ML20195E410
| ML20195E410 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Catawba  |
| Issue date: | 06/13/1988 |
| From: | Grace J NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION II) |
| To: | Tucker H DUKE POWER CO. |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20195E414 | List: |
| References | |
| EA-88-096, EA-88-96, NUDOCS 8806240040 | |
| Download: ML20195E410 (3) | |
See also: IR 05000413/1988014
Text
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JUN 131988
. Docket Nos. 50-413, 50-414
EA 88-96
DfePowerCompany
tATTN: Mr. H. B. Tucker, Vice President
Nuclear Production Department
422 South Church Street
Charlotte, North Carolina 28242
Gentlemen:
SUBJECT:
(NRC INSPECTION REPORT NOS. 50-413/88-14 AND 50-414/88-14)
This refers to the Nuclear Regulatory Comission (NRC) inspection conducted by
an Augmented Inspection Team at the Catawba Nuclear Station on March 10-18,
1988. The inspection included a review of the circumstances associated with
the March 9,1988 Reactor Trip and resultant swapover of suction by an Auxil-
iary Feedwater Pump to the Nuclear Service Wate.r System and subsequent
degraded auxiliary feedwater flow. The report documenting this inspection was
sent to you by letter dated April 20, 1988. As a result of this inspection,
a significant failure to comply with NRC regulatory requirements was identified,
and.accordingly, NRC concerns relative to the inspection findings were discussed
in an Enforcement Conference held on April 29, 1988. The letter sumrrarizing
this conference was sent to you on May 13, 1988.
The violations described in the enclosed Notice of Violation (Notice) was caused
by an inadequate faco lty test progrdm process which permitted the Auxiliary
Feedwater System to be placed in service, and under certain cor;ditions, to be
degraded and unable to meet Technical Spec.ification requirements for flow path
operability. As a reselt, the units operated without an assured source of
water because the facility test program did not include an adequate method of
assuring an adequate supcly of water to the Auxiliary Feedwater System. On
!! arch 9,1988, the Auxiliary Feedwater System was initiated and was only able
to provide reduced flow to the steam generators because of Asiatic clam shell
blockcge in the Nuclear Service Water System.
If the March 9, 1988 auxiliary
feedwater initiation event had not occurred, your facility test program would
likely not have discovared the growth of Asiatic clams in the Nuclear Service
Water System, and had the Auxiliary Feedwater System been called upon to
function, the consequences of Asiatic clam infestation and clam shell
blockage could have been more severe. This example and the results of your
further testing on other service water supplied backup systems emphasize the
need for a complete and thorough facility test program to demonstrate that
all systems will perform satisfactorily,
in accordance with the "General Statement of Policy and Procedure for NRC
Enforcement Actions," 10 CFR Part 2, Appendix C (1988) (Enforcement Policy),
the violation described in the enclosed Notice has been categorized as a
Severity Level III problem. A civil penalty is considered for a Severity
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Level IIT violation or problem. However, after consultation with the Director,
Office of Enforcement, and the Deputy Executive Director for Regional 0paraticns,
I have decided that a civil runalty will not be proposed in this case because
(1) your corrective action to prevent recurrence were extensive, including your
actions to comply with the sppropriate Technical Specificatione including
shutdown of Unit 1 and exte.sive investigations of similar systems at o @er
plants; and (2) your past performance in this area has been good, considering
your initiation of an extensive ongoing program to remedy heat exchanger
testing and operability issues that had been identified at ancther site, and
the extensiveness of your testing program for active components associated
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with raw cooling service water.
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 Section 2.790 of the NRC's "Rules of Practice," Part 2,
Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, a copy of this letter and its enclosure
will be placed in the NRC Public Document Room.
The responses directed by this letter and its enclosure are not subject to the
clearance procedures of the Office of Management and Budget as required by the
Paperwork Reduction A.c of 1980, Pub. L. No.96-511.
Sincerely,
ORIGINAL SIGNED BYi
4 NELSON GRACg
J. Nelson Grace
Regional Administrator
Enclosure:
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L7. B. Owen, Station Manager
Senior Resident Inspector - McGuire
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