ML20135D782

Responds to Forwarding Concerns Raised in 961120 e-mail Re Maine Yankee Plant & NRC Independent Safety Assessment Team Findings & Request to Participate in Commission Mtg of 970204 Re Isat Findings

ML20135D782
Person / Time
Site:	Maine Yankee
Issue date:	02/28/1997
From:	Zwolinski J NRC (Affiliation Not Assigned)
To:	Blanch P AFFILIATION NOT ASSIGNED
Shared Package
ML20135D785	List: ML20135D782 ML20135D786
References
NUDOCS 9703050501
Download: ML20135D782 (6)

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A UNITED STATES

{D0b NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 4

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i k...../ February 28, 1997 l

Mr. Paul M. B1anch 135 Hyde Road

-West Hartford, CT. 06117 l

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Dear Mr. Blanch:

1 I as responding to your letter of January 8,1997, in which you forwarded j j- concerns raised in your E Mail of November 20,19%, regarding the Maine ,

s Yankee plant and the IRC's Independent Safety Assessment Team (ISAT) findings. l You also requested an opportunity to participate in the Commission meeting of l

, February 4,1997 regarding Maine Yankee's response to the ISAT findings. j i On January 23, 1997, the Office of the Secretary of the Commission responded  ;

i to your request for participation in the Commission meeting and informed you '

{s that your comments would be addressed under separate correspondence.  ;

j In reviewing your letter, we note that in your cover letter you conclude  ;

.... that the )lant has not been verified to be in compliance 'with Commission

. regulations' t1erefore the minimum safety requirements have not been I

!. satisfied." As the Commission has noted, l

} while it is true that compliance with all IRC regulations )rovides  !

reasonable assurance of adequate protection of the public 1ealth and i

safety, the converse is not correct, that failure to comply with one j regulation or another is an indication of the absence of adequate  !

, protection, at least in a situation where the Commission has reviewed .

l the noncompliance and found that it does not pose an " undue risk" to the  !

public health and safety. i l

Ohio Citizens'for Resoonsible Enerav. Inc.: Denial of Petition for Rulemaking, '

53 Fed. Reg. 41178 (October 20, 1988), ouotina Specific Exemptions:

Clarification of Standards, 50 Fed. Reg. 50764 at 50768 (Dec.12,1985). In this case, the staff has determined that the overall performance of Maine i

Yankee was adequate for operation at 2440 W t, taking into consideration the-nature and scope of the problems identified by the ISAT and the immediate

, corrective actions taken by the licensee. This finding was predicated on an assessment of the licensee's conformance with the Commission's regulations, i license conditions (including technical specifications), and Orders; and the 1 ability of the licensee's programs to assure safe operation of Maine Yankee. )

The staff's findings reflect the judgment, based on information available to '

L the staff at that time, that operation in accordance with the current license restrictions and authorizations can be conducted with reasonable assurance of i adequate protection of the public health and safety, the fundamental safety standard under the Atomic Energy Act, and that such operation would not pose an undue risk.

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l Regarding the concerns raised in the enclosure to your letter and E Mail of i November 20,.1996, the staff has responded in separate correspondence dated

! February 18, 1997. Of note are additional concerns identified recently

regarding equipment qualification. - As you are aware, prior to the ISAT exit

! from the site and restart of the plant in the Summer of 1996, equipment oualification submergence concerns were identified. The licensee took prompt corrective action to address the staff's concerns.

! As a follow on activity the licensee committed, as part of its corrective

! actions, to perform a verification of its analysis of water level inside the 4 containment following a design basis event. The staff was informed in December 1996 that the subsequent analysis revealed a change in water level j such that 14 additional instruments could also be submerged. The licensee will address this matter prior to restart. Equipment qualification is one of i several items identified by the ISAT that will be the subject of an l enforcement conference, operi for public observation, to be conducted near the

plar.t site on March 11, 1997.

