ML20136E464
Text
UNITED STATES
- p as:
% NUCLEAR REGUt.ATORY COMMISSION F
y f & REGION ll
- - 101 MARIETTA STREET. N.W., SUITE 2900 ATLANTA, GEORGIA 3C32H199 3 j l August 17, 1996 MEMORANDUM FOR: Oscar DeMiranda, Senior Allegation Coordinator Enforcement and Investigation Coordination Staff FROM: Kerry D. Landis, Chief Reactor Projects Branch 3 Division of Reactor Projects pg [ d [
SUBJECT:
RII-96-A-0120 - ALLEGED SAFETY PROBLEMS DUE TO DOWN-SIZING The Division of Reactor Projects performed a review and independent inspection of this concern. Our inspection regarding this matter has been completed and our findings are documented in the enclosures to this memorandum. Enclosure 1 is the Allegation Evaluation Report which summarizes the findings, and the inspection results are documented in. Enclosure 2. NRC Inspection Report Nos.
50-335/96-09, and 50-389/96-09, paragraphs 08.1 and El.2.
Based on the information provided, we were able to partially substantiate the allegation. .
A nearly identical concern was raised in an anonymous letter to the Regional Administrator,. dated March 11, 1996. This concern was reviewed and closed as unable to substantiate in file RII-96-A-0067. Also, an anonymous concerned individual related.by telephone an allegation regarding down-sizing of corporate engineering. He alleged that Appendix R work would not be done adequately and that the drawing control program had exceeded the procedural requirements for updating. This concern was reviewed and closed as unable to substantiate in file RII-96-A-0109.
This concludes the staff's activities regarding this matter. This allegation i is considered closed. If you have any questions, please contact me. i l
Enclosures:
- 1. Allegation Evaluation Report
- 2. Inspection Report Nos.
50-335/96-09 and 50-389/96-09 9703130214 970306 PDR FOIA BINDER 96-485 PDR b*[ O
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ALLEGATION EVALUATION REPORT ALLEGATION RII-96-A-0120 ALLEGED SAFETY CONCERNS DUE TO DOWN-SIZING FLORIDA POWER AND LIGHT ST LUCIE NUCLEAR PLANT DOCKET NOS. 50-335 AND 50-389 TURKEY POINT NUCLEAR PLANT DOCKET N05. 50-250 AND 50-251
[9NCERN:
The concerned individual (CI) states that the downsizing is causing many problems within the company. Employees are working 10-12 hour shifts to compensate for the loss of other workers and are not being paid overtime, and mistakes are bound to happen. There have also been reported incidents of spills and of construction material such as stainless steel being stolen during outages.
DISCUSSION:
The NRC was aware of the licensees down-sizing efforts in the past and their plans to down-size their engineering organization prior to receipt of this concern and has been reviewing the changes with the licensee. The inspectors have reviewed the functions of the current engineering organization following several previous down-sizings and the anticipated changes following the proposed downsizing, scheduled to take place on August 1, 1996.
The insoectors discussed with engineering management the current engineering organization, the functions of each of the groups, and the approximate number of people in each group. The licensee then discussed the changes in groups, functions, and numbers that would take place on August 1, 1996. Currently, the St. Lucie site is supported by an additional engineering organization located within Corporate Engineering at Juno Beach, Elorida. Most of these Corporate Engineering functions are being transferred to the St. Lucie site (and to the Turkey. Point site) and Corporate Engineering is being down-sized.
The NRC was aware of the licensees plans to revise their engineering organization prior to receipt of this concern and has been reviewing the changes with the licensee. Events or problems caused by down-sizing have not been identified by the NRC. The relocation of engineers to the site, in the past, has been seen as a positive move and could result in closer attention to emerging issues by the engineering staff.
To follow and evaluate any effect of the down-sizing on the engineering function at St. Lucie, the inspectors will, on a periodic basis, use inspection procedure IP 37550, " Engineering." The objectives of this procedure are to " Evaluate the licensee's engineering activities, particularly the effectiveness of the engineering organization to perform routine and reacti.ve site activities including the identification and resolution of technical issues and problems." As a basis for future monitoring, the .
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inspectors discussed current engineering work load, i.e., open Modification Packages, Condition Reports, etc.
The Cl stated that employees are working extra hours as a result of down-sizing and are bound to make mistakes. This concern was inspected and documented in NRC Inspection Report No. 50-335,389/96-09, paragraph 08.1.
