ML20210N370
| ML20210N370 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Dresden, Byron, Braidwood, Quad Cities, Zion, LaSalle  |
| Issue date: | 10/05/1995 |
| From: | Capra R Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation |
| To: | Mccree V NRC OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR OPERATIONS (EDO) |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20210N243 | List: |
| References | |
| FOIA-97-178 NUDOCS 9708250199 | |
| Download: ML20210N370 (24) | |
Text
.
LIMITED 0FFICIAL USE ONLY-c.e <
j Commission Briefina Paner
,J. -- October 5, 1995 MEMORANDUM-TO: Victor M. McCree. Chief 1
Regional Operations Staff _ _, _
i-Office of_the Executive Director for Operations FROM: . -Robert A.-Capra, Director Original signed by:
Project, Directorate III-2 '
Division of Reactor Projects - III/IV 4 office-of Nuclear Reactor Regulation '
i
SUBJECT:
- VISIT BY COMMONWEALTH EDISON COMPANY EXECUTIVES MR. JAMES l O'CONNOR AND MR. MICHAEL WALLACE, WITH THE CHAIRMAN .
i 4
Enclosed is a background briefing package in-preparation for the L October ll,1995, meeting of Chairman Jackson with Mr. James J O'Connor (CEO)
- - and_ Mr. Michael Wallace (Chief Nuclear Officer) of Commonwealth Edison Company >
j (Comed), Comed has 12 operating units at six sites and one unit in SAFSTOR.
i The purpose of the visit is to discuss the performance at each of the sites
!- and challenges and issues that the licensee believes needs to be addressed, f
i
-not only at the plants, but by the company in general, l- The following items are enclosed.in the briefing package:
3 L_ =
Names and Resumes of the Comed Officials
] . Comed's Agenda for the Visit
- Corporate Organization Chart
! . Background of Comed Plant Performance '
i'
- Current Issues and Concerns
- - . Points to be Emphasized j =
Plant Status Sheets
!< Should you require any additional information, please contact either me (415-1395) or Mr. George Dick (415-3019).
4 Docket Nos. STN 50-454, STN 50-455, L STN 50-456, STN 50-457, 50-237, '
- 50-249, 50-373, 50-374, 50-254, l 50-265, 50-295, 50-304 L
i Attachments: As Stated 3:
I cc: W. Russell Distribution: PDIII-2 r/f R. Assa
- F. Miraglia -G. Dick R. Latta R. Pulsifer R. Zimmerman C. Shiraki J. Stang C. Moore
' :A.-Thadani '
R. Capra P. Erickson, OIIB20 W. Axelson, RIII J.' Roe L. Miller,' RIII M. Farber, RIII B. Clayton, RIII
.H. Miller, R-III P. Hiland RIII B. McCabe ,
- To e. iv. .Ame vue d u t. indi in ih. 6.=
- c - c.,y without neio.ur.. - cooy with nei ur.. w - No o y/
i- 0FFICE l LA:Ralll-2 P PM:POIII-2A En D:PDIII-2 l C, l l
- NAME ' W ORE =' GDICK
- avl M / RCAPRA t.* -
4 DATE- 10/ 5 /95 10 k /95 " " 10/o3/95 4 X)CUMENT WE: . _ G:\COMMBR.R3 0FFICIAL RECORD COPY L 9708250199 970814
, LIMITED OFFICIAL USE ONLY
l JAMES J. O'CONNOR -
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer EXPERIENCE o
Unicom/ Commonwealth Edison Company Present - 1980 Chairman and Chief Executive Officer 1980 - 1978 Member of Board of Directors 1978 - 1977 President 1977 - 1973 Executive Vice President 1973 - 1970 Vice President 1970 - 1967 Assistant Vice President 1967 - 1966 Division Commercial Manager at Chicago North 1966 - 19 0 Staff Assistant to the Chairman of the Board and Chairman of the Executive Committee
- United States Air Force 1963 - 1960 Three years of active duty EDUCATION e JD - Georgetown Law School,1963 MBA - Harvard University,1960 BS - Holy Cross College, major in economics,1958 PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS e Director of Nuclear Energy Institute, Chairman of the Advance Reactor Corporation Director of Edison Electric Institute, past Chairman Board of the Institute of Nuclear Power Operation, past Chairman Member of Board of Directors of American Nuclear Energy Council i
J
T
,7' Michael J, Wallace Seni:t Vice President Chief Nuclear Officer EXPERIENCE Commonwealth Edison Company Present 1993 Senior Vice President and Chief Nuclear Officer
, 1 993 - 1 993 Vice President, Chief Nuclear Officer I
1993 - 1992 Vice President, Chief Nuclear Operating Officer
- 1992 1990 Vice President, Nuclear PWR Operations i
1990 - 1989 Manager of Engineering and Construction
) 1989 - 1987 Manager of Projects and Construction Services 1987 - 1982 Assistant Manager of Projects, and Braidwood Project Manager 1982 1981 Superintendent, Waukegan Station
, 1981 - 1979 Assistant Superintendent, State Line Station 1979 1978 Project Coordinator, Byron Project 1978 - 1977 Field Cost Engineer, LaSalle, Byron, and Braidwood Projects 1977 1974 Quality Assurance Engineer, NSSS Piograms 1
i United States Navy 1974 - 1969 Line Officer,' Nuclear Sub'narine Force U.S. Navy d
EDUCATION
. MBA - University of Chicago,1978 BS - Marquette University in Electrical Engineering,1969 i
-OTHER OUALIFICATIONS i
- Registered Professional Engineer 4
- PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
. Advanced Reactor Corporation, Vice President a Commonwealth Research Corporation, Vice President and Director NPOC Ad Hoc Committee for New Nuclear Power Plant Deployment Nuclear Strategic Issues Advisory Committee Nuclear Strategic Issues Steering Group l Utility Management Board for L'ie Advanced Light Water Reactor First of a Kind Engineering Program American Nuclear Society 4
- air.su 2.wptn
AGENDA FOR OCTOBER 11,1995 COMED DROP IN VISIT WITH NRC CH Af RMAN SRIRLEY J ACMSON 2:30 PM 3:30 PM
- 1. Introductory Remarks J. J. O'Connor II. Comed Nuclear Division Performance M. J. Wallace III. Discussion of Key Strategy Issues M. J. Wallace Leadership Standards and Accountability Matedel Condition Competition an% ped our i
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BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON COMED The performance of Connonwealth Edison Company (ConiEd) plants has been inconsistent and a concern to the NRC. Comed has traditionally promoted from within and as a result benefitted little from outside experience. During its '
ambitious plant construction progras during the 1970's and early 1980's, many of the company's more talented managers were moved from site to site to complete construction and get the units licensed and started up. Likewise, corporate attention and resources were focused on the newer units while they were in the latter stages of construction and licensing. As a result, the older plants generally got fewer resources and less quality management attention. Plant material condition and operating standards and practices declined.
