ML20141K215

Informs of Intent to Extend Current SALP Cycle,Orginally Scheduled to End on 970717,to Approx 6 Months After Starting Up One of Units at Plant

ML20141K215
Person / Time
Site:	Zion  File:ZionSolutions icon.png
Issue date:	05/19/1997
From:	Beach A NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION III)
To:	Mueller J COMMONWEALTH EDISON CO.
References
NUDOCS 9705280390
Download: ML20141K215 (2)

Text

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UNITED STATES

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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION a

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LISLE. ILUNOIS 60532-4351 May 19, 1997 4

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- Mr. J.' H. M' eller u

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. Site Vice President '

Zion Station -

. Commonwealth Edison Company 101 Shiloh Boulevard Zion, IL 60099

SUBJECT:

' EXTENSION OF THE ZION STATION SYSTEMATIC ASSESSMENT OF LICENSEE PERFORMANCE (SALP) CYCLE

Dear Mr. Mueller:

This letter is to inform you of our intent to extend the current SALP cycle, which was originally scheduled to end on July 19,1997, to approximately six months after you have started up one of the units at Zion Station. The basis for this decision follows.

' At present both units at Zion are shutdown. In September 1996, Unit 2 was shut down for a scheduled refueling outage which you extended to address a number of material condition and design deficiencies. On February 21,1997, during a Unit 1 shutdown, an i

operator attempted to retum the reactor to a " critical" state by continuously withdrawing j

control rods. Subsequent to the Unit 1 shutdown event, you decided to place both units in cold shutdown and keep them in that condition until your staff had corrected a number i

of performance problems. This event, in conjunction with previously identified issues, j

demonstrated the depth of performance problems in the area of operations. Also, examples of inadequate' procedures, failure to follow existing procedures, and poor work.

. practices continued to be identified in the area of maintenance. Several deficiencies in the i

areas of operability evaluations,10 CFR Part 50.59 safety evaluations, and maintenance and understanding of the plant design basis indicate continuing problems in engineering.

. Performance in the area of radiation protection has continued to decline as reflected in NRC identification of programmatic weaknesses in the transportation of r'adioactive waste.

in general, an assessment of Zion Station performance at this time would indicate results that would be lower than those of the previous SALP.

Given the shutdown status of both units at Zion Station, your staff's attention and ours needs to be focused on corrective action programs that you are or will be implementing to l

address the number of identified performance deficiencies. Although the recent l

- operational events and the number of identified performance deficiencies may be indicative of a performance decline in the ratings in three of the SALP functional areas, the NRC has i

concluded that completing the~SALP process in accordance with the current schedule would provide little, if any, added value with respect to communicating performance

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insights. - Therefore, the completion of the current SALP assessment period will be delayed i'

to approximately six months after one of the units at Zion Station has been started up.

L This revised SALP end date will provide Zion Station with the opportunity to implement appropriate corrective actions before the NRC evaluates the effectiveness of these actions i

. during a period ~of sustained plant operations.

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i J. Mu:llir 2-o We will continue to evaluate your staff's performance through the NRC inspection program and other regulatory initiatives, such as a restart team inspection, to ensure that your staff y

is ready to restart either unit and operate it safely, l.

l Sincerely,

/s/ A. Bill Beach l

A. Bill Beach Regional Administrator Docket Nos. 50-295; 50-304 cc:

T. J. Maiman, Senior Vice President-Nuclear Operations Division D. A. Sager, Vice President, Generation Support H. W. Keiser, Chief Nuclear Operating Officer t

R. Starkey, Plant General Manager l

R. Godley, Regulatory Assurance Supervisor

1. Johnson, Acting Nuclear Regulatory Services Manager Richard Hubbard Nathan Schloss, Economist Office of the Attorney General i-Mayor, City of Zion State Liaison Officer, Wisconsin i

State Liaison Officer Chairman, Illinois Commerce Commission l

Document Control Desk-Licensing Distribution:

Project Manager, NRR

' Docket [ File PUBLIC DRP OC/LFDCB Rlli PRR SRI Byron, Braidwood, Deputy RA Zion A. B. Beach RAC1 (E-Mail)

Rlli Enf. Coordinator DRS TSS Document: G:\\SALP\\ Zion. Ext i

To receive a copy of this document, indicate in the box "C" = Copy without attach / encl "E" = Copy with attach /enci "N" = No copy Rlli[/

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