2 As you are aware, Maine Yankee was shut down in early December upon discovery l of cable separation concerns. On December 18, 1996, the NRC issued a l Confirmatory Action Letter (CAL) to the licensee to provide assurance that i cable separation and logic testing issues were resolved prior to restart.

l Further inspections and licensing activities have revealed additional

technical concerns in the electrical area. These recently identified concerns

! have been incorporated into a supplement to the CAL that was issued on January 30, 1997. The issues addressed in the CAL and its sup)lement will be the

subiect of a public meeting between the licensee and tie staff prior to plant

restet.

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! The NRC Cl decide prior to restart whether the licensee's corrective actions j provide reannable assurance that the plant will be operated in a manner that '

will provide t.dequate protection of public health and safety and not pose an j j undue risk. ,

I Your concerns regarding the NRC staff's performance are being forwarded to the

Office of the Inspector General.

I trust the above is responsive to your concerns.

f Sincerely, John . Zwolinski, Deputy Director

, Divis on of Reactor Projects I/II Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

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FILENAME - A:\GT970037 *see previous concurrence OFFICE PM:DRPE* DD:DRPE* D:DRPE* AE0D* ADPR* 1 NAME DDorman Zwolinski ,, SVarga FCongel Zimmerman DATE 2/5/97 2/5/9717E' 2/5/97 '2/7/97 2/7/97 COPY Yes/No Yes/No/O' Yes/No Yes/No Yes/No '

0FFICE D:NRR* EDO OCM NAME FMiraglia HThompson SJackson DATE 2/10/97 a/$/97 a /06/97 COPY Yes/No Yes/No Yes/No Yes/No OGC*

RWeisman (no legal objection, with noted comments) 2/18/97 '

Original signed by J. Zwolinski l

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t f- Mr. P. Blanch 4 February 28, 1997

)istribution:

Met: File:(50a309 w/ original tincoming)/

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PUBLIC (w/ incoming) l SECY GT #970037 i ED0 Reading l H. Thompson l

S. Collins  !

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A. Thadani ,

R. Zimmerman .

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W. Travers .

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. i S. Varga , , . i J. Zwolinski - . *1 M. Boyle (email MLB4) * * ' .

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EDO Principal Correspondence Control FROMt DUE: 01/31/97 EDO CONTROL: G970037 DOC DT: 01/08/97 Paul M.-Blanch' FINAL REPLY:

TOs Andrew ~ Bates, SECY FOR SIGNATURE OF : ** PRI **

CRC NO: 97-0048 Miraglia DESC ROUTING:

MAINE YANKEE SAFETY ISSUES Thompson Jordan Norry Blaha Ross, AEOD Miller, RI DATE: 01/17/97 ASSIGNED TO: CONTACT: '

NRR Miraglia h

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS OR REMARKS:

REF: G960889'(AEOD)

Put EDO.and Chairman on for concurrence.

Chairman's~ Office to review response prior to dispatch.

NRR RECEIVED: JANUARY 17, 1997 NRR ACTION:

DRPE:VARGA ~ ~~

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THADANI - +

ZIMMERMAN SHERON

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OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY-

. CORRESPONDENCE CONTROL TICKET PAPER NUMBER: CRC-97-0048 LOGGING DATE: Jan 14 97 ACTION OFFICE: EDO/SECY AUTHOR: PAUL BLANCH AFFILIATION: CONNECTICUT ,

ADDRESSEE: ANDREW BATES LETTER DATE: Jan 8'96 FILE CODE: IDR-5 MAINE YANKEE

SUBJECT:

- COMMISSION MEETING ON MAINE YANKEE ACTION: Direct Reply DISTRIBUTION:. CHAIRMAN, COMRS, SECY, OGC SPECIAL HANDLING: SECY TO ACK  !

CONSTITUENT: f NOTES: SECY WILL HANDLE COMMISSION MEETING CHAIRMAN SHOULD .

REVIEW RESPONSE' PRIOR TO DISPATCH l

'DATE DUE: -J;n 31 37 i SIGNATURE: 0. / 3!

/ f,hI DATE SIGNED:

AFFILIATION:

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