SECY-92-228, " Performance of Commonwealth Edison Company Plants,' dated June 25, 1992, described Comed's major weaknesses. These weaknesses were-(1) lack of effectivs management attention and application of resources; (2)
, weak corporate ovtrsight of nuclear operations; (3) poor problem recognition and failure to ensure lasting corrective actions; (4) lack of adequate engineering support; and (5) an inability or reluctance to learn from experiences at Comed and other utilities.
In recent years, the cyclical prformance of Comed plants has concerned the Commission and NRC staff. Dresden was on the Watch List from June 1987 until December 1988 and was returned to the Watch List in January 1992. Zion was on the Watch List from January 1991 until January 1993; however, the rate of performance improvement was not sustained. Declining performance at Quad Cities was discussed at the June 1991 and June 1993 SMMs; a Diagnostic Evaluation Team (DET) assessment was performed there in the fall of 1993.
Both Quad Cities and LaSalle were issued Trending Letters in January 1994 and again in June 1994. Significant problems were even noted at Dresden, Unit 1, which was permanently shut down in 1978. In January 1994, a significant freezing event on Unit 1 identified a number of management. oversight weaknesses. In January 1995, Quad Cities received a third Trending Letter and LaSalle was removed from the Trending Category. Braidwood has been an average performer; however personnel and equipment problems indicate that performance may be declining. Byron's performance has been excellent and it was identified as a Good Performer at the January 1994, June 1994 and January 1995
, SMMs. Presently Dresden is the only one of the Comed plants on the Watch i List. However, the performance at LaSalle, Quad Cities, Zion, and Braidwood remains a staff concern, only within the last several years has Comed begun to take significant steps to improve performance. These steps included reorganizing to clearly establish responsibilities for plant operation and oversight; increasing the company's engineering capability;~ improving craft. skills; benchmarking their performance against other utilities; and (maybe most' importantly)~ hiring L management individuals from outside the company. These individuals included l several corporate vice presidents, site vice presidents, plant managers, and various senior and mid-level plant management individuals. A number of the managers hired early in this process had no experience in improving the Attachment 4 s
performance of problem plants and were not effective in doing so at Comed. -
This resulted in numerous senior management changes at the poorer perfoming.
plants, More recently, managers with proven track records have been hired and ,
some improvements in expectations and performance have been noted, particularly at Quad Cities.
l l
l 1
Current Issues and Concerns
- Plant Performance Comed still faces significant operatio&1 challenges. During the last 3 years, the licensee has implemented hth corporate and site reorganizations and has brought in considerable management talent from outside Comed. However, the older stations (Dresden, Quad Cities and Zion) continue to be challenged by longstanding material condition and human performance problems.
Quad cities has had an effective management team in place for almost a year and appears to be making progress in raising standards and accountability, most notably in conduct of operations in the control room. The most recent Unit 2 outage significantly improved some major equipment deficiencies. However, the maintenance backlog remains high and the work control process has been ineffective.
Dresden management has been changed frequently and has continued to struggle with power operation and outage performance. While there has been some improvement at Dresden, it has been sporadic. The Site Vice President, Mr. Tom Joyce, is a long-term Comed employee and just recently was assigned to INP0 for a 6-month developmental assignment.
Mr. Stephen (Steve) Perry, BWR Vice President, is actively filling the l position during Mr. Joyce's absence. Some progress has been made, particularly with large rotating equipment, the maintenance backlog, and conduct of operations. Operations improved significantly from the Senior Vice President's initiative to require all licensed operators to attend conservative decisionmaking training.
Comed has tried to address problems at Zion with a unproven management team consisting largely of individuals from within the company. While performance is now improved from that in the 1990 time frama (when the NRC performed a DET assessment), it has stagnated for the last few years. Zion has a very high corrective maintenance work backlog, and has not taken effective corrective action to reduce it.
