ML20137E284
| ML20137E284 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Comanche Peak  |
| Issue date: | 06/14/1982 |
| From: | AFFILIATION NOT ASSIGNED |
| To: | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20136F037 | List: |
| References | |
| FOIA-85-59 NUDOCS 8601170219 | |
| Download: ML20137E284 (7) | |
Text
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1 (The following statement _was submitted in 2
written form by
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" STATEMENT OFk 0
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" Prior to incarceration, I was working at the i D
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Comanche Peak nuclear power plant construction s i te
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j 12 "I was arrested at the si te on 1
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13 The very fact that a fugitive could obtain employr h. I4 at the-site caused questions to be asked about their E
15 security measures, especially when it was learned that 16 w
my job gave me access to all areas of the cons truction a
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I7 job, even the most confidential.
C 18 "I
can personally attest to and will be E
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supported by documented records of several faults in 20 7
the electrical phase of construction at Comanche Peak as of i
22 "Having been employed as a journeyman i
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electrician by Brown & Root, Inc. during the latter part d
24 of 1979 until at Comanche Peak, I l
g-worked in the e le c t ri, cal ' termination crewdoing the P
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1 actual phsyical termination of the wiring and later on l
2 the ' checkout crew.'
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3 "This latter crew checks the wiring done 4
by the termination crew as to accuracy and proper 5
termination technique.
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"I was required to turn in a written and Gg 7
signed report on each cable checked by me.
Some, if 8
not all of these faults can be verified and located a
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through these reports.
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.h 10 "These faults include improper lug sizing 5
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5 11 a nd a ct. u_.a. ]. _ phys i ca..l.. al te r at. i_on.. o f lug s, splicing of ca b;
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g d 12 patching of dam. aged cables, improper pin setting on
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' c. ano n '
y type plu.gs, faulty grounding, wiring not proper 1.
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14 p r o t.e.c t e d
_o.m... a.b..r a s i o n, wire
- t. ens. ion too high, and fr i
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" Lugs are a wiring device that attach.to s.
f I7 the ends of wires or cab le s as an aid to termination 18 and.come in a' variety of styles and sizes.
The ' ring I9
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~ type' used at Comanche Peak has a hole in its tongue 20 to accept screws from terminal blocks.
21 "These holes can be of varying size d e p'e n d e n -
22 upon what diameter or stud size screw the terminal block 23 is engineered for.
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" A s tud size sii is smaller in diameter in 25 lI i
both the threaded portion and th.e head of-the screw J
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1 than a stud size 8 or.10.
The, lugs.for these, in order s
and screw size 2
to fit the different terminal blocks
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and at the same time maintain the amperage capacity 4
they are rated for, are manuf actured with a different
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"For example, #12 copper wire has an amperagt k7 rating of 20 amps, and a lug designed to accept the wire l
8 mus t have the same or larger ampacity.
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9 "The rating of a lug is determined by the si:
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It must have a specific area E.
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d 12 its amapacity will be lessened.
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" A lug with its tongue designed for a #10 E
h >2-v.g 14 screw has a hole in its tongue that is-larger than the VJ G
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15 hole in one designed for a #6 or #8 screw.
The tongue c
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e d 17 "If a lug designed for a #10 screw is used ua
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18 a terminal' block designed for use with '!8 screws, on E
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-its. ampaci t'y is lessened because a #8 screw having a 20 smaller head size only applies pressure to the inner j
21 ring of the lug tongue causing a ' balling' effect.
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l "It causes the outer edges of the tongue to 1,
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curl outward, also less area under the screw head is
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24 in contact with the terminal block because of its larger ig h
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hole.
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1 "There are many instances where.this has e
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happened at Comanche Peak.
'Some of these are:
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Auxiliary B ui'l di ng Reactor #1---Lug 4
' designed for an approximate screw size of 3/8" was 5
used oh a te rmina~1 'b lo ck d e s,i.g n e d for #10 screws.
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"This was done with the aid of a steel washer f7 without the use of contact aid to prevent electrolysis 3
between the two dissimilar metals.
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Switchgear Room.
