IR 05000346/2018090

EA-18-008 Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station - Final Significance Determination of a White Finding with Assessment Follow-up and Notice of Violation; NRC Inspection Report 05000346/2018090

ML18103A208
Person / Time
Site:	Davis Besse
Issue date:	04/13/2018
From:	Khadijah West NRC/RGN-III
To:	Bezilla M FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Co
Lambert K
References
EA-18-008 IR 2018090
Download: ML18103A208 (5)

Text

UNITED STATES pril 13, 2018

SUBJECT:

DAVIS-BESSE NUCLEAR POWER STATION - FINAL SIGNIFICANCE DETERMINATION OF A WHITE FINDING WITH ASSESSMENT FOLLOW-UP AND NOTICE OF VIOLATION; NRC INSPECTION REPORT 05000346/2018090

Dear Mr. Bezilla:

This letter provides you the final significance determination of the preliminary White finding discussed in U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Inspection Report 05000346/2018010, dated March 9, 2018. A copy of the inspection report can be found in the NRCs Public Document Room or from the NRCs Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS), accessible from the NRCs website at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html under accession number ML18068A523. The finding involved the failure to provide appropriate instructions to maintain an adequate amount of oil in auxiliary feedwater turbine bearing oil sumps as required by Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 50 Appendix B, Criterion V, Instructions, Procedures, and Drawings. The auxiliary feedwater pump is a component subject to the requirements of 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix B. The failure to provide instructions to properly calibrate sight glasses resulted in a low oil level in the auxiliary feedwater pump 1 turbine inboard bearing reservoir causing the failure of the auxiliary feedwater pump on September 13, 2017. The pump was inoperable from June 21, 2017, when oil was last removed from the bearing reservoir after the last quarterly surveillance, until September 15, 2017, when the bearing was replaced and the system successfully returned to service. The low oil level resulted in the auxiliary feedwater pump being unable to perform its intended safety function and becoming inoperable for a time longer than its technical specification allowed outage time.

In a letter dated March 16, 2018, you indicated that the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station would not request a regulatory conference and would not submit a written response. According to NRC Inspection Manual Chapter 0609, appeal rights only apply to those licensees that have either attended a regulatory conference or submitted a written response to the preliminary determination letter.

After considering the information developed during the inspection, the NRC has concluded that the finding is appropriately characterized as White, a finding of low to moderate safety significance.

The NRC has also determined that the failure to provide appropriate instructions on how to calibrate the turbine bearing oil sight glasses is a violation of 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix B, Criterion V and technical specifications as cited in the enclosed Notice of Violation (Notice).

The circumstances surrounding the violation were described in detail in Inspection Report 05000346/2018010. In accordance with the NRC Enforcement Policy, the Notice is considered escalated enforcement action because it is associated with a White finding.

The NRC has concluded that the information regarding the reason for the violation, the corrective actions taken and planned to correct the violation and prevent recurrence, and the date when full compliance will be achieved is already adequately addressed on the docket in Inspection Report 05000346/2017004 (ML18045A076). Therefore, you are not required to respond to this letter unless the description therein does not accurately reflect your corrective actions or your position.

As a result of our review of Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Stations performance, including this White finding, we have assessed the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station to be in the Regulatory Response column of the NRCs Action Matrix, effective the fourth quarter of 2017.

Therefore, we plan to conduct a supplemental inspection using Inspection Procedure 95001, Supplemental Inspection Response To Action Matrix Column 2 Inputs, when your staff has notified us of your readiness for this inspection. This inspection procedure is conducted to provide assurance that the root cause and contributing cause of risk significant performance issues are understood, the extent of condition and the extent of cause are identified, and the corrective actions are sufficient to prevent recurrence.

In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 of the NRC's "Rules of Practice," a copy of this letter, its enclosure, and your response, if you choose to provide one, will be made available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the NRCs ADAMS accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To the extent possible, your response should not include any personal privacy, proprietary, or safeguards information so that it can be made available to the Public without redaction.

Sincerely,

/RA/

K. Steven West Regional Administrator Docket No. 050-00346 License No. NPF-3 Enclosure:

Notice of Violation cc: Distribution via LISTSERV