ML20140C546

Forwards Insp Repts 50-245/97-01,50-336/97-01 & 50-423/97-01 on 970101-0310 & Notice of Violations

ML20140C546
Person / Time
Site:	Millstone
Issue date:	04/11/1997
From:	Durr J NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION I)
To:	Kenyon B NORTHEAST NUCLEAR ENERGY CO.
Shared Package
ML20140C552	List: ML20140C546 ML20140C555 ML20140C564
References
NUDOCS 9704170101
Download: ML20140C546 (4)

See also: IR 05000245/1997001

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April 11, 1997

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Mr. Bruce D. Kenyon

President and Chief Executive Officer

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Northeast Nuclear Energy Company

P.O. Box 128 '

Waterford, Connecticut 06385 j

Dear Mr. Kenyon:

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SUBJECT: NRC COMBINED INSPECTION 50-245/97-01;50-336/97-01;50- l'

423/97-01 and NOTICE OF VIOLATION

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On March 10,1997, the NRC completed an inspection at the Millstone Station Units 1,2 i

- & 3 reactor facilities consisting of resident and regional based inspectors. The enclosed ,

report presents the results of that inspection.  ;

While general improvements in the radiation protection programs at all three units were  !

observed, especially in the planning of radiological work, two of your activities were -1

determined not to be in compliance with NRC regulations, as outlined in the attached  !

Notices of Violation. At Unit 1, an unmonitored release pathway was identified in the ]

ventilation system for the radwaste storage building. At Unit 2, radiological worker J

practices were identified that were not in accordance with your radiation protection

program. These violations are cited in the enclosed Notice of Violation (Notice) and the

circumstances surrounding them are described in detailin the subject inspection report.

The violations are of concern because they represent, in the first case, a failure to

adequately resolve an identified problem. The second issue is a repetitive disregard for

radiation protection barriers.

Please note that you are required to respond to this letter and should follow the

instructions specified in the enclosed Notice when preparing your response. The NRC will

use your response, in part, to determine whether further enforcement action is necessary

to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.

This report discusses the degraded conditions in the Unit 1 spent fuel pool that are

representative of a longstanding lack of concern for foreign material exclusion (FME) during

the conduct of refueling floor activities. Past low standards for FME control allowed the

accumulation of a significant amount of debris and discarded components. The potential

impact on the fuel assemblies stored in the pool would necessitate that prior to core reload

additional inspections be completed. Discussions with your staff indicated that you are

committed to ensure: 1) all unseated fuel assemblies will be properly seated prior to  ;

transfer of any unaffected fuel assemblies within the spent fuel pool; 2) all new and reload l

fuel bundles will be visually inspected from below to check for foreign material befcre l

9704170101 970411

PDR ADOCK 05000245

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Mr. Bruce D. Kenyon 2 '

placement in the reactor vessel; and 3) a thorough inspection of accessible areas of the

reactor vessel will be completed prior to core reload. Additionally, we acknowledge that in

your February 21,1997, letter to the NRC, descrbing the conditions in the spent fuel pool,  ;

you committed to a cleanup of the fuel pool prior to Refuel Outage 16 the next refueling l

outage.  !

Also at Unit 1, your staff failed to provide NRC open outstanding items closure packages

of a quality consistent with the process committed to in December 1996. The manner in ,

which these issues are addressed will provide evidence of your ability to perform effective

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reviews and implement appropriate corrective actions. As a result of our concerns with the  !

quality of the completion packages, your staff withdrew the NRC completion package j

schedule and is in the process of developing a revised schedule. l

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This report discusses a 1993 Unit 2 issue in which operating procedures do not reflect the l

Final Safety Analysis Report. This restart issue willinclude an evaluation of the procedure

change process, as well as the design control process, to ensure future operation is ,

conducted in accordance with the license. I

While the Unit 3 staff continues to demonstrate good control of shutdown plant risk and I

appropriate planning and preparations in performing operational evolutions, the current

inspection revealed some continuing concerns in known problem areas. Your response to

NRC Generic Letter 96-01 and actions taken to address an unresolved item on overlap

testing deficiencies were found to be incomplete. Similarly, additional examples of 1

unrestrained, uncontrolled temporary equipment were identified, emphasizing the need for j

increased management attention to a problem area previously documented by the NRC.

