ML20132E060
| ML20132E060 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | McGuire  |
| Issue date: | 09/25/1984 |
| From: | James O'Reilly NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION II) |
| To: | Tucker H DUKE POWER CO. |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20132E065 | List: |
| References | |
| EA-84-072, EA-84-72, NUDOCS 8507170616 | |
| Download: ML20132E060 (3) | |
See also: IR 05000369/1984010
Text
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SEP 2 51984
Duke Power Company
ATTN: Mr. H. B. Tucker, Vice President
Nuclear Production Department
422 South Church Street
Charlotte, NC 28242
Gentlemen:
SUBJECT: NOTICE OF VIOLATION CONCERNING TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION LIMITING
CONDITION FOR OPERATION VIOLATION INOPERABLE CHARGING PUMP: EA 84-72
(REFERENCE INSPECTION REPORT NO. 50-369/84-10)
A special safety inspection was conducted by this office during the period
April 16-20, 1984, of activities authorized by NRC Operating License No. NPF-9
for the McGuire Unit I facility.
The inspection included a review of the
licensee reported circumstances surrounding failure to follow independent verifica-
tion procedures which resulted in a centrifugal charging pump being inoperable
for seven days. As a result of this inspection, failure to comply with NRC
regulatory requirements was confirmed, and accordingly, an enforcement conference
to discuss this matter was held in the Region II Office on May 9,1984.
This
conference was conducted to emphasize the importance of full implementation of
your independent verification program. The violation described in the enclosed
Notice of Violation involved failure to restore and ensure that a centrifugal
charging pump (NV pump 1A) was operable during conditions when the facility
Technical Specifications (TS) required its operability.
On February 13, 1984, while McGuire Unit 1 was in Mode 1, operating at 95 percent
power, the electrical breaker for NV pump 1A was correctly placed in the discon-
nect position to perform pump maintenance. However, the electrical breaker was
not subsequently returned to the connect position, as indicated by failure of NV
pump 1A to start on February 20, 1984. An investigation by McGuire operating
personnel identified the electrical breaker not to be in the connect position.
The breaker had not been in the connect position since February 13, 1984, when
the Nuclear Equipment Operator (NEO) failed to check the position of the racking
release lever while restoring the NV pump 1A breaker to the connect position. A
mechanical interlock of the racking release lever was not satisfied, and accord-
ingly, the electrical breaker was prevented from closing.
Furthermore, the
breaker was incorrectly verified by NE0s to be in the connect position on each of
seven days between February 13 and February 20, 1984, pursuant to the NE0 Turnover
Checklist, Station Directive 3.1.9, Attachment 3.
The NEOs, who performed these
checks, did not correctly verify the position of the racking release lever.
McGuire Operating Management Procedure (OMP)
1-6,
Independent Verification,
requires positions of safety-related electrical breakers to be independently
verified by two persons working together.
Nevertheless, on February 23, 1984,
when maintenance was completed on NV pump 1A, the independent verification was
performed by an assistant shift supervisor and a control room operator using the
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remote indication status lights for the breaker in the control room. Since this
method did not reflect the condition of the breaker, independent verification of
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SEP 2 51984
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the actual breaker position was not performed.
(e.g., The control room indica-
tion is present in both the " TEST" and " CONNECT" breaker positions and therefore
is not indicative of the actual breaker position.)
An enforcement conference had previously been held in the Region II Office on
October 19, 1983, concerning degradation of the containment spray system on
McGuire Unit 2.
In that case, a valve was misaligned and incorrectly verified to
be in the correct position. As a result, Duke Power Company (DPC) management
committed to an improved program for independent verification at McGuire on
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January 1, 1984. This improved program entailed the implementation of OMP 1-6
and training of the operations staff concerning independent verification.
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This violation has been categorized as a Severity Level IV violation in accord-
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ance with the NRC Enforcement Policy,
(" Policy") 10 CFR Part 2,
Appendix C
,
(47 FR 9987 (March 9,1982)), which was in effect on the date of the violation.
Because of the similarity of this violation to past violations involving inde-
pendent verification (i.e., EA 84-37 dated June 8,1984), the Policy permits the
staff to propose the Imposition of Civil Penalty of Twelve Thousand Dollars for
the repeated violation. However, after consultation with the Director of the
Office of Inspection and Enforcement, I have been authorized to fully mitigate
this action in that DPC reported this event immediately upon its discovery;
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promptly investigated the circumstances of the event; and took additional action
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to preclude further recurrence. Also, this mitigation recognizes the number of
potential activities that take place which involve independent verification and
the uniqueness of this particular case.
You are required to respond to the enclosed Notice and you should follow the
instructions specified therein when preparing your response.
Your response
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should specifically address the corrective actions planned with regard to
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ensuring that procedures are meticulously followed by McGuire personnel to assure
independent verification of the operability of systems important to safety.
Also, please address the adequacy of post-maintenance testing, as applicable. In
your response, appropriate reference to previous submittals is acceptable.
In accordance with 10 CFR 2.790 of the NRC's " Rules of Practice," Part 2,
Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, a copy of this letter and the enclosures
will be placed in the NRC's Public Document Room.
The responses directed by this letter and accompanying Notice are not subject to
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the clearance procedures of the Office of Management and Budget as required by
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980, PL 96-511.
Sincerely,
ORIGINAL $1GNED BY
j
JAMES P. O'REILLY
James P. O'Reilly
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Regional Administrator
Enclosures:
(See page 3)
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SEP 2 51984
Duke Power Company
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Enclosures:
1.
2.
Inspection Report No. 50-369/84-10
cc w/encis:
M. D. McIntosh, Plant Manager
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C. F. York, Division Manager
G. R. Klingler, Enforcement Specialist
bec w/encis:
NRC Resident Inspector
Document Control Desk
State of North Carolina
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