mutually beneficial to hold a management meeting in Region I on
your improvements in this area after you submit your response to this letter.
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 (PDR). 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
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980, Pub. L. No. 96.511.
Your cooperation with us is appreciated.
Sincerely,
Original Signed By:
Richard Cooper, Director
Division of Reactor Projects
Docket No.: 50-203
License No.: DPR-35
Enclosures:
1.
2.
Inspection Report 50-293/96-06
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E. Thomas Boulette, PhD
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cc w/ encl:
L. Olivier, Vice President - Nuclear and Station Director
T. Sullivan, Plant Manager
N. Desmond, Regulatory Relations
D. Tarantino, Nuclear Information Manager
R. Hallisey, Department of Public Health, Commonwealth of Massachusetts
The Honorable Therese Murray
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The Honorable Linda Teagan
B. Abbanat, Department of Public Utilities
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Chairman, Plymouth Board of Selectmen
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Chairman, Duxbury Board of Selectmen
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Chairman, Nuclear Matters Committee
Plymouth Civil Defense Director
Paul W. Gromer, Massachusetts Secretary of Energy Resources
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James Shaer, Legislative Assistant
J. Fleming
A. Nogee, MASSPIRG
Regional Administrator, FEMA
Office of the Commissioner, Massachusetts Department of Environmental Quality
Engineering
Office of the Attorney General, Commonwealth of Massachusetts
T. Rapone, Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety
Chairman, Citizens Urging Responsible Energy
Commonwealth of Massachusetts, SLO Designee
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E. Thomas Boulette, PhD
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Distribution w/ encl:
Region i Docket Room (with concurrences)
PUBLIC
Nuclear Safety Information Center (NSIC)
D. Screnci, PAO
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R. Conte, DRP
H. Eichenholz, DRP
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C. O'Daniell, DRP
Distribution w/enci (VIA E-MAIL):
A. Wang, NRR
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W. Dean, OEDO
Inspection Program Branch, NRR (IPAS)
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R. Correia, NRR (RPC)
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R. Frahm, Jr., NRR (RKF)
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To receive a copy of thle document, Indicate in the box:
'C" = Copy without attach,nent/ enclosure
'E" = Copy with attachment /encbsure
"N" = No copy
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