Evidence was observed showing that employees were working 10-12 hour shifts to compensate for the loss of other workers and are not being paid overtime.' It could not be substantiated that the overtime was causing mistakes. The concern about overtime was inspected and documented in allegation file RII A-0023. This allegation asserts that engineering overtime practices are leading to excessive numbers of errors. As a result of the overall inspection effort, 53 examples of exceeding TS guidelines without obtaining prior management approval were identified. Two violations were cited in inspection Report 96-09 and documented in paragraph 08.1. One violation was for the multiple examples of excest',ve, unapproved, overtime, and one violation was for an inadequate procedure for managing overtime. While overtime usage violated regulatory requirements, not cause-effect link could be found whi' ch related overtime to the occurrence of errors. Consequently, allegation RII-96-A-0023 was partially substantiated.
The CI stated that spills have been reported at the plant. A review of recent past reveals that several spills have been repor'ted. These are , discussed in NRC Inspection Reports 50-335/95-15, 50-389/95-15 and 50-335/95-20, 50-389/95-
- 20. .These events were reported by the lice'nsee and followed by the NRC. No relationship was identified between staff size and cause of these events.
The CI raised the concern that construction material such as stainless steel was being stolen. This issue was referred to the licensee for their disposition. The NRC has no jurisdiction regarding loss of construction materials such as stainless steel. A letter was sent to the licensee on July 18, 1996 regarding the loss of material. We requested that FP&L conduct inspections or investigations as necessary to reasonably prove or disprove these concerns. We did not require that the licensee inform us of the resolution of this matter.
CONCLUSION:
Alleaation RII-96-A-OlLO states that the downsizing is causing many problems within the company. Employees are working 10-12 hour shi.fts to compensate for the loss of other workers and are not being paid overtime, and mistakes are bound to happen. There have also been reported incidents of spills and of construction material such as stainless steel being stolen during outages.
The NRC was aware of the licensees downsizing efforts in the past and their plans to down-size their engineering organization prior to receipt of this concern and has been reviewing the changes with the licensee. Events or
. problems caused by down-sizing have not been identified by the NRC. The relocation of engineers to the site, in the past, has been seen as a positive move and could result in closer attention to emerging issues by the engineer-ing staff. The downsizing of the engineering organization scheduled for August 1, 1996, had not taken place at the time of the allegation or the
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inspection. Consequently, any change in the future performance should be
' detectable in the core inspection program.
1 The down-sizing contributed to the excessive use of overtime which violated i regulatory requirements. =However, not cause-effect link could be found which related overtime to the occurrence of errors. Consequently, this allegation was partially substantiated. ;
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No relationship was. identified between down-sizing and the cause of spills.
The comment about construction material being stolen was referred to the licensee for their disposition. !
This allegation was partially substantiated, in thit the downsizing i contributed to the violation of regulatory requirements for the use of-overtime, but no events or safety concerns could be related directly to the down-sizing effort.
This allegation is considered closed.
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WEEKLY BRANCH CHIEF STATUS REPORT >
. BRANCH 3 SIGNATURE Kerry D. Landis DATE 8/22/96
' PLANT ISSUES / EVENTS:
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-a) St Lucie - Both units are operating at 100%. The Special Ins)ection Team !
for the event involving tampering with key lock switches will exit with !
the licensee tomorrow at 8:30 am. The team leader. Ken Barr. will be ;
available with Ken Clark to talk to the press at 1:00 pm on 8/23/96. !
b) _ Crystal River - The unit is operating at 100% power. The following two l items are being- considered- for escalated enforcement at the panel !
tomorrow: (1). fuel handling event and (2) falsification by contractors t allowed personnel with felony re. cords to be employed for the recent outage
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c) Turkey Point - Both units are operating at 100%. SALP period ended August 17, 1996. Al Gibson is onsite August. 22 for pre-SALP visit and August 23 for the visit by Commissioner Dicus and her assistant. Brad Jones. The :
SALP Board ~ meeting is scheduled for September 4. 1996: i SIGNIFICANT INSPECTION FINDINGS / INITIATIVES:
f a) Crystal River - The H0 lead IPAP inspection report is planned to be issued ;
tomorrow to be available for the 8/28/96 MCAP meeting onsite. ;
Crystal River - Failure Prevention Incorporated is onsite assisting the l
. licensee to determine root causes for the concerns identified by the NRC.~
b) St. Lucie - The Special Inspection Team is onsite for followua of the licensee's efforts on the tampering event and to provide incependent l verification of the availability of safety. related equipment.
