ML20206U608

Forwards Insp Rept 50-458/99-03 on 990307-0417.Eight Violations of NRC Requirements Identified & Being Treated as Noncited Violations Consistent with App C of Enforcement Policy

ML20206U608
Person / Time
Site:	River Bend
Issue date:	05/18/1999
From:	Brockman K NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION IV)
To:	Edington R ENTERGY OPERATIONS, INC.
Shared Package
ML20206U610	List: IR 05000458/1999003 ML20206U608
References
50-458-99-03, 50-458-99-3, NUDOCS 9905250275
Download: ML20206U608 (5)

See also: IR 05000458/1999003

Text

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" " ' 4, UNITED STATES l

. / \ NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 1

REGloN iv

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,qj 611 RYAN PLAZA DRIVE, sulTE 400

ARLINGTON, texas 76011-8064

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MAY I 81999 -

Randall K. Edington, Vice President - Operations l

River Bend Station

Entergy Operations, Inc.

P.O. Box 220

St. Francisville, Louisiana 70775

SUBJECT: NRC INSPECTION REPORT NO. 50-458/99-03

Dear Mr. Edington: l

This refers to the inspection conducted on March 7 through April 17,1999, at the River Bend  ?

Station facility. The enclosed report presents the results of this inspection. I

Based on the results of this inspection, the NRC has determined that eight violations of NRC

requirements occurred. These violations are being treated as noncited violations (NCVs),

consistent with Appendix C of the Enforcement Policy. Several have been consolidated as

multiple examples of failing to follow procedures. We are concerned since almost all of the

problems identified in this report were associated with poor human performance (e.g.,

procedural adherence). Of particular note were the failures associated with fue! and its

movement, the three inadvertent engineered safety features actuations, and failures to properly

perform weekly Division lli standby service water pump breaker checks. Although none of

these problems, in and of themselves, imposed significant plant risk, they give rise to concerns

about River Bend's overall outage performance.

We are also concerned with the continuing engineering performance problems that, during this

period, culminated in a design control violation. The engineering evaluation to determine the

design fouling rate for the Division I residual heat removal heat exchangers failed to consider all

operational conditions and changes that could impact the evaluation results; furthermore, your

processes and procedures did not identify the quality shortcomings of this product. It was only

when you conducted performance testing in response to our concerns that you discovered that

the actual degradation rate was three times what the evaluation predicted. Recent NRC reports

have highlighted similar instances where the validity of engineering assumptions and the quality j

of engineering product reviews have been questioned.

Increased management attention is needed to address this continuing concern. In this regard, {

we would like to meet with you to better understand your assessment of performance during {

this outage and its implication on overall River Bend operations. We believe this meeting would j

best be conducted after your outage review has been completed. We also believe this meeting  ;

would be most effective at the River Bend location. Mr. David N. Graves, Chief, Project

Branch B, will contact your staff to coordinate the details of this meeting.

>

If you contest the violation or severity level of these NCVs, you should provide a response j

within 30 days of the date of this inspection report, with the basis for your denial, to the Nuclear

Regulatory Commission, ATTN: Document Control Desk, Washington, DC 20555-0001, with

9905250275 990518

PDR ADOCK 05000458 i

i G PDR

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Entergy Operations, Inc. -2-

copies to the Regional Administrator, Region IV, and the Director, Office of Enforcement, .

United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.

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

i enclosure will be placed in the NRC Public Document Room (PDR).

j Should you have any questions concerning this inspection, we will be pleased to discuss them

with you.

Sincerely,

Ken E. rockman, Dire tor

Division of Reactor Projects

Docket No.: 50-458

License No.: NPF-47

Enclosure:

NRC Inspection Report No.

50-458/99-03

cc w/ enclosure:

Executive Vice President and

Chief Operating Officer

Entergy Operations, Inc.

P.O. Box 31995

Jackson, Mississippi 39286-1995

Vice President

Operations Support

Entergy Operations, Inc.

P.O. Box 31995

Jackson, Mississippi 39286-1995

General Manager

Plant Operations

)

River Bend Station

Entergy Operations, Inc.

P.O. Box 220

St. Francisville, Louisiana 70775 j

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.

.

Entergy Operations, Inc. -3-

Director - Nuclear Safety

River Bend Station

Entergy Operations, Inc.

P.O. Box 220

St. Francisville, Louisiana 70775

Wise, Carter, Child & Caraway

P.O. Box 651

Jackson, Mississippi 39205

Mark J. Wetterhahn, Esq.

Winston & Strawn

1401 L Street, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20005-3502

Manager - Licensing

River Bend Station

Entergy Operations, Inc.

P.O. Box 220

St. Francisville, Louisiana 70775

The Honorable Richard P. leyoub

Attorney General

Department of Justice

State of Louisiana

P.O. Box 94005

Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70804-9005

H. Anne P!ettinger

3456 Villa Rose Drive

Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70806

President of West Feliciana

Police Jury

P.O. Box 1921

St. Francisville, Louisiana 70775

Ronald L. Wascom, Administrator

Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality

P.O. Box 82135

Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70884-2135

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Entergy Operations, Inc. -4-

MAY I 81999

E-Mail report to T. Frye (TJF)

E-Mail report to D. Lange (DJL)

E-Mail report to NRR Event Tracking System (IPAS)

E-Mail report to Document Control Desk (DOCDESK)

E-Mail report to Richard Oorreia (RPC)

E-Mail report to Fra;ik Talbot (FXT)

bec to DCD (IE01)

bec distrib. by RIV:

Regional Administrator Resident inspector

DRP Director DRS-PSB

DRS Director MIS System

Branch Chief (DRP/C) RIV File

Project Engineer (DRP/C)

Branch Chief (DRP/TSS)

DOCUMENT NAME: R:\ RB\RB903RP.GDR ,

To receive copy of document. Indicate in box: 'C" = Copy without enclosures "E" = Copy with enclosures *N" = t$ngpy

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5/11/99 (T) 5/11/99 (T) 5/11/99 5/11/9k'~Jh\ 5/ /T/99

• previously concurred

OFFICIAL RECORD COPY

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Entergy Operations, Inc. -4- ,

MAY I 81999 l

E-Mail report to T. Frye (TJF)  !

E-Mail report to D. Lange (DJL)

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E-Mail report to NRR Event Tracking System (IPAS) '

E-Mail report to Document Control Desk (DOCDESK)

E-Mail report to Richard Correia (RPC)

E-Mail report to Frank Talbot (FXT)

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bcc to DCD (IE01)

bec distrib. by RIV:

Regional Administrator Resident inspector

DRP Director DRS PSB l

DRS Director MIS System

Branch Chief (DRP/C) RIV File

Project Engineer (DRP/C)

Branch Chief (DRP/TSS)

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250072

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- DOCUMENT NAME: R:\_RB\RB903RP.GDR '

To receive copy of document, indicate in box: "C" = Copy without enclosures *E" = Copy with enclosures "N" = %py

RIV:RI:DRP/C SRI:DRP/C D:DRS/PS C:DRP/C D:DRP(f tm

NPGarrett* GDReplogle* GMGood* CSMars# fell i KEBrgmf '

5/11/99 (T) 5/11/99 (T) 5/11/99 5/11/9( 7 0 5/ /T/99

• previously concurred

OFFICIAL RECORD COPY