Press Release-IV-07-023 - NRC Issues Confirmatory Action Letter on Palo Verde Nuclear Plant, Press Release-IV-07-023 - NRC Issues Confirmatory Action Letter on Palo Verde Nuclear Plant

Press Release-IV-07-023 - NRC Issues Confirmatory Action Letter on Palo Verde Nuclear Plant

ML071760539
Person / Time
Site:	Palo Verde
Issue date:	06/21/2007
From:	Office of Public Affairs Region IV
To:
Category:Press Release
References
Press Release-IV-07-032
Download: ML071760539 (3)

Text

NRC NEWS U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Region IV 611 Ryan Plaza Drive - Suite 400 Arlington, TX 76011-4005No. IV-07-023June 21, 2007Contact: Victor Dricks E-Mail: opa4@nrc.gov Phone: 817-860-8128NRC ISSUES CONFIRMATORY ACTION LETTER ON PALO VERDE NUCLEAR PLANTThe Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has issued a Confirmatory Action Letter(CAL) to Arizona Public Service Co. confirming the company's commitments regarding actions

it will take to improve performan ce at the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station.

APS operatesthe plant located in Wintersburg, Ariz."Palo Verde is being operated safely, but performance impr ovements are needed," NRCRegion IV Administrator Bruce S. Mallett said. "We intend to hold APS accountable to performa thorough evaluation of the causes of the performance problems at Palo Verde and to complete actions to correct them. The letter will serve as a roadmap for performance improvement."The letter confirms commitments the company has made to the NRC to:

1. Complete actions to address root and contributing causes identified in its evaluations in response to performance probl ems associated with the voided containment sump suctionpiping for all three units, and associated with the Unit 3 emergency diesel generator electrical relay problems, including:*Ineffective resolution of emerging technical issues, including thoroughness of technical evaluations and troubleshooting*Failure to routinely question the validity of engineering assumptions usedto support operability decisions for degraded equipment *Lack of consistently notifying operations pers onnel of immediateoperability concerns*Inadequate performance monitoring measures necessary to fully assess theeffectiveness of the corrective actions.

2. Complete corrective actions that result in measurable improvement in the crosscutting areas of human performance and problem identif ication and resolution.

Specific areas to address are:*Palo Verde operability determination process; timeliness and thoroughnessfor evaluations of conditions/significant conditions adverse to quality; and engineering quality. 3.Complete an independent (third party) safety culture assessment by September 15.4.Incorporate the results of their in-depth evaluations and safety culture assessments into a modified improvement plan.

5.Submit to the NRC portions of the modified improvement plans that impact theReactor Safety strategic performance area, including safety culture improvement initiatives by November 30.Issuance of the CAL does not preclude subsequent issuance of an order formalizing thecommitments requiring other actions on the part of the company.

Palo Verde has been under increased NRC oversight since the fourth quarter of 2004following a finding for a substantial safety issue. Inspectors found that APS had incorrectly leftair pockets in portions of the emergency core cooling system for each reactor that could havehindered the system's operation during certain types of accidents. The finding remains openbecause APS has not effectively addressed performance problems.

Those problems include a lack of questioning attitude, lack of technical rigor and pooroperability determinations by workers - factors which contributed to a more recent finding issuedby the NRC for problems with a emergency diesel generator at Unit 3, moving Palo Verde into ahigher level of NRC oversight.Two substantive cross-cutting issues in the areas of human performance and problem identification and resolution have also remained open since the NRC's 2004 end-of-cycle assessment. Palo Verde has also had numerous operational challenges since 2004, including multiple reactor trips and unplanned shutdowns.

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