LaSalle has brought in several capable managers from outside Comed and I there has been slow, but steady improvement in material condition and human performance.
Braidwood, long considered a good performer, has had recent equipment problems due to a high threshold for identifying problems, and weak-engineering and corrective actions. As such, material condition has declined.
Byron is a good performer, but has lost several key management
[ individuals to other Comed stations. It will be a challenge for the new managers to maintain the current level of performance.
Attachment 5 t,
- The Byron 1 and Braidwood I steam generator tubes are subject to outside diameter stress corrosion cracking (005CC) at the tube support pistes (TSPs). As a consequence, both plants are operating with approximately 10% of their tubes plugged. It is believed that the 00 SCC at the TSPs is attributable to the use of carbon steel TSPs the type of crevice _
between the tube and TSP, and prior secondary side chemistry control.
The licensee's long-term solution is to replace the steam generators; Braidwood is scheduled to be done in the fall of 1998 and Byron in the spring of 1999.
In the short ters, the licensee is taking steps to safely maintain as high a power output as possible with the degraded steam generators. At present the licensee is required to repair or remove from service. thost tubes that have eddy current voltages greater than 1 volt. The licensee has requested staff approval by November 7,1995, to use a voltage-based repair criterion of 3.0. volts to be applied to the Braidwood I refueling l outage and the Byron 1 sid-cycle outage, both occurring this fall. This l pending request deviates frc,a the 1 volt authorized by the staff in GL
! g5-05 thereby involving technical questions not previously reviewed by the staff. The licensee estimates that if it can not implement the 3.0 volts criteria it will lose between $50M and $60M in power revenue ever the remaining life of these steam generators.
The major premise of the licensee's basis for its request of the 3.8 volts criteria is that in the event of a main steamline break (MSLB) degraded tubes would be prevented from rupturing because they would be constrained by the TSPs. The licensee proposes to ensure limited movemant of the TSPs following a MSLB by expanding selected tubes immediately above and below the TSPs on the hot leg side of the SGs to provide additional rigidity to the TSPs. The three major technical issues to be addressed are: (1) actual leakage from a tube at the T3P during a MSLB; (2) increasinfi the susceptibility of the expanded tubes to circumferential cracking 'n the area of the expansion; ed (3) predicting the transi6nt differential pressure across a TSP esing a MSLB which is then used to predict TSP deflection.
The first issue was resolved through an experimental program that measured leak rates of degraded tubes when subjected to MSLB differential pressures. .The second issue was resolved by the licensee couaitting to an enhanced inspection pro degradation in the tube expansion area. gram that wouldissue The remaining detect~1sfurther that of predicting the differential pressures across the TSPs. To date, predictions have been made from a number of different models, none of which was developed for this application. Because it is not clear how closely the models predict actual pressures, the staff has proposed to conservatively estimate the TSP loads. At this time there is disagreement between the licensee and the staff about the magnitude of-the appropriate loads. The magnitude of the loads affects the number of
tubes which must be expanded in order to minimize movement of the TSPs.' '
. Technical Soecification Unorades All of the Comed sites are upgrading their Technical Specifications (TS .
the)old version of the Standard Technical $>ecifications.Dresden and Quad Cities Implementation is scheduled for completion >y the end of the year for Dresden and June 1996 for Quad Cities. Zion is converting to the with full Improved Standard implementation Technical scheduled Specifications for June 1996. Applicat (iSTS) ions from Byron, Braidsood, and LaSalle for conversion to iSTS are expected in June 1996.
- Emeroency Doerations Facility (E0F)
In March 1993. Comed requested, that in the event that E0F activation is required for a site, the corporate EOF in Downers Grove be used as an interim EOF untti the nearsite EOF is activated. The submittal was made following concerns identified by Region III inspectors regarding Comed's ability to staff its EOFs within the 1 hour1.157407e-5 days <br />2.777778e-4 hours <br />1.653439e-6 weeks <br />3.805e-7 months <br /> goal specified in NUREG-0737, Supplement 1. Because the corporate EOF is more than 20 miles from any of the Comed sites, Comission approval is required for the change. The technical issues have been resolved; the staff is preparing a Commission Paper recommending approval.
In anticipation of receipt of Comission approval for the interin EOF, the licensee has requested approval for the consolidation of the near site EOFs in one single central E0F located at Downers Grove. - To date, no review has been initiated pending resolution of the interin E0F.
- Comoany Restructured in June 1994 the company was restructured. Comed became wholly owned subsiditry of Unicos, the stated purpose being to permit the company to compete in an unregulated environment. The stockholders of Comed became the common stockholders of Unicos in the same proportion as they previously held Comed stock. NRC staff review of the restructuring concluded that there was no detrimental effect on the operation of the nuclear units.
. Potential Staff Reductions Several of Comed's corporate offices are undergoing a detailed function and personnel review with the expected elimination of a significant
-number of positions. ~ Although there has been no official information regarding similar efforts at.the plants, the staff believes that reductions may be forthcoming.
Points to be Emphasized e-Dresden and Guad Cities Material Condition & Human Perfomance lucrovements Needed
- While steps have been taken at Dresden and Quad Cities to improve material condition over several years and management changes have been made, Comed has a long way to go on these plants. The Quad Cities management team has made good progress in resolution of major plant deficiencies while the Dresden management team has yet to prove itself.
Significant work remains to fully resolve equipment, technical support and work control issues. While both stations have made some progress in improving human performance standards and accountability (e.g., recent steps to improve control room standards) sustained management attention and stability are critical to achieve needed station-wide, lasting change.
