ML20137E552
| ML20137E552 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Pilgrim |
| Issue date: | 03/18/1997 |
| From: | Conte R NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION I) |
| To: | Boulette E PLYMOUTH, MA |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20137E556 | List: |
| References | |
| EA-97-034, EA-97-34, NUDOCS 9703280023 | |
| Download: ML20137E552 (4) | |
See also: IR 05000293/1997001
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March 18,1997
EA 97-34
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E. Thomas Boulette, PhD
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Senior Vice President - Nuclear
Boston Edison Company
Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station
600 Rocky Hill Road
Plymouth, Massachusetts 02360-5599
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SUBJECT:
PILGRIM INSPECTION REPORT 50-293/97-01
Dear Mr. Boulette:
On March 2,1997, the NRC completed an inspection at the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in
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Plymouth, Massachusetts. The enclosed report presents the results of that inspection,
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Your attention is directed to Section Ill.E4.1 and Attachment 2 in which we have concluded
that an unreviewed safety question (USO) existed in the last operating cycle. This condition
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was a result of the reliance on containment post accident pressure as part of the net positive
suction head for your emergency core cooling system (ECCS) pumps. We note recent
correspondence sent to the NRC requesting our review and approvai in this regard. As we
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discussed today, this issue must be resolved prior to start-up and remains subject to NRC
enforcement action in the near future. We plan to discuss this issue with you in a conference
call on March 19,1997.
During the seven weeks covered by this inspection period, plant operating cycle no.11 ended
and refueling outage No.11 (RF011) began. We observed operators respond to the
February 15,1997 scram that occurred during the shutdown, due to a feedwater system
malfunction, which we reviewed in detail including interviews with members of the operating
crew. An improved control room environment was observed during RFO11 due to several
performance improvement initiatives such as relocating the control room annex outside the
control room into the O&M building to reduce control room traffic. Additionally, changes made
to the organizational structure significantly reduced the production role of the operations
department, especially operations department management allowing increased time to provide
oversight of operational activities.
A radiation controls ALARA program inspection was conducted at the Pilgrim Nuclear Power
Plant during the inspection period. Several positive initiatives were observed that have the
potential to effect overall dose savings. The program appears to be aggressively implemented
and well supported by plant management. The security program was also inspected during this
period which included selective reviews of procedures and records, inspector observations, and
interviews with security personnel. No safety concerns or violations were identified. Also, we
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determined that you are implementing a security program that effectively protects public health
and safety.
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9703290023 970318
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ADOCK 05000293
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E. Thomas Boul;tta, Ph.D
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Based on the results of this inspection, two violations of NRC requirements were identified with
two examples noted for each violation. One violation involved two examples of not following
procedural instructions. The second violation involved inadequate corrective actions to resolve
three longstanding equipment work-around conditions and a missed technical specification
surveillance. The degraded conditions involved the control rod bottom lights, MO-220-3 and
establishing letdown through CV-1239, all of which were longstanding and adversely impacted
operators ability to promptly stabilize post scram conditions with the main steam isolation
valves closed. These work-arounds and other NRC observations made in this report indicate
that the interf ace between engineering and operations was less than fully effective.
You are required to respond to this letter and should follow the instructions specified in the
enclosed Notice when preparing your response, in your response, you should document the
specific actions taken and any additional actions you plan to prevent recurrence. After
reviewing your response to this Notice, including your proposed corrective actions and the
results of future inspections, the NRC will determine whether further NRC enforcement action is
necessary to ensure compliance with NRC regulatory requirements,
in accordance with 10 CFR 2.790 of the NRC's " Rules of Practice " a copy of this letter and its
enclosures will be placed in the NRC Public Document Room (PDR). To the extent possible,
your response should not include any personal, privacy, proprietary, or safeguards information
so that it can be placed in the PDR without redaction.
The responses directed by this letter and the enclosed Notice are not subject to the clearance
procedures of the Office of Management and Budget as required by the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1980, Pub. L. No. 96.511.
Your cooperation with us is appreciated.
Sincerely,
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Richard Conte, Chief
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Reactor Projects Branch 5
Division of Reactor Projects
Docket No. 50-293
License No. DPR-35
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Enclosure 1:
Entiosure 2:
Inspection Report 50-293/97-01
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E. Thomss Boulstto, Ph.D
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cc w/enci:
L. Olivier, Vice President - Nuclear and Station Director
T. Sullivan, Plant Manager
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N. Desmond, Regu! story Relations
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D. Tarantino, Nuclear information Manager
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R. Hallisey, Department of Public Health, Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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The Honorable Therese Murray
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B. Abbanat, Department of Public Utilities
Chairman, Plymouth Board of Selectmen
Chairman, Duxbury Board of Selectmen
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Chairman, Nuclear Matters Committee
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Plymouth Civil Defense Director
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Paul W. Gromer, Massachusetts Secretary of Energy Resources
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James Shaer, Legislative Assistant
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J. Fleming
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A. Nogee, MASSPIRG
Regional Administrator, FEMA
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Office of the Commissioner, Massachusetts Department of Environmental Quality
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Engineering
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Office of the Attorney General, Commonwealth of Massachusetts
T. Rapone, Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety
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Chairman, Citizens Urging Responsible Energy
Commonwealth of Massachusetts, SLO Designee
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E. Thomas Boulette, Ph.D
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Distribution w/ encl:
Region i Docket Room (with concurrences)
PUBLIC
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Nucleri Safety information Center (NSIC)
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D. Screnci, PAO (2)
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R. Conte, DRP
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H. Eichenholz, DRP
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D. Beard, DRP
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Distribution w/enci (VIA E-MAIL):
A. Wang, NRR
W. Dean, OEDO
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inspection Program Branch, NRR (IPAS)
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R. Correia, NRR (RPC)
R. Frahm, Jr., NRR (RKF)
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DOCUMENT NAME: G:\\ BRANCH 5\\9701.PIL
To receive a copy of this document, indicate in the boa: 'C' = Copy without attachmen?> enclosure
- E' = Copy with attachment / enclosure * N* =
No copy
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OFFICE
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DATE
3/14/97 '
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