ML20274A376
| ML20274A376 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Turkey Point  |
| Issue date: | 10/15/2020 |
| From: | Kristine Svinicki NRC/Chairman |
| To: | Mucarsel-Powell D US HR (House of Representatives) |
| Storch J | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20246G574 | List: |
| References | |
| CORR-20-0097, LTR-20-0327 | |
| Download: ML20274A376 (2) | |
Text
Additional Information Representative MucarselPowell Letter DatedSeptember 1,2020 1, Specialinspection associated withtheAugust 2020unplanned shutdowns:
Thespecial inspection's objectives aretoassess thecircumstances surrounding three unplanned shutdowns thatoccurredatTurkey Point Nuclear Generating Station (Turkey Point) onAugust 17, August 19,andAugust 20,2020;topromptly disseminate
- thefacts, conditions, circumstances, andcausesoftheevents; andtoidentify appropriate follow-up actions.
Thespecial inspection teamcompleteda1-week onsite evaluation fromAugust 31-September 4,2020.Theteam continues toevaluate theinformation obtained onsite.
Thescopeoftheinspection includes thefollowing areas:
reviewing thecircumstances leading uptotheshutdowns onAugust 17,19,and20, 2020,andactions taken bythelicensee toaddressissues related totheshutdowns; assessing reactor operator performance andlicenseedecisionmaking; reviewing theadequacy ofreactor operator training; evaluating theextent towhichidentified issues havethepotential toimpact other reactor operating crews; assessing whether there wereanyimplications related tooperatorsfeeling pressured torestart thereactor orthesite's safety culture; and evaluating equipment reliability forthesystems thatwere challenged during the unplanned shutdowns that occurred onAugust 17andAugust 20.(Equipment reliability wasdetermined nottobeafactor intheAugust19 unplanned shutdown).
Theinspection conclusions andanyfindings will bedocumented inthe special inspection team's final report within 45daysofinspection completion.
Theinspection report is expected tobeavailable inearly November 2020.
2.Impacts oftheRecentUnplanned Shutdowns:
Noneofthethree unplanned shutdowns hadanimpact onpublic health andsafety, including thesafety ofemployees attheplant.
TheNRCstaff determined that theAugust 19,2020,unplanned shutdown wasautomatically initiated bytheplant's reactor protection
- system, andtheunplanned shutdowns onAugust 17,andAugust 20,2020,werestarted by plant operators before anautomatic shutdown needed tobeinitiated.
Plant safety systems functioned asdesigned during eachunplanned shutdown.
3.Safety Culture atTurkey Point:
Recognizing that events like unplanned shutdowns maybeanindicator of,ormayresult from,undetected safety culture
- issues, theNRCspecial inspection includes afocused look atwhether safety culture issues exist.
Anyconclusions maderegarding safety
- culture, will bedocumented intheinspection report.
Enclosure
2 4.NRC investigation offalsification ofrecords related toinspection andmaintenance:
- OnJuly23, 2020, theNRCstaff issued aninspection report that included theresults ofan investigation that foundworkorder records associated withrequired inspection and maintenanceof asafety-related check valve appeared tobefalsified,
- which, ifsubstantiated, wouldbea violation ofregulatory requirements.'Thefinal enforcement determination for this apparent violation willbemadefollowing analternative dispute resolution session with thelicensee scheduled for November 2020.
5.2019NRCinspection related tovalveinspectionsandmaintenance:
OnApril 15,2019,theNRCstaff issued aninspectionreport thatdocumented three findings related tovalve inspections andmaintenance.2 Eachofthefindings wasdetermined tobea violation ofNRCrequirements.
Each violation wasindividually assessed forsignificance anddetermined tobeofverylowsafetysignificance, ora"green" finding.3
'Inspection report 05000250/2020011 and05000251/2020011 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System(ADAMS)
Accession No.ML20205L316).
2Inspection report 05000250/2019010 and05000251/2019010 (ADAMS Accession No.ML19105B281).
3Theviolations wereassessed using established NRCinspection procedures (NRC Inspection Manual Chapter 0609,Appendix A).