. Zion Proaress Slow While equipment and personnel performance at Comed's other older station (Zion) has not recently declined to the level of Dresden and Quad l Cities, in some respects progress has been slower. Because of concerns I
with the slow progress, we will be closely evaluating the effectiveness of the new management team.
- Maintain Attention on taSalle LaSalle has made slow but steady improvements over the last year.
However, equipment problems and poor original design issues continue to challenge the operators. It is important that Comed management ensures this improving trend continues.
Arrest Material Condition Decline at Braidwood I We are concerned that Comed has allowed material condition to degrade at Braidwood, their newest plant. Weak engineering and corrective actions, high threshold for identifying problems, and lack of questioning attitude by most plaat disciplines have led to a gradual- decline in overall plant performance. Comed management needs to address this situation before it becomes a safety conce.rn.
- Many Mannaement Chances Could Affect Byron performance Byron has had numerous management and staff personnel changes over the inst couple of years. Many of these individuals have taken positions at the poorer performing plants. We will monitor Byron's performance in light of all these changes.
- Maintain Focus on Plant performance CoeEd needs to maintain a management focus on plant performance and Attachment 6 1
~
ensure that re'.ources are used to see improvement programs through to '
the end. Too often, the licensee has ' declared victory" too soon and abandoned programs prior to completion or changed the management team too quickly after improvements were noted (e.g., Zion).
Take a Leadina Role in Technical Issues Licensees must take the lead in the resolution of technical issues that may arise. The staff believes, for example, that the licensee has been unduly dependent on the staff to lead the resolution of the steam
.. generator issues at Byron and Braidwood. Our expectation is that the licensees conduct adequate research and evaluation up front such that the path leading to resolution and NRC approval is clear, direct and I'
defensible without requiring an excessive commitment of staff resources.
Maintaim Strona Manaaement Oversiaht in Decentralizatiqn ,
While reducing rest,urces to stay competitive, licensees should carefully evaluate the effect of planned reductions on all aspects of plant operation so that safe operation of the plants is not compromised.
Further, with Comed's large number of nuclear units and its efforts toward decentralization, strong corporate management oversight of the sites is important in maintaining the Comed's authority and responsibility for its nuclear program.
'I
.t BRAIDWOOD STATION. UNITS 1 AND 2 Licensee: Comonwealth Edison Company (Comed)
Reactor Type: PWR (Westinghouse) 4 Loops .
Unit 1 Unit 2 Power Level: 3411 MWt 3411 Mit CP Issuance Date: December 31, 1975 December 31, 1975 OL 1:suance Date: May 21, 1987 December 18, 1987 OL Expiration Date: October 17, 2026 December 18, 2027 OL Recapture Date: N/A N/A CURRENT OPERATING STATUS Unit 1: The unit shutdown on 09/30/95 to start a 50 day refueling outage. !
Unit 2: Operating at power. Restarted on 05/07/95, after recovering frcm a forced outage due to RCS leak from loop stop by) ass valves packing. Next refueling outage is scieduled for 03/02/96.
CURRENT TECHNICAL ISSUES AND SIGNIFICANT EVENTS Unit I steam generators (SG) are Westinghouse "D4" models. These generators have displayed tube degradation (ODSCC) at tube support plate (TSP) crevices. On 05/07/94 the staff approved a request for application of a 1 volt IPC for re particular tube degradation mechanism. Unit pair 1 ofistubes now with this operating with approximately 10 percent of the steam generator tubes plugged. Because there were several instances of voltage growths in excess of 2.7 volts (the value below which there is a high level of confidence of maintaining completa structural integrity of the tubes), the staff required that the licensee conduct a mid-cycle inspection which was done in 02/95. -Unit 2 steam
' generators are Westinghouse "D5" models which have not shown the
, eccelerated tube degradations.
Unit I was shut-down on 02/19/95 for a mid-cycle outage to inspect steam generator tubes; the inspection revealed that the tube degradation continued at the previously observed rate. Following the outage,'the unit was restarted on 03/14/95.
On 02/13/95, the licensee initially submitted a request for a license amendment to implement a 3 volt IPC repair limit for hot .
l 1eg TSP intersections with tubes expanded into the TSPs and a 1 volt limit for TSP cold leg intersections which do not have expanded tubes. Several revisions have been made to the request, the most recent one being on 09/01/95.- The submittal is under review by the staff.
t Attachment 7
i Braic' wood, Units 1 and 2 '
.The licensee has informed the staff that the Unit I steam generators will be replaced during the September 1998 refueling outage.
In 05/95 Tim Tulon was selected as the plant manager. . Before l becoming plant manager, Mr. Tulon was a technical assistant.to the Executive Vice President for PWRs and prior to that he was the operations manager at Byron Station.
- -RECENT LICENSEE PERFORMANCE Braidwood has been considered to be an average operating facility.
Recently, significant maintenance and operational errors have i
occurred. Material condition, self assessment, and craft skills r
are developing problem areas. Problems with engineering l performance have also been observed, notably poor engineering evalestions and weak test controls.
