ML20135B720

Submits CAL Re 970221 Event Involving Inadequate Control of Reactivity Changes During Reactor Shutdown.Nrc Concerned W/Deficiences That May Have Occurred During Event.Nrc Understands That Listed Actions Taken or Will Be Taken

ML20135B720
Person / Time
Site:	Zion  File:ZionSolutions icon.png
Issue date:	02/25/1997
From:	Beach A NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION III)
To:	Muller J COMMONWEALTH EDISON CO.
References
CAL-R3-97-02, CAL-R3-97-2, CAL-RIII-97-02, CAL-RIII-97-2, NUDOCS 9703030174
Download: ML20135B720 (3)

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February 25, 1997 CAL No. Rlli-97-002 Mr. J. H. Mueller Site Vice President Zion Station Commonwealth Edison Company 101 Shiloh Boulevard Zion, IL 60099

SUBJECT:

CONFIRMATORY ACTION LETTER 1

Dear Mr. Mueller:

On February 21,1997, an event occurred at the Zion Station involving inadequate control of reactivity changes during a reactor shutdown. Specifically, plant management directed that a shutdown of Unit 1 be initiated in a safe and orderly manner. However, operations supervision directed the licensed reactor operator to reduce Unit 1 reactor power and maintain the reactor at the point of adding heat. The licensed reactor operator inserted control rods to bring the Unit 1 reactor tc a substantially subcritical condition, contrary to )

the direction of operations supervision. Subsequently, the operator withdrew control rod:,  ;

without effective.ly communicating with operations supervision regarding the unintended plant status. In addition, the seriousness of these errors was not fully recognized by plant personnel until the following day.

We are concerned with performance deficiencies that may have occurred during this event i

involving supervisory oversight, crew communications, procedure quality and adherence, piant staff safety focus, control room decorum, and operator understanding of your expectations regarding reactivity contro!. Therefore, on February 24,1997,an Augmented Inspection Team (AIT) was formed and sent to the Zion Station to investigate the event and your actions. The objectives of the AIT are to identify and communicate both the facts of the event and any potential generic safety concerns, and to document the findings and conclusions of the onsite inspection.

Pursuant to a telephone conversation between you and Mr. Jack Grobe on l

February 25,1997,it is our understanding that you have taken or will take the following actions:

(1) You will p! ace Unit 1 in cold shutdown and_have temporarily removed the involved licensed operations shift personnel from licensed duties. Further, you are maintaining Unit 2 in cold shutdown.

I n u] Y 9703030174 970225 PDR ADOCK 05000295 P PDR , Q j

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J. H. Mueller  !

(2) You have established an event response team to perform a comprehensive event assessment including root cause evaluation and determination of potential safety  ;

- consequences. l f

(3) You will evaluate the results of the comprehensive event assessment with regard to possible generic performance deficiencies and develop a remediation plan. The actions specified in the plan willinclude specific steps required to ensure adequate I personnel performance, including upgraded training for licensed operators, and if necessary, the training staff. These steps will be implemented prior to startup of 7 either unit. Longer term actions will be documented in the plan with projected  ;

implementation dates.  !

i (4) You will document your actions and findings related to items (1), (2), and (3) above and preserve any evidence collected for examination by the NRC. l (5) Prior to the startup of either unit, you will discuss the results of your investigation  ;

of this event, any associated generic concerns, and corrective actions regarding l personnel performance with the NRC and submit your investigation report and  ;

remediation plan to the NRC.

Nothing in this confirmatory action letter is intended to preclude you from taking actions l which you deem necessary to place the plant in a safe condition or maintain it in a safe condition in the event of changing conditions. The AIT will be closely evaluating your actions in response to this event and will discuss its findings with you during a public meeting at the conclusion of the inspection.

Pursuant to Section 182 of the Atomic Energy Act,42 U.S.C. 2232, you are required to:

1) Notify me immediately if your understanding differs from that set forth above;

2) Promptly notify me if for any reason you cannot complete the actions discussed in items (1) through (5) above.

Issuance of this Confirmatory Action Letter does not preclude issuance of an order

- formalizing the above commitments or requiring other actions on the part of the licensee; i nor does it preclude the NRC from taking enforcement action for violations of NRC requirements that may have prompted the issuance of this letter. In addition, failure to take the actions addressed in this Confirmatory Action Letter may result in enforcement action.

In accordance with 10 CFR 2.790 of the NRC's " Rules of Practice," a copy of this letter and your response will be placed in the NRC Public Document Room (PDR). To the extent j possible, your response should not include any personal privacy, proprietary, or safeguards I information so that it can be placed in the PDR without redaction. However, if you find it l l

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J. H. Mueller e necessary to include such information, you should clearly indicate the specific information that you desire not to be placed in the PDR, and provide the legal basis to support yot,r request for withholding the information from the public.

l Sincerely,

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/s/ J. A. Grobe for A. Eill Beach Regional Administrator Docket Nos. 50-295; 50-304 cc: T. J. Maiman, Senior Vice President Nuclear Operations Division D. A. Sager, Vice President, Generation Support H. W. Keiser, Chief Nuclear Operating Officer G. K. Schwartz, Station Manaher l W. Stone, Regulatory Assurance Supervisor

1. Johnson, Acting Nuclear Regulatory Services Manager Richard Hubbard Nathan Schloss, Economist Office of the Attorney General l Mayor, City of Zion State Liaison Officer, Wisconsin State Liaison Officer Chairman, Illinois Commerce Commission i Document Control Desk-Licensing 1 Distribution:

Docket File Project Manager, NRR TSS PUBLIC-W DRP J. Callan, EDO OC/LFDCB Rlli PRR H. Thompson, EDO SRI Byron, Braidwood, CAA1 (E-mail) J. Lieberman, OE Zion W. L. Axelson J. Goldberg, OGC A. B. Beach RAC1 (E-Mail) C. Paperiello, NMSS Rlil Enf. Coordinator DRS (3) G. Grant l

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