ML20149D515
| ML20149D515 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Clinton  |
| Issue date: | 06/23/1997 |
| From: | Beach A NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION III) |
| To: | Jackie Cook ILLINOIS POWER CO. |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20149D520 | List: |
| References | |
| 50-461-97-01, 50-461-97-1, GL-91-18, NUDOCS 9707170165 | |
| Download: ML20149D515 (4) | |
See also: IR 05000461/1997001
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June 23,1997
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Mr. John G. Cook.
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Senior Vice President
Clinton Power Station
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lilinois Power Company
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' Mail Code V-275
P. O. Box 678
Clinton, IL 61727'
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- Dear Mr.' Cook
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Enclosed for your review is the Systematic Assessment of Licensee Performance (SALP)
Report for the Clinton Power Station covering the period June 25,1995, through April 5,
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'1997. This report will be discussed with you at a public meeting at lilinois Power's Energy
- and Environmental Station scheduled for July 2,1997 at 1:00 p.m. During this meeting
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- you are encouraged to ca ididly discuss any comment you may have regarding our report.
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In accordance with Nuclear Regulatory Commissien (NRC) policy, I have reviewed the
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results of the SALP Board assessment and concur with the recomrmnded ratings. The'
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functional areas of plant operations, engineering, and plant support 'were rated Category 3.
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-Th'e functional area of maintenance was rated Category 2. It is my view that the conduct
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' of nuclear activities at Clinton was adequate. The details of our assessment are provided
in the enclosed report.
Many of the conclusions in this report are based on our inspections and investigation of a
. significant event that occurred at the Clinton Station. As you are aware, on September 5,
1996, while isolating a reactor recirculation loop, operations personnel took actions which
resulted in a significant failure of the "B" reactor recirculation pump sesi. The event was
unique in that the operators caused the event rather than taking the action necessary.to
mitigate'the situation. The NRC considered the eventfof such significance, it was
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categorized as a Severity Level 11 violation.' The initial inspection into the September 5
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event identified a significant procedural adherence problem. Subsequent special and -
routine inspections identified that procedural adherence problems were pervasive in
virtually all site organizations. Illinois Power management representativos have since
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admitted that established procedural guidance created an environment that fostered the
belief'among their Ltaff that procedures were guides and did not always have to be
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followed. Significant NRC. attention was required before management understood the
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- significance of the issue'and put in place effective corrective actions. .
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' Additional NRC inspections, including an Operational Safety Team inspection implemented
as a result of the September event, not only confirmed the procedure adherence problems
L but identified additional performance issues in the operations an' engineering' departments.
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' Deficiencies'w'ere identified in the' performance 'and quality of surveillance procedures, in
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9707170165'970623
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J. Cook
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safety evaluations implemented per 10 CFR 50.59, and in equipment operability
evaluations conducted in response to NRC Generic Letter 91-18. NRC inspection activities
also identified a number of hardware deficiencies: long standing problems with the
feedwater check valves and inadequate maintenance on safety related breakers, and after
this SALP period ended inadequate assessment of degraded containment coatings. In each
case, NRC intervention was required to ensure management understanding and attention
was focused on development and implementation of appropriate corrective actions.
Many of the SALP Board's conclusions were based on the findings of these inspections
and the NRC efforts needed to reach issue resolution. The inspection findings and NRC
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effort required to achieve acceptable issue resolution indicates that Illinois Power's
management had not provided sufficient oversight to ensure the program for problem
identification and corrective action was effective'. Management often did not understand
the significance of hardware issues and did not ensure that effective measures were taken
to address the issues. Management also failed to effectively assess the breadth of the
procedure adherence deficiencies identified in the operations and engineering departments;
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leaving the NRC to identify that the same condition existed in radiation protection in
January 1997, four months after the September event.
The SALP Board recognized that, while the deficiencies existed through much of the
period, over the past three months Illinois Power has made significant improvements in the
deficient areas. lilinois Power took aggressive, effective actions to address the procedure
adherence and quality issues. Changes were made to the corrective action program
addressing both issue id;ntification and correctic:
Significant efforts were implemented
to correct operation. M the feedwater check valves and resolve the degraded voltage issue,
and effective programs to address safety related breaker operability and reliability and
containment coatings were also implemented in addition, Illinois Power developed a
Strategic Recovery Plan to look at the readiness of systems, programs, and organizations
to support restart.