NRC PERSONNEL ISSUES / STATUS:
a) Son Ninh was approved for transfer from NRR to RII as a project engineer for Branch 3 assigned to FPL. The transfer date is September 29. 1996.
b) Credit Hours authorized: None c) Edwin Lea one year rotation to Watts Bar will begin on October 14. 1996.
d) Steve Cahill was selected as the Crystal River SRI..
ISSUES / ACTIVITIES EXPECTED NEXT WEEK: !
Crystal River - 8/26/96 Followup inspection of open items (2 people)
~ Turkey Po4nt - 8/26/96 Control Room Observation Inspection j i
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ST. LUCIE
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UNIT I 4g Operational Period September 1995 through August 23, 1996 1 2 3 4.
100 - - -
- 3. On Fetruary 24,1996, 8O - -
- 1. En d of outage following a manual trip was initiated m
iil: HL rricane Er in while going to a TS required
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60 - shutdown E-Z .
N 40 -
- 2. C n Novemt?er19,1995, N a manual re Ector trip was
- 4. April.29,1996, 2 O~ - -initiated to Jerform MFRV r laintenance. shutdown for refue ;ing O ouom u n i u n o n: :n n u n n o i n u n n i n u n o c o n n o n u n n o n u m u u mimmenm u nmmn S O N D J F .M A M J J A PERIOD OF OPERATION Graph does not include power re d u c tio n s for routine repairs, wa terbox cleaning, or required re p ai rs.
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ST. LU.CIE UNIT 1.
Operational Period February 1996 through October 2, 1996 1 2 3 100 =
Jn August 23,1996; 3
1 On February 24,1996, a manual trip was 80- a manual trip was. initiated initiate d to perform x
. y while going to a TS required turbine naintenance.
O 60._ shutdown 4
4 P
Z
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y 4Q- 2 Apri!29,1996, 4 The unit operated E t x shutdown f ar 60% powel due to main
$ refueling transform er problerns O iiiiiii::oi o .ui o u o o"rt m t m m m m m m m "i o o o c iio oi o u F M A M J J A S O PERIOD OF OPERATION
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Graph does not include power reductions for ro u tine repairs, waterbox cleaning,
. or required re p airs.
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ST. LUCIE UNIT 2 Operational Period September 1995 through August 23, 1996
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1 3 4 5 100 = = - " =
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- 1. Ori October 9,1995, the .I 80 - ur it was shut down for a Z 4. On April 20,1996 N scheduled refueling outace.
is:- the uni was removed .
y 60 - 3. On April 2,1996, powe r fror, service during turbine testing H was reduced to allow Z
y 40 -
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2 circ water system pipe IZ repairs N 2. On January 5,1996, the 5. On Jun a 6,1996, the 20 - unit was manually tripped unit was manually tripped due to high generator due to h gt generator hyd 'ogeri gas temperature . hydroge lgas temperature.
O o u i n i i riu m m o ,u m o o m e m , o a=u o o u i o u n u u n u i o u o u c o u o n u i nme o u o omnu o u o i S O N D J F M A M J J A PERIOD OF OPERATION Gra p h does not include power re d u c tio ns for ro u tine repairs, wa te rb o x cleaning, or required repairs.
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ST. LUCIE UNIT
~
2 Ope-rational Period. February 1995 through October 2, 1996 1 2 100 1
1 On April 20,1996 80-the unit was removed w
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.from service during
$ 60- turbine testing a .
E-Z N 40-p 2 On June 6,1996, the N unit was manually tripped due to high generator 20-hydrogen gas temperature.
O nonionuniounne:oino uni"tt=nonninonniunononinini F M .A M J J A S 0 PERIOD OF OPERATION Graph does not include power re d u c tio n s for ro u tin e re p airs, wa te rb o x cle a ning ,
or required repairs.
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ST. LUCIE UNIT 2 Operational Period February 1995 - -
through October 18, 1996-1 2 100 =
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1 On April 20,1996 80- the unit was removed 4::
N from service during-
- turbine testing o 60 -
H Z
N 40-p 2 On June 6,1996, the N -
unit was manually tripped
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4~20- due to high generator hydrogen . gas temperature.