The most recent SALP period ended on 09/30/95. The previous SALP l report included Category I ratings in maintenance and operations l and Cetegory 2 ratings in engineering snd plant support for the period ending 02/19/94.
t i - On 05/30/95, a Severity Level III violation with $100,000 civil i penalty was issued for operating Unit 2 with the hydrogen monitoring system disconnected for two months, potentially defeating containment integrity during a severe accident, i
- On 09/21/95, NRC held a pre-decisional enforcement conference with
- the licensee to discuss Braidwood's failure to properly identify
- the safety significance of the failure of a 125 volt de battery
- room exhaust fan. .
Comonwealth Edison intends to convert the Braidwood 1/2 Technical l Specifications to the Improved Standard Technical Specification.
4 Comed is planning to submit the amendment package by 06/96.
I i:
i j
2 Contacii: Ramin R. Assa, 415-1391 10/95 i
d BYRON STATION. UNITS 1 AND 2 Licensee: Comonwealth Edison Company (Comed)_ -
Reactor Type: PWR (Westinghouse) 4 Loops Unit 1 Unit 2 Power Level: 3411 Wt 3411 Et
. CP Issuance Date: December 31, 1975- December 31, 1975 OL 1ssuance Date: October 31, 1984 November 6, 1986 OL Expiration Date: October 31, 2024 November 6, 2026 OL Recapture Date: N/A N/A CURRENT OPERATING STATUS Unit 1: Operating at Power. Restarted from last outage on 12/10/94. Nid cycle outage scheduled to begin on 10/20/95. Next refueling outage scheduled for 03/96.
l Unit 2: Operating at Power. Restarted from last refueling outage on 03/26/95. Next refueling outage scheduled for 09/96.
CURRENT TECHNICAL ISSUES AND SIGNIFICANT EVENTS Unit I steam generators (SG) are Westinghouse "D4' models. These generators have displayed tube degradation (0DSCC) at tube support plate (TSP) crevices. On 10/24/94, the staff approved a request for application-of a 1 volt IPC for' repair of tubes with this particular tube degradation mechanism. Unit I now has a total of 9.6 percent of the steam generator tubes plugged. The percentage of plugged tubes for specific steam generators varies from 4.8 percent to 12.3 percent. Because there were several instances cf voltage growths in excess cf 2.7 volts (the value below which there is a high level of confidence of maintaintag complete structural integrity of the tubes), the staff required that the
-licensee conduct a mid-cycle inspection which is scheduled to begin on 10/20/95. Unit 2 steam generators are Westinghouse "D5' models which have not shown the accelerated tube degradations.
j -
The licensee has informed the staff that the Unit I steam generators will be replaced during-the 1999 refueling outage. The >
new steam generators will be manufactured by Babcock and Wilcox.
On 02/13/95, the licensee initially submitted a request for a license amendment to implement a 3 volt IPC repair limit for hot leg TSP. intersections with tubes expanded into the TSPs and a 1 volt limit for TSP cold leg intersections which do not have expanded tubes. Several revisions have been made to the request,
) the most recent one being on 09/01/95. The submittal is under review by the staff.
Byron, Units 1 and 2 In 05/95, Kurt
- There have been several recent management changes.
Kofron became the new Plant Manager. Mr. Kofron was previously the Plant Manager at Braidwood. In 06/95, Dave Wozniak, formerly the Operations Manager at Zion, was assigned as the Site Engineering Manager.
- Commonwealth Edison intends to convert the Byron Technical Specifications to the Improved Technical Specifications. Comed is planning to submit the amendment package by 06/96.
- RECENT LICENSEE PERFORMANCE
- Byron is considered to be an above average performer, operating conservatively. The NRC placed Byron Station on the good performance list in 01/94. It remained on the good performer list folicwing the 06/94 and 01/95 Senior Management Meetings. The licensee is self-critical by identifying and resolving performance problems. The most recent SALP results for the period ending 08/20/94 were a rating of "1" in all four functional areas. Byron is on a 24 month SALP cycle.
- Although the licensee's overall performance is considered good, a recurring problem has been personnel errors; including improperly l performed maintenance, tagout errors, return to service errors.
l During a recent requalification exam (06/95) 6 of 23 crews failed the annual dynamic simulator requalification examination. Failure rates would not have been as high under NRC criteria. However, personnel error were the major contributor to the failures.
Contact:
George F. Dick, 415-3019 10/95
t
} .-
DRESDEN NUCLEAR POWER STATION. UNITS 2 AND 3 i
Li:ensee: Connonwealth Edison Company (Ceco) l -Reactor Type: . (GE) BWR-3.- Mark 1 Containment ,
- Power Level
W 2527 Mwt Unit 3 2527 Mwt CP !ssuance Date: Janutry 10, 1966 October 14, 1966 l DL !ssuance Date: February 20, 1991* January 'll,1971' l- OL Expiration Date: January 10, 2006 October 14, 2006 OL Recapture Date:
i Have not applied January 12, 2011
!
- POL Date: December 22, 1969 l
- CURRENT 0*ERATING STATUS Unit 2: Is currently in a refueling outage which began on j 06/02/95. The unit is scheduled to restart in early
- 11/95.
- j. -
Unit 3: The unit restarted on 09/22/95 from a forced outage i due to a turbine blade failure. On 09/28/95, the unit i tripped due to an apparent failure of the main '
j generator exciter.