Although the safe operation of the facility was never a question, there has been a notable
decline in performance. Notwithstanding the above improvements, the NRC is concerned
about the decline and lilinois Power's ability to affect long term actions to improve
performance. While changes have been made,it is obvious that a concerted effort on
Illinois Power's part is necessary to improve performance of individuals and organizations,
improve overall content of procedures, and improve overall effectiveness of programs. In
addition, Illinois Power needs to ensure plant material condition remains acceptable,
particularly in the' control room where over 400 deficiencies were addressed during this
outage. We expect to focus our discussions in the scheduled public meeting on Illinois
Power's long term actions for improvement.
In accordance with Section 2.790 of the NRC " Rules of Practice," Part 2, Title 10, Code of
Federal Regulations, a copy of this letter and the SALP report will be placed in the NRC's
Public Document Room.
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J. Cook
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Should you have any questions concerning the SALP Report, we would be pleased to
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discuss them with you. While no written response is required, you may provide written
comments within 30 days of the SALP meeting.
Sincerely,
Original signed by A. Bill Beach
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A. Bill Beach
Regional Administrator
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Docket No. 50-461
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Enclosure:
SALP 14
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Report No. 50-461/97001
cc w/ encl:
W. D. Romberg, Assistant Vice President
P. Yocum, Plant Manager, Clinton
R. Phares, Assistant to the Vice President
J. Sipek, Director - Licensing
Nathan Schloss, Economist
Office of the Attorney General
G. Stramback, Regulatory Licensing
Services Project Manager
General Electric Company
Chairman,' DeWitt County Board
State Liaison Officer
Chairman, Illinois Commerce Commission
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Chairman Jackson
Commissioner Rogers
Commissioner Dicus
Commissioner Diaz
Commissioner McGaffigan
OEDO
J. Lieberman, Director, Office of Enforcement
S. J. Collins, Director, NRR
R. Zimmerman, Associate Director for Projects, NRR
T. T. Martin, Acting Associate Director for Inspection
and Technical Assessment, NRR
J. W. Roe, Director, Division of Reactor Projects lil/IV, NRR
D. L. Gamberoni, SALP Program Manager, NRR (2 copies)
DRP Division Directors, All Regions
J. A. Lennartz, Rlli
L. Cox, Rill
TSS, Rlli
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J.: Cook
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Should you have any questions concerning the SALP Report, we would be pleased to
- discuss them with you. While no written response is required, you may provide written
. comments within 30 days of the SALP meeting.
Sincerely,
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- Original signed by A. Bill Beach
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A. Bill Beach
Regional Administrator
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Docket No. 50-461
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Enclosure:
SALP 14
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Report No. 50-461/97001
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cc w/enci:
W. D. Romberg, Assistant Vice President
P. Yocum, Plant Manager, Clinton
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R. Pharos, Assistant to the Vice President
J. Sipek, Director - Licensing
' Nathan Schloss, Economist
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Office of the Attorney General
G. Stramback, Regulatory Licensing
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Services Project Manager .
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General Electric Company
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Chairman, DeWitt County Board
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State Liaison Officer
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Chairman, Illinois Commerce Commission
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Chairman Jackson
~ Commissioner Rogers
Commissioner Dicus
Commissioner Diaz
Commissioner McGaffigan
OEDO
J. Lieberman, Director, Office of Enforcement
S. J. Collins, Director, NRR
R. Zimmerman, Associate Director for Projects, NRR
T. T. Martin, Acting Associate Director for Inspection
,
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and Technical Assessment, NRR
J. W. Roe, Director, Division of Reactor Projects lil/IV, NRR
D. L. Gamberoni, SALP Program Manager, NRR (2 copies)
DRP Division Directors, All Regions
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J. A. Lennartz, Alli
L. Cox, Rll!
TSS, Rill
DOCUMENT NAME: R:\\l N S PR PTS \\ POWERS \\C LIN\\C Ll 97001.S LP
To recahre e copy of thie docuenent,inecate h the box 'C' = Copy without ettechmentlenclosu,e"E" = Copy with attachment / enclosure
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DATE
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