ML20198F289

Forwards Insp Repts 50-373/98-25 & 50-374/98-25 on 981102-06.No Violations Noted.Insp Was Evaluation of Operator Workaround Program

ML20198F289
Person / Time
Site:	LaSalle
Issue date:	12/16/1998
From:	Grant G NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION III)
To:	Kingsley O COMMONWEALTH EDISON CO.
Shared Package
ML20198F293	List: IR 05000373/1998025 ML20198F289
References
50-373-98-25, 50-374-98-25, NUDOCS 9812280083
Download: ML20198F289 (3)

See also: IR 05000373/1998025

Text

!

.A-

. .

I

[

t

December 16,199ff ,

!

i

. .

i

Mr. Oliver D. Kingsley - _

President, Nuclear Generation Group l

p Commonwealth Edison Company

L ATTN: Regulatory Services

Executive Towers West lil .

1400 Opus Place, Suite 500

Downers Grove,IL 60515

SUBJECT: TEMPORARY INSTRUCTION 2515/138 INSPECTION REPORTS

50-373/98025(DRS); 50-374/98025(DRS)

l- Dear Mr. Kingsley:

'

l On November 6,1998, the NRC completed a special inspeciion at the LaSalle County Station,

j Units 1 and 2. The enclosed report summarizes the results of this inspection.

,

The inspection was an evaluation of your operator workaround (OWA) program, conducted

under NRC temporary' instruction TI-138," Evaluation of the Cumulative Effect of Operator

[. = Workarounds." The purpose of this inspection was two fold.. First, to evaluate the effectiveness

of the program in evaluating the cumulative effect of OWAs on the ability of operators to safely  ;

_ operate the plant'and e 'ectively respond to abnormal and emergency plant conditions. Second,

to gather information to support an evaluation of the need for additional NRC guidance

conceming OWAs. The inspection consisted of a selective evaluation of procedures and

representative records, observations of control room and in-plant activities, and interviews with

select personnel.

.The inspectors concluded that the LaSalle Station had established a program with procedural

guidance, that adequately addressed the pertinent issues concerning OWAs. It was concluded

,

that your operators were adequately knowledgeable, with some minor exceptions, of OWAs and

l compensatory actions. Also, your staff was actively ernphasizing the identification, tracking, and

. timely resolution of OWAs. The inspectors also determined that there was a lack of specific

guidance on how to perform an aggregate assesse.vit of the cumulative effects of OWAs on N.qb

l safe plant operation.

! . In addition, the inspectors noted that your def nition of OWA was limiting, in that the OWA L

deficiency must be an " obstacle to safe plant operations." Your staff had changed the definition

of OWA to differentiate between safe and ncrmal plant operations, with deficiencies affecting

l ' normal plant operations recategorized as an operator challenge (OC).' The inspectors noted

l that obstacles to normal plant operations could'potentially escalate to hinder safa plant

operations; thereby, making the NRC's definition of an OWA, per Tl 138, more effectua!. But,

,

the inspectors concluded that the implementation of the OWA and OC procedures collectively

• -

had the capability of addressing the overall plant workaround issues.

1

3 9812280083 981216

PDR

• ADOCK 05000373

PDR

_ _ _ __ ~. __ - _

.

. . . . . - = . . . . - . .

,

. .

,

O. Kingsley -2-

Based on the small cross-sectional review of selected items, the inspectors concluded that the

existing discrepancies identified and tracked by your staff would not have prevented the safe

operation of Unit 1.

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

enclosure will be placed in the NRC Public Document Room.

Sincerely,

1

Original Signed by Geoffrev E. Grant

Geoffrey E. Grant, Director

Division of Reactor Projects

'

Docket Nos.: 50-373;50-374

License Nos.: NPF-11; NPF-18

Enclosure. Inspection Report 50-373/98025(DRS); 50-374/98025(DRS)

cc w! encl: D. Helwig, Senior Vice President

H. Stanley, PWR Vice President

C. Crane, BWR Vice President

R. Krich, Regulatory Services Manager

D. Greene, Licensing Director

DCD - Licensing

F. Dacimo, Site Vice President

T. O'Connor, Station Manager

P. Barnes, Regulatory Assurance Supervisor

R. Hubbard'

M. Aguilar, Assistant Attorney General

State Liaison Officer

Chairman, Illinois Commerce Commission

,

DOCUMENT NAME: G\DRS\LAS98025.WPD

! ' To receive a copy of this document, ind6cate in the box *C" = Copy without/enetosure "E" = Copy with att enclosure "N" s No copy

,

OFFICE Rlllef l0 Rill lv Rill l0 l

L

'

NAME Peter!(of Leach #9C4 Lanksbury4hh Grant 6%

DATE 12/9/98 12/7/98 12/tt /98 12/l(d9( /'

OFFICIAL RECORD COPY 'V

i

!

_ _

, m. . . . _ . - . . . . . . - -.. . .... .... . . . - . _ _ . ~ . . = .

p T'  ;

l9 l

!... l

!,. O. Kingsley -3- I

i l

i.-

~

Distribution:

L SAR (E-Mail)

RPC (E-Mail)

Project Mgr., NRR w/enci  !

J. Caldwell, Rlli w/enci

l C. Pederson, Rlli w/enci

l. .' B. Clayton, Rlli w/ encl

SRI LaSalle w/enci

DRP w/enci

,

TSS w/enci

,

DRS (2) w/enci l

l Rlli PRR w/enci l

+4 PUBLIC IE-42 w/enci j

'

Docket File w/enci -

l GREENS

LEO (E-Mail)

DOCDESK (E-Mail) .

M. Bies w/ encl

l

1

i

.

]

\

kI

1

!

230015

.

w