CURRENT TECHNICAL 1.SSUES AND SIGNIFICANT EVENTS Turt>ine Failure
! On 05/28/95,-the Unit 3 reactor tripped from full power due to a
! main turbine trip. The turbine trisped on high vibration due to a failed blade in the last stage of tie "C" low pressure turbine. One i of the blades on the last stage of the turbine fractured about 8 inches from the blade's tip and two additional blades were bent, as j a result of the fractured blade impacting the casing and blades, j The licensee's investigation indicated that the blade failure 4
mechanism was fatigue cracking initiated in the stellite surfaced
- wear saterial on the leading edge of the turbine blade. The-t cracking propagated transversely through the stellite-to-base metal
? weld joint and then through the base metal.
!: The subject turbine blading was " reverse engineered" by ABB from i original GE blades and manufactured fcr ABB in the UK by Turbine
- Blading Ltd. in the mid 1980s. Dresden Units 2 & 3 utilize the i- reverse engineered blades in combination with the original GE
- i. supplied blades., No_ ether nuclear plants are known to utilize the
! AB8 reverse engineered blades with the stellite wear meterial on the leading edge. Qu'ad Cities, Unit I will be inspected during the next outage.
- Liquid penetrant examinations of the Dresden Unit 3 "C" low pressure j
turbine blading identified numerous indications in the leading 4 stellite edge. A total of 47 blades of the 208 examined exhibited 2 indications. Routine Dresden inspections of the turbine blading did i
m
~r .., # ,,-- - - - . _ . -_ _ _ _ _ . _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ . _ . _ _ . _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ . _ -
O Dresden, Units 2'and 3 .
not include a penetrant examination of the stellite edge. A mag- -
particle inspection of the entire blade was done; however, the non. -
magnetic stellite would not reveal indications using that method.
The licensee re>1 aced all the dsfactive ABB manufactured turbine
, blades with tur)ine blades manufactured by GE in both the Unit 2 and Unit 3 low pressure turbines.
Technical Specification Upgrade Program In 1991, a Diagnostic Evaluation Team at Dresden concluded that the custom TS at Dresden required numerous interpretations that could result in operational difficulties. In response, Commonwealth
. Edison initiated a TS upgrade program (TSUP) to upgrade the custom TS at Dresden and at its sister site Quad Cities to the BWR Standard Technical Specifications. Initial amendment requests were submitted
- in 1992 and 1993 followed by supplements in 19C5. Technical review is being conducted by NRR Projects with concurrence by the applicable technical review branches. Of the 17 TS sections to be upgraded, amendmerts have been issued for 11 sections and 6 sections are under review or in concurrence. The licensee is preparing 4
clean-up packages to address issues which have been left as open items in the issued amendments. The entire program is expected to be completed in the fall of 1995 with-implementation by the end of the year.
l Core Shroud Status During the Dresden Unit 3 and Quad Cities Unit I refueling outages in the spring of 1994 ConiEd discovered significant cracking in the circumferential welds in the core shrouds at both units. The l licensee submitted analyses showing that the cracked core shrouds could maintain margins against failure as specified in Section XI of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code (Code). The NRC staff evaluated the licensee's l analyses and concluded that the cracked shrouds would satisfy AShE i
Code margins against weld failure for 15 months of operation. These units are shutting down for refueling in the early spring of 1996 at
! which time the licensee will effect permanent repairs to the core
' shrouds in each unit. Dresden Unit 2 and Quad Cities Unit 2 have completed permanent repairs to the core shrouds in both units. The shroud repair plans were submitted to the staff for review and approval. The staff issued the Quad Cities Safety Evaluation approving the shroud repair on 06/08/95 prior to the unit restart.
- The staff plans to issue the Dresden Safety Evoluation prior to the Unit 2 restart from the current refueling outage which is scheduled for early 11/95.
I -
The licensee had committed to install two (2) additional diesel generators to meet the requirements of the Station Blackout (SBO) l l
Dresden, Units l2'and 3 .
Rule,10CFR50.63. Diesel installation as well as the interconnecting cabling is nearing complation and operation was scheduled for 12 to 03/96 of the n/30/95.
ext UnitThis is beingoutage 3 refueling delayed due to where thethe reschedule final .SB0 modification work for the station would be completed. A schedular exemption has been requested by the licensee.
RECENT LICENSEE PERFORMANCE Dresden remains on the watch list. The uni'.s were put'on the watch list in January 1992.
The SALP report for the period ending 03/95 was issued on 04/27/95.
Dresden received Category 3 ratings in Plant Operations and Engineering. Ma!ntenance and Plant Support received a Category 2 rating. Weaknesses were observed in routine plant operations -lack of a strong safety focus in engineering and work control problems in Maintenance.
The NRC's inspections and overview activities have confirmed that the performance of Dresder Station is tsproving, although very slowly. In order to bring additional management focus to the Dresden i Station, the positions of Station Manager, Operations Manager and
- Maintenance Superintendent were unitized in the Fall of 1994. In 06/95 Comed announced that the positions of Station Manager and Operations Manager will no longer be unitized. Mr, John Michael (Mike) Heffley was selected as the new single Station Manager-at the Dresden Station. Mr. Heffley was serving as the Dresden Unit 3 Station Manager. Mr.-Tim O'Connor, the Unit 2 Operations Manager, was named as the new Operations Manager for the entire station. Mr.
Richard (Dick) Bax, the previous Unit 2 Station Manager, and Mr.
Gerry Tietz, the previous Unit 3 Operations Manager, remain at Dresden to provide management oversight for the current Unit ?
refueling outage. The Maintenance Department management will remain unitized. Improvement in the condition of the units' large rotating equipment have been made. Progress in the areas of self-assessment, engineering, and operations has been slow, and much remains to be done. Attention is still needed in the areas of personnel errors, radiological protection and engineering work. Mr.-Tom Joyce the current site Vice President at the Dresden Station has been
~
temporarily reassigned. Mr. Joyce will be going to INP0 where he will be assessing other plants which have had a decline in performance and have established a successful plan to reestablish acceptable performance. He will be at INP0 for approximately six
' months. During
LASALLE COUNTY STATION. UNITS 1 AND 2 Licensee: Commonwealth Edison Company (Comed)
Reactor Type: (GE) BWR-5, Mark 2 Containment Unit 1 Unit 2 Power level: 3323 MWt 3323 MWt CP Issuance Date: September 10, 1973 September 10, 1973 OL Issuance Date: April 17, 1982 December 16, 1983 CL Expiration Date: April 17, 2022 December 16, 2023 OL Recapture Date: N/A N/A
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CURRENT OPERATING STATUS Unit 1: Currently operating at power. Unit tripped on 09/24/95 during a surveillance test of the overspeed trip function of a turbine driven main feedwater pump and was returned to service on 09/28/95. Next refueling outage scheduled for 01/96.
Unit 2: Started up on 09/23/95 following a forced outage to trouble shoot and repair oscillations of 2A reactor recirculation flow control valve. Next refueling outage scheduled for 09/96.
+
CURRENT TECHNICAL ISSUES AND SIGNIFICANT EVENTS The station is implementing various organizational and progrannatic improvement efforts. Near-term attention has been focused on material condition / equipment availability, radiation protection, issues management, and management and leadership controls.
Plant events, including scrams, and equipment failures have demonstrated that material condition remains an issue at LaSalle.
Contributing to the material condition problems are historical weaknesses in preventive maintenance, corrective action programs, and a lack of emphasis on equipment and system reliability.
Dealing with emergent work has hindered progress on resolving long standing equipment problems.
The recent Unit 2 refueling outage was extended by approximately 50 days as a result of equipment prcblems discovered during the outage or experienced during the restart. These problems included leakage past the RHR shutdown coo)iag isolation valves, main condenser inleakage.due to a breach of a condenser hood boot seal, and leakage from the RCIC inboard steam isolation valve.
RECENT LICENSEE PERFORMANCE During the most recent SALP period (06/93-11/94), Category 2 ratings were assigned in the functional areas of plant operations and engineering and Category 3 ratings were given in the areas of maintenance and plant support. The report stated that some
e i
a LaSalle, Units 1 and 2 -F-improvement in the identification of problems had been observed;. -
however, resolution of issues and the impova.at of the plant's~ l saterial condition had not yet occurred. i i
Recent audits and inspections noted some aprovement in l radiological controls, issues management, work control and '
- housekeeping. Im
, action programs. provements have also beti noted in corrective
- Problems in the area of equipment reliability and availability have continued to be an issue. There has been a decrease in the
- frequency of unplanned scrams and several modifications to improve
- plant material condition have been implemented. Licensee efforts I to further improve the plant's niaterial condition include !
increasing the roles and responsibilities of system engineers and plant operators. The system engineer W program is improving but !
has been slow in accomplishing the 'a related to improving '
system and component performance. ,ue licentee assigned a focus
- team to review and recommend priorities for the improvement of
, , material condition, Staff assessmants of these initiatives have been positive and recent inspections have observed slow progress in improving the plant material condition. The recently completed ,
Unit 2 outage is thought to have diverted ettention from the improvement programs.
During the recently completed Unit 2 outage, a number of personnel i errors and equipment problems led licensee management to invoke two stand-downs of outage activities while investigations t.nd corrective actions were performed. The licensee developed i
improved expectations for personnel and performed training for the licensed operators to reinforce those expectations.
- On 08/16/95 an output breaker on the IB RPS motor generator set opened causing the reactor building ventilation system to trip.
An independent failure cf a containment isolation relay to reset after operators installed jnpers resulted in an MS!V isolation
, ano reactor scram. Seven chenels of nuclear instruments (SRMs &
1 IRMs) were unavailable or failed during the event. The overall f shift crew performance during the scram was good. However, the station's tolerance of a design condition that requires oprators 5
to install jumpers within just a few minutes to prevent a dual unit MSIV closure after the loss of ventilation, indicates that the acceptance of workarounds is still a problem.
i
Contact:
Robert Latta, 415-1314 10/g5
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4 l' 00AD CITits NUCLEAR POWER STATION. UNITS 1 AND 2
! Licenseet Commonwealth Edison Company (Comed) .
j Reactor Types (GE)BWR3, Mark 1 Containment
! Unw1 Uni' 2 :
1 Power Levelt 25L Mwt alle Mwt i CP issuance Date: February 15, 1967 February 15, 1967 i i OL !ssuance Date - _
December 14, 1972 December 14, 1972 ;
i OL Original Expiration Date: February ll, 2007 February ll, 2007
- 0L Recapture Dates December 14, 2012 December 14, 2012 l
- CURRENT OPERATING STATUS
! - Unit 1 is operating at power with a continuous run of over 250 +
l days.
1 Unit 2 is operating at power. After shutting down for a refueling outape on 03/05/95,-startup activities were begun in 07/95 and
{ com> eted in late 09/95. The licensee encountered several pro)1 ems during startup including equipment leaks, recirculation pum) speed increase due to data acquisition equi > ment, oscillating i turaine bypass valves, EHC fluid lasks, leaking 9RVs,- and CRD's i that would not move during CRD exercising. The plant shut down l four times since 07/20/95 due to these problems.
1 '
[
- CURRENT TECHNICAL ISSUES AND SIGNIFICANT EVENTS i -
Inspection of the Unit I core shroud has identified significant
- cracktso. On 07/11/94, the staff issued a safety evaluation
! conclud'ng that Unit I can safely operate for 15 months above cold -
! shutdown without making any repair. During the Unit-t outage,_the ,
!- licensee had repaired that unit's shroud. However, during the-reassembly of the vessel internals two support legs cf the shroud
- head / steam separator assembly interfered with the shroud repair -
hardware. Two support legs of the shroud head / steam dryer *
- assesMy had to be removed. During the Dresden I shroud work '
! evaluation,-the licensee discovered that a single mass point .
- discrepancy which has been in both Dresden and Quad Cities seismic il analyses since 1968 perpetuated through the most recent shroud l' reanalysis. The licensee has-stated that the plants remain operable and they submitted their operability determination on the docket. The licensee will also submit a corrected seismic
- analysis.
! 1 l The plant specific Technical Specification Upgrade Programis ongo tions i at Dresden and Quad Cities. - A total of 12 packa es have been-
]
I submitted. Technical review is being conducted NRR Projects with concurrence by the applicabir technical revi w branches. The j entire program is expected to be completed in 1995 with implementation at Quad Cities by June 30, 1996.
p.
,l .
Quad Cities, Units 1 and 2 .
In order to eliminate a single failure vulnerability, the staff '
approved an amendment _ request regarding a modification of the reactor vessel level indication system. The initial modification was performed in response to Bulletin 93-03. . The permanent modifications were completed for Unit 1 and have just been completed during the recent refueling outage for Unit 2.
The licensee had comitted to install two (2) additional diesel
' tenerators to meet the ule, 10CFR50.63. requirements Diesel of as installation thewell Station Blackout (580) as the interconnecting cabling is nearing completion and operation was scheduled for 12/30/95. This is being delayed due to the
' reschedule to 02/96 of the next Unit I refueling outage where the final 5B0 modification work for the station would be com A schedular exemption has been requested by the licensee. pleted.
l
- RECENT LICENSEE PERFORMANCE As of 06/95, the Quad Cities units were removed from the list for the plants with declining trends.
The last SALP' evaluation ending in 7/95, resulted in a Category 2 rating in Operations, Engineering, and Plant Support and a Category 3 rating for maintenance.
The senior management team has clearly demonstrated an improved safety focus and a conservative operating philosophy. Senior management has established a clear course of action for the stat'on and is effectively comunicating performance expectatione, setting standards, and accountability. Notable examples include significant improvement in the conduct of control room operations, the increased scope of outages to fix major equipment deficiencies and improve material condition, and the aggressive management response to plant events. ALARA planning and implementation, the identification and reporting of evaluaticos have also improved.The problems, and engineering site quality verification organization's performance improved.
Current issues with licensee performance include personnel perforenhce, corrective action program, out of service control,
. work scheduling, quality of work and supervisory oversight in a:aintuance, m.terial condition, and high collective dose.
Contact:
Robert M. ?ulsifer. 415-3016 10/95
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s 1 *' .
i Il0N NUCLEAR POWER STATION. UNITS 1 AND 2 j Licensee: CommonwealthEdisonCompany(Comed) '
Reactor Type PWR (Westinghouse) 4 Loops l .
Power Levels t t l CP !ssuance Date December 26, 1968 December 26, 1968
, OL Issuance Date April 6. 1973 November 14, 1973 OL Expiration Date: April 6, 2013 November 14, 2013
} OL Recapture Date: N/A N/A j
- CURRENT DPERATING STATUS Unit I shutdown for a refueling outage on 09/09/95, which is i currently scheduled for 64 days. Scheduled restart date is i
11/11 i early/95. Prior 11/94, with to the shutdown, exceptionUnit of a 1 3operated for 306 day outage daysasince to repair i leaking SG manway.
c 1 -
The Unit 2 return to service date from its refueling outage was j
04/18/95. As of 09/30/95, it had operated for 165 days. Next refueling optage is in 09/96. ,
{ CURRENT TECHNICAL !$$UES AND $1GNIFICANT EVENTS A license amendment with new acceptance criteria (F-star) for i
steam generator tubes with degradation in the tubesheet roll i expansion region was issued. It may also allow the licensee to return some tubes to service that have been plugged. >
RECENT LICENSEE PERFORMANCE The licensu received a Category 2 rating in each of the !
i l-functional areas in the most recent SALP, which covered the period from 12/01/92 through 05/28/94. Its current SALP pertad ends on j 12/23/95, i ,
i -
The licensee is in the process of converting to 'the standardized l TS, with full implementation scheduled for June 1996.
I The licensu 's performance is characterized by below average satorial condition, recurring poor work performance, ineffective work planning and coordination, and high total dose.
The licensee was granted five Notices of Enforcement Discretion
- between 03/23/95 and 06 compilance issues assoc /13/95 for Technical specificationsiated i being performed, steam generator operability and incorrectly sequenced emergency diesel generator testing. The Notice of i Violation issued on 09/22/95 classified the violations as Severity
(>
Level !!!, but did not levy a Civil Penalty.
j contact: Clyde V. Shiraki, 415-3101 10/95 t
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