Finally, based upon evidence of some continuing procedural problems, NRC inspection of 4

your procedure upgrade program (PUP) has not yet been able to validate the effectiveness )

of the PUP efforts, which were initially implemented approximately five years ago. Such i

continuing concerns in these diversa problem areas highlight the need for renewed 1

emphasis on the "self assessment" of programmatic areas of concern, as well as the

effectiveness of already completed corrective actions.

In accordance with 10 CFR 2.790 of the NRC's " Rules of Practice," a copy of this letter,

its enclosures, and your response will be placed in the NRC Public Document Room (PDR).

Sincerely,

ORIGINAL SIGNED BY:

Jacque P. Durr

Chief, inspections Branch

Special Projects Office, NRR

Docket Nos. 50-245

50-336

50-423

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Mr. Bruce D. Kenyon 3

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Enclosures:

) 1. Notice of Violation  !

i 2. NRC Combined Inspection Report 50-245/97-01; 50-336/97-01; 50-423/97-01

cc w/ encl:

N. S. Carns, Senior Vice President and Chief Nuclear Officer

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J. McElwain, Unit 1 Recovery Officer

l M. Bowling, Jr., Unit 2 Recovery Officer

M. H. Brothers, Vice President - Millstone, Unit 3

l P. Loftus, Director - Regulatory Affairs for Millstone Station

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O. M. Goebel, Vice President, Nuclear Oversight

J. K. Thayer, Recovery Officer, Nuclear Engineering and Support

P. D. Hinnenkamp, Director, Unit Operations  !

F. C. Rothen, Vice President, Work Services

J. Stanziewics, Training Recovery Manager ,

R. Johannes, Director - Nuclear Training i

L. M. Cuoco, Esquire

J. R. dgan, Esquire

V. Juliano, Waterford Library

Department of Public Utility Control

S. B. Comley, We The People

State of Connecticut SLO Designee

D. Katz, Citizens Awareness Network (CAN)

R. Bassilakis, CAN

J. M. Block, Attorney, CAN .

S. P. Luxton, Citizens Regulatory Commission (CRC)  !

Representative T. Concannon

E. Woollacott, Co-Chairman, NEAC

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Mr. Bruce D. Kenyon 4

Distribution w/ encl: 1

Region i Docket Room (with c_qny of concurrences)

Nuclear Safety Information Center (NSIC)

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PUBLIC

FILE CENTER, NRR (with Oriainal concurrences)

NRC Resident inspector

W. Axelson, DRA

M. Kalamon, SPO, RI

W. Lanning, Deputy Director of Inspections, SPO, RI

D. Screnci, PAO .

W. Travers, Director, SPO, NRR I

Distribution w/enci (VIA E-MAIL):

J. Andersen, PM, SPO, NRR

M. Callahan, OCA ,

R. Correia, NRR

W. Dean, OEDO ,

S. Dembek, PM, SPO, NRR

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G. Imbro, Deputy Director of ICAVP Oversight, SPO, NRR l

D. Mcdonald, PM, SPO, NRR  ;

P. McKee, Deputy Director of Licensing, SPO, NRR  !

L. Plisco, Chief, SPO, NRR I

S. Reynolds, Licensing Branch, SPO, NRR

D. Screnci, PAO

Inspection Program Branch (IPAS)

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DOCUMENT NAME: 1:\ BRANCH 6\97-01. INS

To seestus a espy of this deamme=a hedeses in the bes: "C" = Copy without attach,nont/ enclosure "E" - Copy with attach,nent/ enclosure l

• N" - No copy

OFFICE SPO/RI E SPO.3, l / l

NAME DURR 43 LArelMG

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DATE 03P//97 04/(/97

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! OFFICIAL RECORD COPY

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