O iiiiiin n o niininini9:iiniu n o n w niininio n nin n o nin o n n o n u n o n F M A M J J A S 0 PERIOD OF OPERATION .
Graph does not include power reductions '
for ro u tin e re p airs, wa te rb o x cleaning, or re quire d re p airs.
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STe LUCIE UNIT 1 Operational Period February 1996 th r~o u gh O c to b e r 18, 1996 1 2 3 100 -
3 On August 23,1996, 1 On Febru ary 22,1996, a manual trip was 80 -
y a manua trip was initiated in liated to perform "y while going to a TS required turbine maintenance. -
o 60 - shutdown -
4 4
. H Z
N 4g- 2 April 29, 996, 4 The unit op e ated at a
x shutdow lfor 60% power c u e to main
$ refueling .
transformer p roblems 0 ,,,,.o :o o o o o o . u n i o=vitmmmmmn+tmm o u u o c ii o o i n o n o n n o F M A M J J A S O PERIOD OF OPERATION l Graph does not include power reductions -
'for rou tine repairs, waterbox cleaning, or required repairs.
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STe. LUCIE UNIT 2
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Operational Period February 1995 through October 1.1 , .1 9 9 6.
1 2 100 =
1 On April 20,1996 80- the unit was removed N from service during
$ 60 - turbine testing a
E-Z N 40-j 2 On June 6,1996, the N Unit was manually tripped -
20- due to high generator hydrogen gas temperature.
O in nio n iu n o n iin o: :n oin nini=iv=inio n niu n u n n o n o n o n n o nin o n F M A M J J A S 0 .
PERIOD OF OPERATION -
Graph does not include power re du c tio n s for ro u tin e repairs,. wa te rb o x c l e a n in g',
or required re p airs.
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ST. LUCIE UNIT 1.
O p e ra tio nal P e rio d February 1996 through November 30, 1996 1 2 3 100 -
3 On August 23,1996, 1 On Fet,ruary 22,~1996 a manual trip was 80 -
a manual trip was initiated initiated to perform while g oing to a TS requirec
{
o shutdown , , - .
turbine maintenance.
a 60 -
4 H
Z y 4Q- 2 April 29,1996, 4 The u n t operated at
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p:: shutdown for 60% pcwer due to main
$ refueling transfc r ner problems 20 -
O o ,o n: :o n u ,,u o ,u o o viiviiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiriviiiF,o u o o w u o o o u o in u o o n ,,o u o F M A M J J ~A S 0 N D PERIOD OF OPERATION.
Graph does not include power re d u c tio n s for routine repairs, waterbox cleaning, or required re p airs.
ST. LUCIE UNIT 2 -
. Operational Period February 1995 through November 30, 1996 -
1 2 100
=-
1 On April 20,1996
.- 80- ~
-the unit was removed Z
m from service during turbine testing O
% 60-H -
Z-N 40-j 2 On June 6,1996, the N unit was manually tripped 20- due to high generator. -
hydrogen gas te_mperature.
O n i n n o i n i n n o n u n: :nioninuiuinnonununinununninonionioninnon F M A M J J A S O N D PERIOD OF OPERATION Graph does not include power re d u c tio n s for ro u tine .re p a irs , wa te rb o x cleaning, or required repairs.
.-ei - = . i-- - -s w - . -w-. aw, w~ ~
- v
. ST. LUCIE UNIT .1
. Operational Period ~ February 1996- ~
through December 31, 1996 1 2 3 5 100 1 3 7 On February 22,1996, .
a manual trip was initiated On December 26. 996, the unit was reducad
~
80 - while going to a TS required 10 6% power to re : air k sh u tdown an EHC oil leah
- # 2 4 60 - Aprii 29 , , ege, S
shutdown for I,heT unit operated at e refue.lin g Z 60% power due to main N 402^
O transformer problems 3
y On Augu st 23,1996, a a manu al tr.j p was 20 - initiated to perform turbine maintenance.
11 0 nion=ninunnunnin ummmmmem.mmmmm u n in n=n o n o u n ,i n o n ni n n i n in u n u n n F M A M J J A S 0 N. D PERIOD OF OPERATION Graph does not include power r6 d u c tio n s for routine repairs, waterbox cleaning, or required repairs.