Several lugs designed' i
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v 12 "These two instances stand out in my mind
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but there a r.e many mo-re in particular concerning the 4
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I4 circulating water system and fire control; however I
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without reference materials I cannot be more specific.
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"However, there is at least ofte instance I e
I7 can recall -- in fact for which I am at least partially b
18 responsible.
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"This is the termination of a 1000 MCM 20 cable with the use of a 750 MCM lug that was drilled 21 to accept the larger cable size.
It was done after 22 protest by both myself and another
'l e, 23 journeyman working as my partner on the termination crew.
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" Drilling 'the lug affected its ampacity in E
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25 two manners:
one, it reduced'the amount of metal to su
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conduct electricity and it was a bolt type mechanical 2
lug,. meaning that the lug was secured to..the cable b'y I
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means of a bolt'or set screw in its body.
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" Drilling the lug body had the effect of 5
lessening the nun.ber of threads to not more than three A
f6 or four for the set screw to be screwed into.
f7 "This was in a Motor Control Center in the 8
Circ'ulating Water system.
Any failure in the circulating
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water system which provides coolant water for the reactor s
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E 11 "At least one cable in the Annunciator b
( 12 Logic Panels in the control room for Reactor il was
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5 14 over with other wires to hide it from sight.
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to terminate on the fuse block to which it was designated.
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"Upon examination of the fuse block I found haE 18 the cable terminated to the wrong side of it.
Had'it bee:
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terminated on the correct size the original cable 20 would have fit.
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"The splice was made on the orders of 1
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Frank Platt, the General Foreman over termination.
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- 23 there were "Also in the Annunciator panels j
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24 several Canon' type plugs in which the pins were not p
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.j seated. properly.
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. ALDER' N. REPORTING COMPANiilNC.
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"This can cause the connector pins to be 2
p'ushed back into the body of the plug causing the pin v
3 or pins to have poor contact.
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4 "The Annunciator Logic Panels give ' tlue alarm 5
if.any part of the sys tem malf unctions.
Any malfunction X
6 in the annunciator system can cause no. alarm to be given 7
in any emergency to which the plant may be subject.
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" Portions of the grounding system for the 0
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9 cable trays in the Spreader Room were damaged either by i
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h 10 an employee collecting copper or deliberate vandalism.
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" Strands were cut from the cables in several Uh 12 places.
The conductors were never cut entirely in two
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but the removal of a strand of no matter what length T
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34 reduces th e capacity of the conductor.
E 15 "In.the Control Center for Reactor #1 1 16 i
literally hundreds and possibly thousands' of wires e
were..,
I7 brought out of their metal raceway and pulled sharply I
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over their sharp, unprotected edges, making them C
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particularly vulnerable to abrasion and vibration.
20 "Every portion of every system in the plant 21 could be adversely affected by this faulty procedure.
n "At leas t one cable in the Switchgear Room 23 i
was damaged while being pulled.
I ts insulation was c
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nicked in several places and patched with heat shrink f
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tubing instead of being replaced.
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ALDERC N REPORTIN'G COMPANY, INC.
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"In at least two instances wires or cables 2
were too short by only*a matter'of inches for proper V
3 termination.
These were pulled very tigh tly and terminated.
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'. 5 "They were pulled' tight enough tihat there 5
f6 is the possibility'of their being pulled from their
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lugs.
m 8l "One of these is in the Spreader Room; s
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9 another is in a Motor Control Center in the Cir cul a ting z'
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10 Water System.
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" ' Cad welding ' or thermal welding of the r
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12 grounding conductors on the cable
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y 13 many cables had already been pulled through them.
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[ 14 "I could not inspect for damage, bot the only E
E 15 protection used on the cables was an asbestos blanket E
j 16 that protected only the cables in the immediate vicinity t-17 of the weld.
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18 "I am necessarily vague on which particular
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cabinet or panel or even system to which I refer due to 20 time elapsed and the large number of sys tems on which l
l 21 I worked.
l 22 "With reference materials the location of i
23 t.'n e s e faults could be,much more closely identified as 24
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could others not mentioned specifically herein.
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" Signed.this 14th, day of June 1982 at iNo coueiN.Y. INC.
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