ML20247E295

Forwards Revised Sections of 980305 Special Rept Re Degradation of Plant Fire Protection Program.Revs Denoted by Rev Bars

ML20247E295
Person / Time
Site:	Catawba
Issue date:	05/04/1998
From:	Gordon Peterson DUKE POWER CO.
To:	NRC OFFICE OF INFORMATION RESOURCES MANAGEMENT (IRM)
References
NUDOCS 9805180292
Download: ML20247E295 (6)

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Dub Power

• ' Catanha Nuclear Station

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4800 Concord Road A tw a , c-,

• York, SC 29745 Gary R. Veterson INO3) NAIAASI *M y;,., yy,,;g,,,, (803) 831-3426 ux May 4, 1998 U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission ATTENTION: Document Control Desk Washiiigton, DC 20555-0001

SUBJECT:

Duke Energy Corporation Catawba Nuclear Station Units 1 and 2 Docket Nos. 50-413 and 50-414 Revision to Special Report Fire Protection Program On March 5, 1998, Duke Energy Corporation submitted a Special Report which provided information concerning a i degradation of the Fire Protection Program. Subsequently, it was recognized that the original submittal did not contain all of the required information. The report, which has been revised to include this information, is provided as an attachment to this report. Revised sections of the repor't are denoted by revision bars.

Questions regarding this Special Report should be directed to M.H. Chernoff at (803) 831-3414.

Ver' tru ours, G. R. Peterson i

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Attachment

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s ,C 9905190292 990504 "l PDR ADOCK 05000413 F PDR

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U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission May 4, 1998 ,

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Attachment Special Report Fire Protection Program Abstract:

On February 4, 1998, the fire protection panel operator and several maintenance technicians discovered that the Fire Detection Panel was apparently not communicating with i several local fire detectors. During troubleshooting of the i Fire Detection Panel, Catawba Nuclear Station personnel discovered that alarms for several areas were not functioning properly. It was further determined that some of the alarms had not been functioning properly since December 24, 1997.

Catawba Nuclear Station Units 1 and 2 Facility Operating Licenses NPF-35 and NPF-52 require that Duke Energy Corporation implement and maintain in effect all provisions of the approved Fire Protection Program, as amended. It was determined that this degradation of the Fire Detection l System constitutes a noncompliance with this license condition. Consequently, this occurrence was reported within twenty four hours of discovery pursuant to the provisions of 10 CFR 50.72 (Reference Event #33655, February 5, 1998), and this written follow-up is being provided within 30 days of the occurrence.

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l U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission May 4, 1998 i Page 3 Description of Event l

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On February 4, 1998, the fire protection panel operator and several maintenance technicians discovered that the status )

of detectors from several zones was not being indicated on 1 the Fire Detection Panel [EIIS System: IC] "ALL POINTS LOG". During subsequent troubleshooting, it was discovered that two series of alarms were not functioning properly, and that there were several additional areas of the station that were not being properly monitored by the system.

The system was declared inoperable, and fire watches were established for the affected zones in accordance with Selected Licensee Commitment 16.9-6, Fire Detection Instrumentation. Further troubleshooting and repairs to the Fire Detection Panel were initiated.

During subsequent investigation, "ALL POINTS LOG" historical printouts covering the period back to December 24, 1997, were reviewed. It was determined that some fire detection zones had been missing from the program since January 21, 1998, and that some additional zones had been missing since l December 24, 1997. The absence of fire zones from the "ALL l POINTS LOG" indicates that the zones were not being scanned l by the system. Since the zones were not being scanned, a fire in the affected zones would not have been detected and  ;

alarmed by the fire detection system.

1 Three of the computer system cards, the microprocessor board, the RAM memory board, and the cassette interface board were replaced. Channel tests were run to ensure the panel was functioning properly. The panel was declared operable on February 5, 1998, and the fire watches were discontinued.

In order to confirm reliability of the system, a once per shift comparison of the "ALL POINTS LOG" printout with the printout from the previous shift was initiated.

On February 7, 1998, the fire detection panel again malfunctioned. Fire watches were established for the affected zones. Following this malfunction, the I/O f computer board was replaced.

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. . l U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission May 4, 1998 Page 4 The panel was restored to service on February 7, 1998, and the fire watches discontinued. Hourly reviews of the "ALL POINTS LOG" were conducted until February 12, 1998. The hourly reviews were discontinued based on the absence of further problems with the Fire Detection System, and once per shift reviews were re-established.

At the time of discovery of this event, both units were operating in Mode 1, Power Operation, at approximately 100 percent rated thermal power.

Cause of Event This event has been attributed to failure of one or more of the computer cards in the Honeywell Delta 1000 Fire Detection computer. The failure of the card (s) caused loss of a portion of the memory / program used to identify the fire zones to be scanned and alarmed. Efforts to determine which board or combination of boards caused the failure were unsuccessful.

The malfunction of the Fire Detection Panel was not detected during previous routine reviews of the "ALL POINTS LOG" because of inadequate guidance for the review.

Additionally, no error message was generated at the F.'.re Protection Console when communications with the local fire detectors were lost because of the particular failure mechanism.

Corrective Actions Four computer cards in the Fire Detection System computer j were replaced, and the system was confirmed to be ,

functioning properly. I i

The "ALL POINTS LOG" is normally printed and reviewed once '

per shift by the Fire Protection Console Operator.

Additional procedural guidance for the review of the "ALL POINTS LOG" will be provided to the fire protection panel i operators to ensure an adequate review is performed. This l Corrective action is a commitment.

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U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission May 4, 1998 Page 5 Additional Information This event had no adverse effect on the health and safety of the public or plant personnel. No credit is taken for fire detection for the equipment which is used for safe shutdown in the plant, except for equipment in the annulus [EIIS System: NH] and the Auxiliary Feedwater System [EIIS System:

BA] Pump rooms. Both the annulus and the Auxiliary Feedwater System pump rooms have fixed suppression (sprinklers and carbon dioxide) which protect these areas.

Based on this, there were no safety implications associated with the fire detection system malfunction.

A search of the Problem Investigation Process database was conducted to identify previous events involving Fire Detection. No previous similar events at Catawba were identified during this search.

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U.S.' Nuclear Regulatory Commission May 4, 1998-Page 6 xc:

L. A. Reyes U. S. Nuclear Regulatory' Commission Regional Administrator, Region II Atlanta Federal Center 61 Forsyth St., SW, Suite 23T85 Atlanta, GA 30303 P. S. Tam NRC Senior Project Manager (CNS)

U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Mail Stop O-14H25 ,

Washington, DC 20555-0001 l l

D. J. Roberts Senior Resident Inspector (CNS)

U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission-Catawba Nuclear Site )

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