ML20245A688

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Suppls 870409-15 Response to 870327 Request for Info Re Gao Audit of Adequacy of NRC Safety Stds for Nuclear Power Plants. Examples of Generic Orders & Orders & CALs Issued to Ref Plants Since 1981,listed
ML20245A688
Person / Time
Issue date: 04/30/1987
From: Rehm T
NRC OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR OPERATIONS (EDO)
To: Olson P
GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE
Shared Package
ML20236D840 List:
References
FOIA-87-655 CAL, NUDOCS 8705070114
Download: ML20245A688 (3)
v • d • e


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  1. persog\ UNITED STATES j 8 6 NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

f * ,  ! W ASHINGTON, D. C. 20555 l% ..O .,*

N )f April 30. 1987 1

Mr. Phil Olson.

General Accounting Office- 1 C/0~ DOE-Room E-178 ..

3 Germantown, Maryland 20548'

Dear Mr. Olson:

  • .The following information is provided in response to your request dated c March 27, 1987, related to the "GA0 Audit of Adequacy of HRC Safety: Standards for~ Nuclear Power Plants." I understand that this:information was provided to you informally. between April 9-15.

Since the beginning of.1981, the NRC has issued 500-600 Orders to licensees of

. operating power reactors...I. understand that you agreed that the level of NRC effort'necessary to provide the exact number of Orders is not warranted. These Orders included Confirmatory Orders, Show Cause Orders, and Orders Modifying Licenses. In many-cases, a single Order was issued covering multiple reactor units on a single site such as Browns. Ferry Units-1 2 and 3. Most of the Orders were generic which means that similar Orders addressing a safety issue 1 or a group of safety issues were sent to all plants or a group of plants on or l about-the same date. The following are examples of generic Orders:  ;

i 1981 - Scram Discharge Volume Issues Associated with Browns )

Ferry Event - issued to most General Electric boiling water reactors

  • 1981 - Mark I Containment Issues - issued to boiling water reactors with Mark I containments )
  • 1980/ - Environmental Qualification of Electrical Equipment -

1981 issued to most power reactors

' 1981 - Event Y (0verpressurization of low pressure ECCS piping) -

issued to plants with Event V piping configuration

  • 1982 - Mark I Containment Issues - issued to boiling water .l reactors with Mark I containments
  • 1982 - InadequateCoreCoolingInstrumentation(TMIissue)- 1 I

issued to Babcock and Wilcox reactors

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Mr. Phil,01 son L' 1983 - NUREG-0737 Issues (TMI Issues) - issued to all plants

  • 1983 - Recirculation Piping Cracks - issued to some boiling water reactors
  • 1984 - Supplement I to NUREG-0737 Issues'- issued to most plants Insa.few instances Orders have been used to shut down operating power

. reactors. On March 13, 1979, five plants (Beaver Valley 1. Surry 1&2, Fitzpatrick and Maine Yankee) were ordered to shut down because of an error

. discovered in Stone and Webster's seismic piping analyses. In 1981, the NRC-l suspended Diablo Canyon Unit I's low. power operating license because of seismic design concerns. Very few Orders actually impose a plant shut down because such imposition is-seldom needed. NRC experience shows that licensees generally shut down voluntarily once they understand the seriousness of the issue.-

1

. Orders' are mainly a tool used by the Office of Enforcement or the Office of j Nuclear Reactor Regulation, although the Comission or other NRC Offices can l also issue Orders. Traditionally Orders han* iealt mainly with licensing I issues, although occasionally Orders dealt htta more operationally oriented l issues like pipe cracking and the attentiveness of control room operators. 1 Orders continue to be used by NRC in this manner as a regulatory tool today. I Orders are legally binding. l

" As requested, copies of.0rders issued to the following five plants since the I beginning'of 1981 were given to you on April 9, 1987:

1. RanchoSeco(7 Orders) .
2. Pilgrim (10 Orders) -

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3. DavisBesse(8 Orders)
4. Brunswick (9 Orders)
5. Browns Ferry (14 Orders) ,
  • I i

. Copies of the five Orders issued March 13, 1979 regarding seismic piping analyses were also provideo to you on April 9, 1987. Copies of two other  !

Orders (Diablo Canyon, November 19, 1981; Zimmer, November 12,1982)were i provided to you on April 15, 1987. j l

i Using our available computerized document systems, we estimate that the NRC's Regional Offices have issued 150-200 ConfirmatoryActionLetters(CALs)to l licensees of operating power reactors since the beginning of 1981. While  ;

performing checks of the computerized data for a few plants, we found that some of the CALs issued by the Regional Offices were not in the system. This problem appeared to be more prevalent in the earlier years of the time frame begiming in 1981. I understand that you agreed that the level of NRC effort q

'necessary to provide the exact number of CALs is not warranted. These CALs I

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, Mr.'Phil Olson- 3 were used by the NRC to confim the NRC's' understanding of operational connitments -

. made by power reactor licensees. In contrast to Orders, CALs have been generally operationally oriented.. meaning that they resulted from operational J

- occurrences or problems. When a significant problem was identified by the

. licensee or by NRC inspection personnel, the licensee examined 3e problem and developed a solution to the problem. Then the licensee informed tnc NRC's j

' Regional Office of the proposed solution. In many cases when NRC was satu f4d with the proposed solution, the NRC sent a CAL to the licensee confirming the NRC's understanding of the proposed solution. While these CALs were not legally enforceable (Orders are legally enforceable), compliance was not a problem.

Licensees were aware that the CAL could be quickly followed by an Order if the  !

licensee did not comply with the CAL. CALs continue'to be used in this manner I as a regulatory tool by the NRC. j 1

As requested, copies of CALs issued to the following five plants since the  !

beginning of 1981 were give'n to you on April 15, 1987:

1. RanchoSeco(5CALs) l 2 .- Pilgrim (5CALs)  !
3. DavisBesse(9CALs
4. Brunswick (2 CALs) ).
5. BrownsFerry(5CALs) q These CALs were found using the computerized system and were~ provided as examples;oneofourspotchecksrevealedsomeadditionalCALs(notprovided) for Brunswick. I understand that you agreed that further NRC effort to q provide you all of the CALs for these plants is unwarranted. j l

I trust this infomation is responsive to your needs. )

Sincerely,

,, (**=d) 7. A.Ehes l

T. A. Rehm, Assistant for Operations l Office of the Executive Director '

'for Operations DISTRIBUTION: 1 Central Files M. Bridgers TPSS R/F W. Brach R. Emch J. M. Taylor  !

S. Black Regions I/II/III/IV/V J. Funches G/lo fdv '

J. Sniezek T. Murley T. Rehm GREEN TICKET 002683

  • SEE PREVIOUS CONCURRENCE

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8 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY

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