ML20213A116
| ML20213A116 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Hope Creek  |
| Issue date: | 01/27/1987 |
| From: | Murley T NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION I) |
| To: | Corbin McNeil Public Service Enterprise Group |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20213A118 | List: |
| References | |
| EA-86-192, NUDOCS 8702030105 | |
| Download: ML20213A116 (4) | |
See also: IR 05000354/1986041
Text
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JM 2 71987
Docket No. 50-354
License No. NPF-57
EA 86-192
Public Service Electric & Gas Company
ATTN: Mr. C. A. McNeill, Jr.
Vice President - Nuclear
Post Office Box 236"
Hancocks Bridge, New Jersey 08038
Gentlemen:
SUBJECT: NOTICE OF VIOLATION (NRC INSPECTION REPORT NOS. 50-354/86-41;
86-47; 86-50)
This refers to three NRC inspections conducted between August 13, 1986 and
October 13, 1986 at the Hope Creek Nuclear Power Station. The three inspection
reports documenting the results of the inspections were sent to you on October 6,
31, and November 6, 1986, respectively. One of the inspections was conducted
to review the circumstances associated with a violation of the Technical Speci-
fications which was identified by your staff and promptly reported to the NRC.
This violation involved the inoperability of the suppression chamber / reactor
building vacuum relief system. Another violation of the plant Technical
Specifications was identified during the other two inspections involving the
inoperability, in the event of a loss of offsite power, of acoustic monitors
for safety relief valves. Accordingly, on November 17, 1986, an enforcement
conference was conducted with you and members of your staff to discuss the
violations, their causes and your corrective actions.
Violation A described in the enclosed Notice of Violation involves the inoperable
vacuum relief system. This system was inoperable in that the differential
pressure transmitters' (DPT) sensing lines, which sense suppression chamber and
reactor building relative pressure, were reversed when connected to the DPT.
In this configuration, the butterfly valve, when required to open due to a
vacuum in the suppression chamber, would actually remain closed and, when
required to remain closed on increasing suppression chamber pressure, would
actually have opened. This error occurred because an engineer had incorrectly
described the connection of the sensing lines to the DPT on the design documents,
and neither subsequent reviews nor post installation testing resulted in iden-
tification of this error. Although the NRC recognizes that manual operation
of the butterfly valves was not affected by the error, and a reactor operator,
in fact, manually opened the valves after recognizing that the suppression
chamber vacuum had exceeded its technical specification limit, loss of this
automatic feature for operating the valves constitutes a significant violation
of the Technical Specifications.
OFFICIAL RECORD COPY
Cp PKG HOPE CREEK - 0001.0.0
8702030105 87c127
01/27/87
ADOCK 05000354
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Public Service Electric &
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This violation is classified as a Severity Level III violation in accordance
with the " General Statement of Policy and Procedure for NRC Enforcement Actions,"
10 C.F.R. Part 2, Appendix C (Enforcement Policy) (1986). Although a civil
penalty is normally considered for a Severity Level III violation, after
consultation with the Director, Office of Inspection and Enforcement, I have
decided that a civil penalty will not be proposed in this case because (1) the
violation was identified by your staff and promptly reported to the NRC; and
(2) your corrective actions, both short-term and long-term, were unusually
prompt and extensive.. Nonetheless, the NRC emphasizes that any similar viola-
tions in the future may result in escalated enforcement action.
The other Technical Specification violation, Violation B, involves the inoper-
able acoustic monitors in the event of a loss of offsite power. Since it is
considered of lower safety significance, it has been classified as a Severity
Level IV violation.
In view of the fact that your staff uncovered other
deficiencies involving the failure to meet certain commitments concerning
uninterruptable power sources, as discussed in the inspection reports, we
emphasize that any similar violations in the future may result in additional
enforcement action.
4
You are required to respond to the 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 action you
plan to prevent recurrence. After reviewing your response to this Notice,
including your proposed corrective actions, the NRC will determine whether
further NRC enforcement action is necessary to ensure compliance with NRC regula-
tory 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 enclosures
will be placed in the NRC Public Document Room.
The responses directed by this letter and the enclosed Notice are not subject
to the clearance procedures of the Office of Management and Budget, as required
by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980, Pub. L. No.96-511.
Sincerely,
,
Crin! al rigned by
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TheaniE. Mur107.
Thomas E. Murley
Regional Administrator
Enclosure: Notice of Violation
1
0FFICIAL RECORD COPY
CP PKG HOPE CREEK - 0002.0.0
01/27/87
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Public Service Electric &
Gas Company
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cc w/ encl:
P. R. H. Landrieu, Vice President - Engineering (Newark)
R. S. Salvesen, General Manager, Hope Creek Operations
A. E. Giardino, Manager, Station Quality Assurance
R. L. Mitti, General Manager, Nuclear Assurance and Regulation
W. H. Hirst, Manager, Joint Generation Projects Department, Atlantic
Electric Company
L. A. Reiter, General Manager - Licensing and Reliability
Rebecca A. Green, Bureau of Radiation Protection
Public Document Room (PDR)
local Public Document Room (LPDR)
Nuclear Safety Information Center (NSIC)
NRC Resident Inspector
State of New Jersey
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0FFICIAL RECORD COPY
CP PKG HOPE CREEK - 0003.0.0
01/27/87
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Public Service Electric &
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Region I Docket Room (with concurrences)
Management Assistant, DRMA (w/o encl)
DRP Section Chief
Robert J. Bores, DRSS
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J. Taylor, IE
B. Beach, IE
T. Murley, RI
H. Denton, NRR
D. Holody, RI
J. Lieberman, OGC
V. Stello, EDO
J. Sniezek, OED/ROGR
Enforcement Directors RII-III
Enforcement Officers RIV-RV
F. Ingram, PA
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B. Hayes, OI
S. Connelly, DIA
D. Nussbaumer, OSP
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