ML20138B798

Discusses Insp on 851001-1112 & Forwards Notice of Violation & Proposed Imposition of Civil Penalty in Amount of $50,000. on 851007,personnel Failed to Properly Evaluate ECCS Operability After Closing LPCI Min Flow Valve

ML20138B798
Person / Time
Site:	LaSalle
Issue date:	03/19/1986
From:	James Keppler NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION III)
To:	Oconnor J COMMONWEALTH EDISON CO.
Shared Package
ML20138B803	List: ML20138B798 ML20138B809
References
EA-86-019, EA-86-19, NUDOCS 8603250168
Download: ML20138B798 (3)

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MAR 191986 Docket No. 50-374 License No. NPF-18 EA 86-19 Commonwealth Edison Company ATTN: Mr. James J. O'Connor President Post Office Box 767 Chicago, IL 60690 Gentlemen:

SUBJECT:

NOTICE OF VIOLATION AND PROPOSED IMPOSITION OF CIVIL PENALTY (NRC INSPECTION REPORTS NO. 50-373/85033(DRP) AND NO. 50-374/85034(DRP))

This refers to the inspection conducted October 1 through November 12, 1985, of activities authorized by NRC Operating Licenses No. NPF-11 and No. NPF-18 for the LaSalle County Nuclear Power Station, Units 1 and 2. Two violations were identified as a result of this inspection in the referenced inspection report sent to you by letter dated December 31, 1985. One of those violations was categorized as Severity Level IV. The other violation, discussed in the enclosed Notice of Violation and Proposed Imposition of Civil Penalty, involved the simultaneous inoperability of two divisions of the emergency core cooling system (ECCS) and was the subject of an Enforcement Conference held in the NRC Region III office on December 4,1985 with B. L. Thomas and other members of your staff, and A. Bert Davis and other members of the NRC staff.

Our review of this event shows that on October 7,1985, with the unit at 100%

power, licensee personnel failed to properly evaluate ECCS operability after closing the low pressure coolant injection (LPCI) minimum flow valve to perform maintenance. Licensee personnel failed to realize that in closing the valve, Division 1 of ECCS should have been declared inoperable. Division 3, which consists of the high pressure core spray system (HPCS), had been declared inoperable since October 4, 1985 due to continued problems with the Unit 2B Diesel Generator cooling water pump breaker tripping. Once licensee personnel recognized the inoperable status of Division 1, they returned the minimum flow valve to service within one hour. However, by the time this division was -

restored to operable status, two divisions of ECCS had been inoperable for mor(.

than thirteen hours without action being initiated to either restore one of the inoperable divisions to an operable status or to meet the requirements of the applicable Technical Specification action statement.

8603250168 B60319 PDR ADOCK 05000374 G PDR m__ _ ___ _ _ __________ _ __ h _ _ _ _ __ _ _ ___________ _ _____ _ __________ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ________ _ ___ _ _ ___ _ __ _ _

r Commonwealth Edison Company 2 MAR 191986 To emphasize the need for you to ensure that system operability is carefully evaluated so that compliance with technical specifications is achieved, I have been authorized, after consultation with the Director, Office of Inspection and Enforcement, to issue the enclosed Notice of Violation and Proposed Imposition of Civil Penalty in the amount of Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000) for the violation described in the enclosed Notice. In accordance with the "Ceneral Statement of Policy and Procedure for NRC Enforcement Actions,"

10 CFR Part 2, Appendix C (1985) (Enforcement Policy), the violation described in the enclosed Notice has been categorized as a Severity Level III violation.

The base value of a civil penalty for a Severity Level III violation is $50,000.

The escalation and mitigation factors in the Enforcement Policy were considered and no adjustment has been deemed appropriate.

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 action you plan to prevent recurrence. After reviewing your response to this Notice, including your corrective actions, the NRC will determine whether further NRC enforcement action is necessary to ensure compliance with NRC regulatory requirements.

In accordance with Section 2.790 of the NRC's " Rules of Practice." Part 2, Title 10, Code of Federal Regula ns, a copy of this letter and its enclosure will be placed in the NRC Public vocument Room.

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, PL 96-5111.

Sincerely, Original RfpA by y::a G. tg7 1er James G. Keppler Regional Administrator

Enclosures:

1. Notice of Violation and Proposed Imposition of Civil Penalty

2. Inspection Reports .,

No. 50-373/85033(DRP);

No. 50-374/85034(DRP)

See Attached Distribution RI RIII RIII RIII iu Stap eton is Nore)n e /rr p ,D KAer

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Commonwealth Edison Company 3 MAR 191986

, Distribution l.

cc w/ enclosures:

D. L. Farrar, Director of Nuclear Licensing '.

G. J. Diederich, Plant Manager PDR j LPDR l SECY CA DCS JMTaylor, IE RVollmer, IE JKeppler, RIII JAxelrad, IE JLieberman, ELD Enforcement Coordinators RI, RII, RIII, RIV, RV JSniezek, DED/ROGR TPoindexter, IE BHayes, OI GEdles, OIA JCrooks, AE00

< FIngram, PA HDenton, NRR Licensing Fee Management Branch Resident Inspector, RIII Phyllis Dunton, Attorney General's Office, Environmental Control Division ES File EA File CER*IFIED MAIL RETb1N RECEIPT REQUESTED N

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