ML100110179

EN-10-003, Waterford, Unit 3, Issuance of Final Significance Determination and Notice of Violation

ML100110179
Person / Time
Site:	Waterford
Issue date:	01/11/2010
From:	Gregory Bowman, Nick Hilton NRC/OE
To:
bowman greg
References
EA-09-018, RG-1.033 EN-10-003
Download: ML100110179 (2)

Text

January 11, 2010 EN-10-003 OFFICE OF ENFORCEMENT NOTIFICATION OF SIGNIFICANT ENFORCEMENT ACTION

Licensee: Entergy Operations, Inc. EA-09-018 Waterford Steam Electric Station, Unit 3 Docket No. 05000382

Subject:

ISSUANCE OF FINAL SIGNIFICANCE DETERMINATION AND NOTICE OF VIOLATION This is to inform the Commission that a Notice of Violation associated with a White Significance Determination Process finding will be issued on or about January 14, 2010, to Entergy Operations, Inc. as a result of inspections at Waterford Steam Electric Station, Unit 3. This finding, an issue with low to moderate safety significance which may require additional NRC inspection, is associated with the Mitigating Systems cornerstone and affects the cornerstone objective of ensuring the availability, reliability, and capability of systems that respond to initiating events to prevent undesirable consequences. During replacement of the Train B 125 Vdc battery in May 2008, licensee maintenance personnel did not properly follow all the required procedural steps. Specifically, workers failed to ensure that the affected connections between two cells in the battery were adequately tightened, or ensure that intercell resistance checks met Technical Specification limits. As a result, an intercell connection loosened over time and on September 2, 2008, the battery was found to be inoperable during testing.

The Notice of Violation is included based on the licensee's failure to meet Technical Specification 6.8.1.a, "Procedures and Programs," which requires, in part, that the applicable procedures recommended in Appendix A of Regulatory Guide 1.33, "Quality Assurance Program Requirements (Operation)," be established, implemented, and maintained. Appendix A of Regulatory Guide 1.33 includes procedures for performing maintenance that can affect safety-related equipment. Contrary to this requirement, on May 24, 2008, the licensee failed to implement a procedure that affected the Train B 125 Vdc battery, a safety-related component. Specifically, following replacement of the battery, the licensee did not: (1) adequately torque all of the affected intercell connections, (2) obtain the required quality control inspector verification that all affected connections were properly tightened, (3) ensure that all the necessary intercell resistance checks were performed, and (4) obtain quality control verification that the intercell resistance checks met Technical Specification limits.

It should be noted that the licensee has not been specifically informed of the enforcement action. The schedule of issuance and notification is:

Mailing of Final Significance Determination January 14, 2010 Telephone Notification of Licensee January 14, 2010 The State of Louisiana will be notified.

Contacts: Greg Bowman, OE, (301) 415-2939 Nick Hilton, OE, (301) 415-3055 Distribution: EN-10-003, January 11, 2010

OWFN Chairman Jaczko Comm. Klein Comm. Svinicki SECY OCA PA IP OWFN EDO DEDR DEDMRS OE OGC NRR NSIR OI TWFN OCFO OP CENTER FSME NMSS OIG OCIO RES ACRS EBB NMSS Regional Offices RI RII RIII RIV MAIL ADAMS OE staff

Electronic DISTRIBUTION

R. Zimmerman, OE B. Sosa, OE N. Hilton, OE G. Bowman, OE OE r/f EN binder Publicly Available X Non-Sensitive X ML100110179 OFFICE OE:ES OE:BC NAME GBowman NHilton DATE 1/11/10 1/11/10 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY