IR 05000289/2013009

EA-13-046, Final Significance Determination for a White Finding with Assessment Follow-Up and Notice of Violation (NRC Inspection Report 05000289-13-009) - Three Mile Island Nuclear Station, Unit 1, Dated April 30, 2013

ML13120A040
Person / Time
Site:	Three Mile Island
Issue date:	04/30/2013
From:	Dean W M Region 1 Administrator
To:	Pacilio M J Exelon Generation Co, Exelon Nuclear
Dean B
References
EA-13-046 IR-13-009
Download: ML13120A040 (5)

Text

April 30, 2013

EA-13-046 Mr. Michael Senior Vice President, Exelon Generation Company, LLC President and Chief Nuclear Officer, Exelon Nuclear 4300 Winfield Rd.

Warrenville, IL 60555

SUBJECT: FINAL SIGNIFICANCE DETERMINATION FOR A WHITE FINDING WITH ASSESSMENT FOLLOW-UP AND NOTICE OF VIOLATION [NRC INSPECTION REPORT NO. 05000289/2013009] - THREE MILE ISLAND NUCLEAR STATION, UNIT 1

Dear Mr. Pacilio:

This letter provides you the final significance determination for the preliminary White finding discussed in the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commi ssion (NRC) letter dated April 4, 2013, and the follow-up NRC assessment of current performance at Three Mile Island Nuclear Station (TMI), Unit 1. This updated assessment of TMI Unit 1 supplements, but does not supersede, the NRC annual assessment letter issued on March 4, 2013 (ML13057A300)

1. The finding, described in detail in Inspection Report 05000289/2012005, is associated with the TMI external flood barrier system. Specifically, electrical cable couplings located in the Air Intake Tunnel were not flood sealed, as designed, to protect against a flooding initiating event.

In our April 4, 2013, letter, the NRC provided you the opportunity to attend a regulatory conference or reply in writing to provide your position on the facts and assumptions the NRC used to arrive at the finding and its safety significance. In a conversation with Mr. Gordon Hunegs, NRC, Region I, on April 8, 2013, Mr. Mark Newcomer, TMI Plant Manager, indicated that Exelon did not contest the characterization of the risk significance of this finding and that you declined your opportunity to discuss this issue in a regulatory conference or to provide a written response.

After considering the information developed during the inspection and having assessed the finding using the significance determination process, as described in the attachment to the NRC April 4, 2013, letter, 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 finding is a violation of 10 CFR 50, Appendix B, Criterion XVI, as cited in the attached Notice of Violation (Notice). The circumstances surrounding the violation were described in detail in Inspection Report 05000289/2012005. In accordance with the NRC Enforcement Policy, the Notice is considered escalated enforcement action because it is associated with a White finding.

1 Designation in parentheses refers to an Agency-wide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) accession number. Documents referenced in this letter are publicly-available using the accession number in ADAMS. The NRC has concluded that the information regarding: (1) the circumstances surrounding the violation; (2) the interim and long term corrective actions already taken and planned; and, (3) the date when full compliance was achieved, is already adequately addressed on the docket in

NRC Inspection Report 05000289/2012005. Therefore, you are not required to respond to this letter unless the description therein does not accurat ely reflect your corrective actions or your position.

As a result of NRC review of the performance at TMI Unit 1, including this White finding, we have assessed TMI Unit 1 to be in the Regulator y Response column of the NRC's Action Matrix, retroactive to the fourth calendar quarter of 2012. Therefore, we plan to conduct a supplemental inspection using Inspection Procedure 95001, "Inspection for One or Two White Inputs in a Strategic Performance Area," when your staff notifies us of their readiness for this inspection. This inspection is conducted to provide assurance that the root cause and contributing causes of any performance issues are identified and understood, the extent of condition is 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 located at NRC Headquarters in Rockville, MD, and from the NRC's Agency-wide Documents Access and Management System (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/

William M. Dean

Regional Administrator

Docket No. 50-289 License No. DPR-50

Enclosure:

Notice of Violation

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