ML12305A255

October 25, 2012, Summary of Meeting Regarding Palisades Nuclear Plant Control Rod Mechanism (CRDM) 25

ML12305A255
Person / Time
Site:	Palisades
Issue date:	10/31/2012
From:	Jack Giessner Reactor Projects Region 3 Branch 4
To:	Entergy Nuclear Operations
References
Download: ML12305A255 (5)

Text

UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION REGION III 2443 WARRENVILLE ROAD, SUITE 210 LISLE, IL 60532

-4352 October 31, 2012 LICENSEE:

Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.

FACILITY:

Palisades Nuclear Plant

SUMMARY

OF THE OCTOBER 25, 2012, MEETING REGARDING PALISADES NUCLEAR PLANT CONTROL ROD DRIVE MECHANISM (CRDM) 25 On October 25, 2012, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) held a Conference Call Meeting with members of the Palisades management team at the NRC's request. The discussion was related to the possible indication emanating from the internal diameter (ID) of the CRDM 25 housing that was detected by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and discussed with the licensee on October 12, 2012

, and October 18, 2012.

The conference call was held after the licensee provided a plan to include more information to confirm the indications on CRDM

-25 were indeed surface scratches versus an actual crack.

This included comparing non-destructive examination (NDE) results related to two CRDMs installed at Palisades and a spare CRDM that is stored at the licensee's warehouse.

This also included the licensee conducting a boroscope exam to look at indications on a spare CRDM.

The ultrasonic test (UT) information had not yet been reviewed by PNNL

, and the boroscope exam had not been done.

The NRC stated that, while the proposed assessment methodology for reviewing the surface scratch as determined by the licensee (possible crack emanating from the internal diameter on the CRDM 25 housing as determined by PNNL) provided some information; it would not provide enough information related to the depth of the respective scratch/flaw on CRDM-25. A boroscope exam may reveal surface scratches on the spare housing which have a UT signature, but this method may not be successful in differentiating between a scratch and a potential shallow crack on the CRDM housing. The NRC asked the licensee to provide any additional information that would support the licensee's claim that the indication from the UT was indeed a scratch rather than a crack. In addition, the NRC suggested that any UT image of a crack of a similar size from other applications would be helpful in differentiating the proposed scratch from a crack.

The licensee stated that the NDE data related to the spare CRDMs had a higher response compared to the data gathered on the CRDM 25 housing. The licensee agreed to examine the spare CRDMs in the warehouse using a boroscope within the next 2 weeks. In addition, if the UT data observed from the CRDM 25 housing was similar to the data observed from a spare CRDM, the scratches on the CRDM 25 housing could be further characterized

. If dissimilar , another methodology will have to be adopted to enable characterization of the scratches on the CRDM 25 housing.

Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.

The NRC concluded the meeting by stating that there continued to be no immediate safety concern as the NRC was seeking to understand the assessments completed.

The NRC also stated it would reconvene with the licensee after PNNL reviewed the data related to the two installed CRDM housings and the spare warehouse CRDM housings within the next 2 weeks while the licensee inspected the spare CRDM housings using a boroscope.

The call lasted about an hour. Enclosure 1 is a list of attendees for the meeting.

Sincerely,

/RA/ John B. Giessner, Branch Chief Branch 4 Division of Reactor Projects Docket Nos. 50-255 and 72

-007 License No. DPR

-20

Enclosure:

List of Meeting Attendees for the October 25, 2012, Conference Meeting cc w/encl: Distribution via List Serv

LIST OF MEETING ATTENDEES FOR THE OCTOBER 25, 2012 CONFERENCE MEETING NRC Attendees John Giessner, Chief, Division of Reactor Projects, Branch 4 Thomas Taylor, Palisades Senior Resident Inspector David Alley, Senior Materials Engineer, Nuclear Reactor Regulation, Piping and NDE Branch Jay Lennartz, Project Engineer, Division of Reactor Projects, Branch 4 Robert Orlikowski, Project Engineer, Division of Reactor Projects, Branch 1 Swetha Shah, Reactor Engineer, Division of Reactor Projects, Branch 4 Diana Betancourt, Reactor Engineer, Division of Reactor Projects, Branch 4 Elba Sanchez Santiago, Division of Reactor Safety, Engineering Branch 1 Michael Anderson, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Susan Crawford, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Licensee Attendees Barry Davis, Entergy Nuclear General Manager Engineering Otto Gustafson, Palisades Licensing Manager Jake Milliken, Palisades Programs and Codes Supervisor Jack Lareau, Wesdyne

Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.

The NRC concluded the meeting by stating that there continued to be no immediate safety concern as the NRC was seeking to understand the assessments completed. The NRC also stated it would reconvene with the licensee after PNNL reviewed the data related to the two installed CRDM housings and the spare warehouse CRDM housings within the next 2 weeks while the licensee inspected the spare CRDM housings using a boroscope.

The call lasted about an hour. Enclosure 1 is a list of attendees for the meeting.

Sincerely,

/RA/ John B. Giessner, Branch Chief Branch 4 Division of Reactor Projects Docket Nos. 50

-255 and 72

-007 License No. DPR

-20

Enclosure:

List of Meeting Attendees for the October 25, 2012, Conference Meeting cc w/encl: Distribution via List Serv

DOCUMENT NAME:

G:\DRPIII\PALI\Palisades meeting summary

- 2012 October 25th.docx Publicly Available Non-Publicly Available Sensitive Non-Sensitive To receive a copy of this document, indicate in the concurrence box "C" = Copy without attach/encl "E" = Copy with attach/encl "N" = No copy OFFICE RIII RIII NAME SShah:dtp*JBG for JGiessner DATE 10/31/12 10/31/12 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY

Letter to Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. from J. Giessner dated October 31, 2012.

SUMMARY

OF THE OCTOBER 25, 2012, MEETING REGARDING PALISADES NUCLEAR PLANT CONTROL ROD DRIVE MECHANISM (CRDM) 25 DISTRIBUTION

Cayetano Santos RidsNrrPMPalisades Resource RidsNrrDorlLpl3

-1 Resource RidsNrrDirsIrib Resource Chuck Casto Cynthia Pederson Steven Orth Jared Heck Allan Barker Christine Lipa Carole Ariano Linda Linn DRPIII DRSIII Tammy Tomczak ROPreports.Resource@nrc.gov