ML20134E623
| ML20134E623 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Maine Yankee |
| Issue date: | 02/03/1997 |
| From: | Zwolinski J NRC (Affiliation Not Assigned) |
| To: | Nickelsberg B AFFILIATION NOT ASSIGNED |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20134E626 | List: |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 9702060380 | |
| Download: ML20134E623 (5) | |
Text
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WASHINGTON, D.C. 20086-4001
.....,o February 3, 1997 Mr. Barry Nickelsberg Pegasus Farm Route 218 P.O. Box 263 Alna, ME 04535
Dear Mr. Nickelsberg:
I am responding to your letter to Chairman Jackson dated December 24, 1996, in which you requested that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) not allow Maine Yankee Atomic Power Company (MYAPCo) to restart the Maine Yankee plant until all of its safety concerns are addressed.
The NRC takes its responsibility to ensure public health and safety seriously.
Under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, the NRC has the authority to inspect nuclear power plaats in its role of providing for the protection of public health and safety.
Through its inspection program, the NRC assesses whether a licensee construct 3 and operates the facility in compliance with regulatory requirements. The hRC inspection program is audit-oriented to verify, through scrutiny of careful'y selected samples, that relevant activities are being properly conducted and equipment is properly maintained to ensure safe operations. The inspection process monitors the licensee's activity, communicates inspect 1on findings to the licensee's management in publicly available inspection reports, and conducts followup inspections to ensure that the licensee has implemented lasting corrective action.
While the NRC inspection program is designed to ensure that the licensee identifies and resolves safety issues before they affect safe operations, the NRC inspection program does not replace the licensee's programs nor decrease its responsibilities. When a safety problem or failure to comply with requirements is discovered, the NRC requires prompt corrective action by the licensee, and takes enforcement action, as appropriate.
Your letter refers to 3200 deficiencies noted by the Independent Safety Assessment Team (ISAT).
I believe that you are referring to the licensee's backlog of corrective actions discussed in section 4.2.2, page 65 of the ISAT report issued by the NRC in October 1996.
The licensee's process for resolving identified problems was fragmented into approximately 21 individual, non-integrated, corrective action tracking systems. The backlog of corrective actions was relatively large and was increasing. The ISAT's concern was that the process for resolving these licensee-identified corrective actions has been weak, resulting in untimely resolution, despite past efforts by the licensee to improve the process.
The licensee is adopting a single process, termed "The Learning Process," to integrate corrective actions. The NRC will continue to monitor and audit the licensee's corrective actior. resolution process and has scheduled an inspection of the licensee's corrective action program for February 1997.
The NRC has stressed to the licensee the importance that it determine the root j/
causes of these weaknesses and take broad corrective actions.
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Mr. B. Nickelsberg Subsequent to the issuance of the ISAT report in October 1996, the NRC staff has conducted numerous inspections to confirm compliance with NRC rules and regulations. Concurrently, the licensee is pursuing resolution of ISAT findings.
Recently, while conducting reviews associated with the NRC's Generic Letter 96-01, " Testing of Safety-Related Logic Circuits," the licensee discovered a separation problem with control wiring associated with the redundant trains of reactor manual trip push buttons.
Conformance with certain industry electrical standards could not be verified and, thus, the licensee shut down Maine Yankee on December 5, 1996, to resolve this safety Concern.
On December 18, 1996, the NRC issued a Confirmatory Action Letter (CAL) to MYAPCo, the licensee for Maine Yankee, documenting its agreement to undertake the following actions prior to restarting the facility:
Complete testing of safety-related logic circuits pursuant to NRC i
Generic Letter No. 96-01.
Develop a plan and methodology for expanding its review to determine the extent of the cable separation problems at the facility.
Perform root cause evaluations that will address all hardware deficiencies identified, and utilize this information to validate the comprehensiveness of its corrective actions.
Meet with NRC representatives to describe the results and conclusions, as they pertain to the actions described above, and to gain the NRC's agreement that Maine Yankee is sufficiently prepared to restart the facility.