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c.-
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ST. LUCIE UNIT 2 Operational Period February -1995 through December 31, 1996 1 2 100 =
1 On April 20,1996 80- the unit was removed w from service during
$ 60- turbine testing a .
E-Z N 40-y 2 On June 6,1996, the N unit was manually tripped 4
~
20- due to high generator hydrogen gas temperature.
O unin n vinin un n n=n n o no n o u n ninn u ninin n o n nin n o n o n n u nn o nu nin u n F M A .
.M J J A S O N D PERIOD OF OPERATION Graph does not include power reductions l for routine repairs, wa terbox cleaning, l
or required repairs.
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W84 UNITED STATES o 9'o NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
- S REGION 11
[' o j.
101 MARIETTA STREET, N.W., SUITE 2900 ATLANTA, GEORGIA 303D4199 C -
9.
- August 22, 1996 ;
Florida Power and Light Company ATTN: Mr. T. F. 01unkett President - Nuclear Division ,
P. O. Box 14000 Juno Beach, FL 33408-0420
SUBJECT:
. PUBLIC MEETING: CORRECTIVE ACTION PLAN MEETING AGENDA -
ST. LUCIE UNITS 3 AND 4 - DOCKET NOS. 50-335; 50-389
Dear Mr. Plunkett:
This letter confirms the telephone conversation between Mr. Ed Weinkam of your
-staff and Mr. Edwin Lea of our staff on August 21, 1996, concerning a meeti.ng requested by the NRC which is scheduled to began on August 29, 1996, at 9:30 a.m. The purpose' of the meeting is to discuss your Corrective Action Program progress. The meeting agenda is as follows:
o Current Plant Status
'e Equipment Events / Upgrades .
e FSAR Review Project Status
.e Corrective Action Program Improvements - Including Performance Measurements and Trending e Steam Generator Project Status The location .of the meeting will be at your Training Building Room 123. This meeting is an open meeting as per " Staff Meetings Open to the Public; Final Policy Statement" (September 20, 1994, 59 FR 48340).
.Should you have any questions concerning this meeting, please contact me at (404) 331-5509.
Sincerely, D
erry . Lan is, Chief Reactor Projects Branch 3 Division of Reactor Projects Docket No. 50-335 and 50-389 License No. DPR-67 and NPF-16 cc w/ enc 1:
J. A. Stall,. Site Vice President St. Lucie Nuclear Plant P. O. Box 128 ft. Pierce, FL 34954-0128 cc w/ encl: Continued see page 2 hO &.N' '
e.
FP&L -2 ,
cc w/ enc 1: Continued H. N. Paduano, Manager Licensing and Special Programs
. Florida Power and Light Company .
P. O. Box 14000 s Juno Beach, FL 33408-0420 J. Scarola, Plant General Manager St. Lucie Nuclear Plant P. O. Box 128 i Ft. Pierce, FL 34954-0128 E. J. Weinkam, Plant Licensing Manager St. Lucie Nuclear Plant P. O. Box 128
. ft. M erce, FL 34954-0218 J.'R. Newman, Esq. -
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius 1800 M Street, NW Washington, D. C. 20036 John T. Butler, Esq.
Steel, Hector and Davis 4000 Southeast Financial Center Miami, FL 33131-2398 Bill Passetti, Office of Radiation Control Department of Health and
- Rehabilitative Services '
I 1317 Winewood Boulevard Tallahassee, FL 32399-0700 Jack Shreve, Public' Counsel Office of the Public Counsel c/o The Florida Legislature 111 West Madison Avenue, Room 812 Tallahassee, FL 32399-1400 J Joe Myers, Director Division of Emergency Preparedness Department of Community Affairs 2740 Centerview Drive Tallahassee, FL 32399-2100 Thomas R. L. Kindred, County Administrator
, St. Lucie County 2300 Virginia Avenue Ft. Pierce, FL 34982 -
Charles B, Brinkman . -
Washington Nuclear' Operations ABB-Combustion Engineering, Inc.
12300 Twinbrook Parkway, Suite 3300 ,
Rockville, MD 20852 - )
l UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY i COMMISSION i
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l ST. LUCIE NUCLEAR PLANT l l
1 l CORRECTIVE ACTION PLAN l l MEETING -
AUGUST 29,1996