ML17206A531

Reportable Occurrence on 781027:Technician Responsible Could Not Find Thermographs or Marker Buoys Contrary to Environ Tech Spec 3.1.A.6 Buoy & Thermograph Found on Beach Possibly Taken by Vandels.Buoy Already Replaced

ML17206A531
Person / Time
Site:	Saint Lucie
Issue date:	11/16/1978
From:	FLORIDA POWER & LIGHT CO.
To:
Shared Package
ML17206A530	List: ML17206A529 ML17206A531
References
NUDOCS 7811290235
Download: ML17206A531 (3)

Text

FLORIDAPOWER6LIGHTCOMPANYST.LUCIEUNITNO.1REPORTABLEOCCURRENCENO.335-B-78-06TITLE:OceanIntakeArea-RecordingThermographsA.Descrition,AnalysisandEvaluationB.OnOctober27'978,thelaboratorytechnicianresponsibleforthethermographswentouttothethermographstationlocatedintheSt.Lucieplantintakeareatoexchangetherecordinginstrument.Hecouldnotfindthethermographsorthemarkerbuoy.SincetheplantwasinoperationattheRimeofthediscovery,theoccurrenceiscontrarytoEnviron-menta'1TechnicalSpecification3.1.A.6.CauseofOccurrenceDuringtheweekofOctober30,978anindividualnotifiedContinentalShelfAssociates,FPL'ssupplierofthebuoyswhichsupportthethermographs,thattheintakeareabuoyhadbeenfoundonthebeach.Theyrecoveredthebuoyfromthisindividualandexaminedit.Nodamagewasapparenttothebuoyandthebuoyeye,townichaheavyshackleandchainshouldhavebeenattachedforanchoringpurposes,wasinperfectcondition,buthadnoshackle.Sincebreakageoftheanchorlinewouldhaveresultedinpartofthelinebeingstillconnectedtothebuoy,itisspeculatedthatvandalsareresponsibleforcuttingtheanchorlineattheshackle.FPLauthorizedContinentalShelftoreplacethebuoyintheintakeareaassoonaspossible.Becauseofinclementweatherresultinginextremelyroughseas,ContinentalShelfwasunabletoreplacethebuoyuntilNovember6,1978.Atthattime,asthoroughasearchasvisibilitywouldpermitwasconductedoftheoceanbottomsurroundingthebuoyanchor.Thissearchresultedinnocluesastothewhereaboutsofthethermographsorthemetalcagewhichholdsthembeneaththebuoy.Later,onethermographwasfoundonthebeachandreturnedtopersonnelattheSt.LuciePlant.Thismakesthetheorythatvandalswereresponsiblemorebelievablesincethethermographsarenormallystrappedintothemetalcageanditwouldbedifficultforthetwotobecomeseparatedwithoutassistance,.C.CorrectiveActionAswasmentionedabove,thebuoyintheintakeareawasreplacedonNovember6,1978.Planshavebeenmadetoinstallthethermographsassoonasit.becomespossibletooperateaboatanddispatchadiverontheocean.Todate,thecontin-uallyhighseashavepreventedthis.V811aeov-ss Lossoftheoceanintakeareathermographsoccurredononepreviousoccasion(R.0.1335-B-77-04).Thedischargeareathermographshavealsobeenlostseveraltimes.FPLhasattemptedtopreventtheselossesasdescribedinpreviousReportableOccurrenceReports.However,thethermographstationsarelocatedontheopenoceaninthepathofaconsiderableamountoftraffic.Also,theyarenotinsulatedorprotectedfromnaturaland/orman-madeinterferences.Therefore,weareunabletoestimatethefuturereliabilityofthethermographstations.Sparebuoysandthermographrecordersarekeptonhandatalltimesinordertorapidlyaccommodatetheneedforrepairsand/orreplacement.

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