ML20195H666
| ML20195H666 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Millstone  |
| Issue date: | 11/18/1998 |
| From: | Durr J NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION I) |
| To: | Bowling M, Loftus P NORTHEAST NUCLEAR ENERGY CO. |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20195H672 | List: |
| References | |
| 50-245-98-216, 50-336-98-216, 50-423-98-216, NUDOCS 9811240068 | |
| Download: ML20195H666 (5) | |
See also: IR 05000245/1998216
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November 18, 1998
Mr. M. L. Bowling, Recovery Officer, Technical Services
C/o Patricia Loftus, Director - Regulatory
Affairs for Millstone Station
Northeast Nuclear Energy Company
P.O. Box 128
Waterford, Connecticut 06385
SUBJECT: NRC COMBINED INSPECTION 50-245/98-216,50-336/98-216:50-423/98-
216 and NOTICE OF VIOLATION
Dear Mr. Bowling:
On October 5,1998, the NRC completed an inspection at Millstone Units 1,2 & 3 reactor
facilities. The enclosed report presents the results of that inspection.
During the 7-week period covered by this inspection period, your conduct of activities at
the Millstone facilities was generally characterized by safety-conscious operations, sound
engineering and maintenance practices, and careful radiological work controls. We are
concerned, however, about a violation of NRC requirements that was identified at Millstone
Unit 2. NRC inspectors identified that the valve lineup procedure for the reactor building
closed cooling water system was inadequate which resulted in a valve being fully open
rather than the required throttled position. We are concerned that your corrective actions
did not address the f act that the valve lineup was performed on two occasions without
identifying this mispositioned valve.
The violation is cited in the enclosed Notice of Violation, and the circumstances
surrounding the violation are described in detail in the enclosed report. Please note that
you are required to respond to this letter and should follow the instructions specified in the
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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
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regulatory requirements.
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Another violation at Unit 2 involved the failure to perform an engineering evaluation (and
the subsequent changing of operational mode) when reactor coolant system heatup and
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cooldown rate limits were exceeded. The NRC has concluded that information regarding
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the reason for the violation, the corrective actions taken and planned to correct the
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violation and prevent recurrence is already adequately addressed on the docket in Licensee
Event Reports 50-336/96-001 and 96-007, dated January 30,1996, and March 22,1996,
respectively. Therefore, you are not required to respond to this specific violation unless
the description therein does not accurately reflect your corrective actions or your position,
in that case, or if you choose to provide additional information, you should follow the
instructions specified in the enclosed Notice.
9811240068 981130
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ADOCl4 0500 2}5
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Mr. M. L. Bowling
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You have established an effective radiation protection program for activities being
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conducted at all three units. Changing work scope at Units 1 and 2 has led to a review of
the annual exposure goals for these units. An extensive and effective investigation of a -
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contamination event at Unit 1 resulted in the identification and implementation of several
radiological improvements. An effective technical training program has been established
for the continuing education of licensee radiation protection technicians.
At Unit 2, two of the three items associated with the significant items list (SIL) that were
inspected were closed during this period, as documented in the attached inspection report.
In addition, six of eight non-SIL items were closed. Our reviews have confirmed the
closure' package quality and noted generally sound corrective actions for individual
technical problems. Although this reflects positively on the effectiveness of your
corrective action program, many of the more challenging restart issues that remain are
programmatic in nature.
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During this inspection period, Unit 3 was operated safely. This was evidenced in the
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enclosed report discussions of deliberate and controlled operator responses to plant events
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and equipment problems, conservative decision-making, and the conduct of work planning
and maintenance performance with proper consideration of safety system configuration and
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risk perspectives. However, as also noted in this inspection report, a manual reactor trip
was procedurally mandated by plant conditions that were preventable; and several.
downpowers and operating evolutions, required to comply with the Unit 3 Technical
Specifications, were caused by either component malfunctions or surveillance test failures
that were not isolated in occurrence. We understand that your management team has
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recognized that such challenges, particularly the numerous entries into Technical
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Specification 3.0.3, require a dedicated, collective review for causal analysis and corrective
action response. The NRC not only concurs with this management emphasis to support
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reliable, event-free operations in the future, but also believes that such a focused review
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'should include further development of the role that support functions like training,
modification controls, and past problem resolution and tracking may have contributed to
the recent set of operational challenges.
The staff has reviewed the Unit 1 NRC listing of open items to ascertain which of those are
still applicable to ongoing and future plant activities. The open items have been sorted
based on their need for support of safe storage of the spent fuel, emergency response or
common usage between units. Enclosure 3 to this report lists the inspection items the
NRC considers to be active, and those we are administratively closing. We expect, for the
items within your control, your continued pursuit of appropriate and timely resolution for
the remaining open issues. If this is not your intent, notify this office promptly,
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Mr. M. L. Bowling
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In accordance with 10 CFR 2.790 of the NRC's " Rules of Practice," a copy of this letter
and its enclosures will be placed in the NRC Public Document Room (PDR).
Sincerely,
Original Signed trf:
Jacque P. Durr, Chief
Millstone inspection Branch
Docket Nos.
50-245
50-336
50-423
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Enclosures:
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2.
NRC Combined Inspection Report 50-245/98-216; 50-336/98-216;
50-423/98-216
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3.
Unit 1 Open and Closed items Lists
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Mr. M. L. Bowling
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CC Wib'l*
B. Kenyon, President and Chief Executive Officer - Nuclear Group
L. Olivier, Senior Vice President & Chief Nuclear Officer
M. H. Brothars, Vice President - Operations
J. McElwain, Pecovery Officer - Millstone Unit 2
R. Necci, Vice President - Nuclear Oversight and Regulatory Affairs
P. D. Hinnenkamp, D.irector - Unit 3
J. A. Price, Director - Unit 2
D. Amerine, Vice President - Human Services
- E. iiarkness, Director, Unit 1 Operations
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J. Althouse, Manager - Nuclear Training Assessment Group
F. C. Rothen, Vice President, Work Services
J. Cantrell, Director - Nuclear Training (CT)
S. J. Sherman, Audits and Evaluation
L. M. Cuoco, Esquire
J. R. Egan, Esquire
V. Juliano, Waterford Library
J. Buckingham, 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
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S. P. Luxton, Citizens Regulatory Commission (CRC)
Representative T. Concannon
E. Woollacott, Co-Chairman, NEAC
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Mr. M. L. Bowling
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Distribution w/ encl:
Region i Docket Room'(with copy of concurrences)
Nuclear Safety Information Center (NSIC) -
PUBLIC
- FILE CENTER, NRR (with Oriainal concurrences)
Millstone Inspection Directorate Secretarial File, Region i
NRC Resident inspector'
H. Miller, Regional Administrator, R1
W. Axelson, Deputy Regional Administrator, R1(Inspection Reports)
B. Jones, PIMB/ DISP
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W. Lanning, Director, Millstone Inspection Directorate, R1
D. Screnci, PAO
N. Blumberg, Millstone inspection Directorate, R1
Distribution w/enci (VIA E-MAIL):
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M. Callahan, OCA <MSC>
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R. Correia, NRR < RPC>
B. McCabe, OEDO <BCM>
E. Imbro, Director, Millstone ICAVP inspections, NRR <EXI>
D.' Mcdonald, PM, NRR < DGM1 >
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W. Dean, Director, Millstone Project Directorate, NRR <WMD>
P. Kottay, Chief, ICAVP Oversight, NRR <PSK>
Inspection Program Branch <lPAS>
DOCDESK
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DOCUMENT NAME: G:\\TEMPFILE\\lR98216. MIL
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To receive a copy of this document, indicate in the box: "C" = Copy without
- attachment / enclosure
"E" = Copy with attachment / enclosure
"N" = No copy
OFFICE
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NAME
DURR L j,
DATE
11/t198
11/ /98
11/ /98
11/ /98
OFFICIAL RECORD COPY
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