Further inspections and licensing activities have revealed several additional technical concerns in the electrical and equipment qualification areas.
These recently-identified concerns have been incorporated into a supplement to the CAL and will also be the subject of a public meeting between the licensee and i
the staff prior to plant restart.
Regarding the missing heat exchanger relief valves, on December 19, 1996, the licensee discovered that the spent fuel pool and component cooling water heat exchangers do not have appropriate thermal relief valve protection as required by the applicable design codes.
The licensee is maintaining the isolation valves open for the affected systems to prevent the overpressure condition for which the relief valves are intended to provide protection.
The NRC staff will follow the licensea's corrective actions in this area to ensure that they are sufficiently comprehensive to identify and correct similar conditions.
In reference to the guard's chair, upon investigation the licensee determined that the chair was contaminated.
This raised a concern regarding contamination control. The licensee's corrective action was to no longer allow cloth chairs in the radioactive-controlled areas of the plant.
This matter has also been assessed by the NRC resident inspectors and will be addressed in their Febraary 1997 inspection report No. 96-14.
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Mr. B. Nickelsberg.
The NRC will decide, prior to restart, whether the licensee's corrective actions )rovide reasonable assurance that the plant will be operated in a manner t1at will pose no undue risk to public health and safety in accordance with the Commission's regulations.
I trust the above initiatives are responsive to your concerns.
Sincerely, 3_V 1 John Zwolinski, Deputy Director Division of Reactor Projects I/II Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation 1
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Mr. Nickelsberg February 3, 1997 l
l The NRC will decide, prior to restart, whether the licensee's corrective actions provide reasonable assurance that the plant will be operated in a manner that will pose no undue risk to public health and safety in accordance with the Commission's regulations.
I trust the above initiatives are responsive to your concerns.
Sincerely, ORIGINAL SIGNED BY:
John A. Zwolinski, Deputy Director Division of Reactor Projects I/II Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
- See previous concurrences G:\\G970002.LTR PM:DRPE*
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/97 01/ 31 /97 Yes/No Yes/No Yes/No Yes/No Yes/No (QNo Yes/No Yes/No 0FFICIAL RECORD COPY l
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i DISTRIBUTIQth. for. letter to B. Nickelsberg dated February 3, 1997 DOCKET File.(50-309 w/ original incoming)
PUBLIC (w/ incoming)
ED0 Reading (#G70002)
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L; a aM EDO Principal Correspondence Control FROM:
DUE: 01/15/97 EDO CONTROL: G970002 DOC DT: 12/24/96 FINAL REPLY:
Bnrry Nickelsberg Alna, Maine TO:
Chairman Jackson FOR SIGNATURE OF :
ROUTING:
MAINE YANKEE NUCLEAR POWER PLANT Taylor Milhoan Thompson Blaha Miller, RI DATE: 01/02/97 ASSIGNED TO:
CONTACT:
NRR Miraglia
-~ W SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS OR REMARKST '
Put EDO and Chairman on for concurrence.
Chnirman's Office to review response prior to dispatch.
NRR RECEIVED:
JANUARY 2,1997 NRR ACTION:
DRPE:VARGA NRR ROUTING:
MIRAGLIA ACT!0N THADANI ZIMt'ERMAN
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, PAPER NUMBER:
pRC-96-1290 LOGGING'DATE: Dec 27 96
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4 ACTION OFFICE:
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AUTHOR:
'BARRY NICKELSBERG l
4 AFFILIATION:
MAINE ADDRESSEE:
CHAIRMAN JACKSON i
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I LETTER DATE:
Dec 24 96 FILE CODE: ID&R 5 MAINE YANKEE l
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SUBJECT:
MAINE YANKKEE NUCLEAR POWER PLANT I
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ACTION:
Direct Reply
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DISTRIBUTION:
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CHAIRMAN'S OFFICE TO REVIEW RESPONSE PRIOR TO
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Jan M 97 i
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DATE SIGNED:
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